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Glite Dictionary
Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation

5 8.4
The first plan of government for the United States, made in 1781, that gives most power to the states
  • proper noun
  • /ˈɑːrtɪklz əv kənˌfɛdəˈreɪʃən/
translation icon : Artículos de Confederación
  • Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee would fight any drastic changes in the Articles of Confederation.
  • amend the Articles of Confederation
  • revise the Articles of Confederation
  • adoption of the Articles of Confederation

Examples

  • I didn't mention it because I am more a fan of the Articles of Confederation than the Constitution.

    Blog text (5)

  • The New Jersey Plan was no minor revision of the Articles of Confederation.

    Academic text (2016)

  • If by "president" you mean "President of the Congress," under the Articles of Confederation, then there are several.

    Blog text (34)

  • His own state's resolution does not even mention the Articles of Confederation.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Under the Articles of Confederation, the sovereign structure of the new nation appeared clear.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Instead, it proposed an entirely new Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Eight had signed the Declaration of Independence; six had signed the Articles of Confederation.

    Academic text (1993)

  • After we declared independence and during our struggle for it, we lived under our first constitution, the Articles of Confederation.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Congress proposed a new system in April 1783 containing two important changes to the Articles of Confederation.

    Academic text (2016)

  • In 1781, America officially adopted the Articles of Confederation as its first constitution.

Surface Forms

Articles of Confederation main

Morphology

article + of + confederation

The phrase literally combines 'article' (a numbered clause) and 'confederation' (a union of independent entities), so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it refers to clauses making up a confederation or a founding document of a confederation. However, as a proper historical name for the specific first U.S. constitution, the full, specific referent (its status as the 1781 U.S. constitution) is not derivable from the words alone without extra world-knowledge.

Etymology

Articles of Confederation comes from the words articles, meaning the written rules each state agreed to, and confederation, meaning a loose joining of independent 'states'. Imagine each state signing its own paper and being tied together by a loose rope—connected but keeping most power—so the document served as the first US 'constitution' but created a 'weak central government'.