The Articles of Confederation - Ratification - Extra History - Part 2

Summary

The video script narrates the tumultuous journey of the United States' early government under the Articles of Confederation. It highlights the challenges faced by the Continental Congress in establishing a government that balanced state autonomy with a unified front during the American Revolutionary War. The script details the issues of land disputes between states, the economic crisis due to excessive money printing, and the struggle to maintain the Continental Army's morale and resources. It also touches on the pivotal role of foreign alliances, particularly with France, and the desperate need for financial reform to stabilize the new nation's government and secure its future.

Takeaways

• 📜 The Continental Congress presented the Articles of Confederation after extensive debate and revisions, aiming to balance state autonomy with a unified government during the American Revolutionary War.
• 📅 Congress set a three-month deadline for states to ratify the Articles, but it took over three years, indicating the complexity and disagreements among the states.
• 🌏 Early British charters granted to North American colonies were vague about territorial limits, leading to disputes over land claims once the colonies became independent states.
• 🏰 Maryland's refusal to ratify the Articles until control of the west was given to Congress highlighted the power struggles and concerns over state significance and resources.
• 🤝 Virginia, holding significant western land claims, urged unity and ratification of the Articles, showing the tension between state interests and the collective needs of the confederation.
• 💵 Congress's reliance on printing money to fund the war led to hyperinflation and a loss of value, impacting the Continental Army's ability to secure supplies.
• 🏠 The Continental Army suffered at Valley Forge due to a lack of support from the states, which were preoccupied with their own issues and reluctant to contribute to the central fund.
• 💼 George Washington's leadership was tested as he struggled to maintain the army's morale and survival, resorting to desperate measures such as issuing I.O.U.s to local farmers.
• 🌐 Benjamin Franklin's diplomacy as the U.S. ambassador to France secured crucial French support, which was pivotal in reinforcing the Continental Army and maintaining the fight against the British.
• 🏛 Maryland's eventual ratification of the Articles, under pressure from the French and the dire situation of the war, marked the official establishment of the Confederation Congress.
• 📉 The Confederation Congress faced ongoing challenges, including a lack of state compliance, an ineffective currency, and unsustainable debt, signaling the need for financial reform and stronger governance.

Q & A

What were the Articles of Confederation?

The Articles of Confederation were the first written constitution of the United States, presented by the Continental Congress to establish a government that would allow states to govern themselves while still maintaining a central authority to conduct matters such as the American Revolutionary War.

Why did Congress set a three-month deadline for the ratification of the Articles of Confederation?

Congress set a three-month deadline to expedite the process of making the Articles official, hoping to ensure swift unity and organization among the states in the midst of the ongoing American Revolutionary War.

What issues did the early charters granted by Great Britain create for the colonies that later became independent states?

The early charters were vague about defining the territories each colony would control, with some colonies being granted rights to land extending from the East Coast to the unknown West Coast. This led to disputes over land claims once the colonies became independent states.

Why did Maryland refuse to ratify the Articles of Confederation initially?

Maryland feared that without Western land claims, it would become less significant compared to its larger, wealthier neighbors. It refused to ratify the Articles unless Congress, not individual states, was given control over the Western territories.

What was the stance of Virginia regarding the ratification of the Articles of Confederation and the land dispute?

Virginia, which stood to gain the most from the Western land dispute, suggested focusing on the war and ratifying the Articles first. It also implied that Maryland could be excluded from the confederation if it continued to be obstinate and insisted on its demands regarding the Western lands.

How did the Continental Army's situation at Valley Forge impact George Washington's view of the Confederation Congress?

The dire situation at Valley Forge, where soldiers were freezing and starving due to lack of supplies that could not be purchased with nearly worthless Continental currency, led Washington to view the Confederation as a 'many-headed monster' that was ineffective and potentially disastrous for the war effort.

What was the role of Congress in funding the Continental Army according to the Articles of Confederation?

According to the Articles, Congress was to inform the states how much the army needed, and the states were expected to contribute to a general fund through taxes to support the army.

Why did the states begin to treat requests for contributions to the army as optional?

The states had their own issues, including funding their local militias, and began to see the requests from Congress as optional when they couldn't see an immediate benefit to themselves.

How did Benjamin Franklin's efforts in France benefit the Continental Army?

Benjamin Franklin, serving as the U.S. ambassador to France, secured French support for the United States based on their mutual dislike of the British. This support included reinforcements for Washington's army, which was crucial during the British campaign against the Southern states.

What ultimately led to Maryland's ratification of the Articles of Confederation?

Maryland, feeling isolated and under pressure from the British campaign and the French condition of ratification for help, decided that aligning with Virginia, despite its land dispute, was preferable to aligning with Britain and finally ratified the Articles.

What challenges did the Confederation Congress face in maintaining the Continental Army and its own operations?

The Confederation Congress struggled with a lack of real power to enforce contributions from the states, a devalued currency due to excessive printing of money, and an unsustainable debt that threatened the stability and credibility of the government.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Ratification Struggles of the Articles of Confederation

The Continental Congress introduced the Articles of Confederation to the states after extensive debate and revision, aiming to balance state autonomy with a functional central government during the ongoing American Revolutionary War. Despite a three-month deadline, ratification took over three years due to territorial disputes stemming from vague colonial charters. Maryland's refusal to ratify without granting Congress control over the West highlighted the tension between larger states with western claims and smaller states fearing irrelevance. This stalemate, coupled with the dire situation of the Continental Army at Valley Forge and Congress's financial woes due to excessive money printing, underscored the confederation model's weaknesses.

05:02

🏰 The Confederation's Challenges and Franklin's Diplomacy

Washington's and his officers' faith in the Confederation was severely tested, as they viewed it as an ineffective governing body, likening it to a 'many-headed monster.' Meanwhile, Benjamin Franklin, serving as the U.S. ambassador to France, leveraged the French dislike of the British to secure crucial military support for the United States. As the British advanced in the South, Maryland, the last holdout, was pressured by the French to ratify the Articles, which it eventually did, leading to the official establishment of the Confederation Congress. However, the Congress continued to struggle with states' noncompliance and a lack of funding, resulting in an unstable currency and unmanageable debt. The need for a financier to stabilize the government and secure reliable revenue sources became apparent.

Keywords

💡Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation were the first written constitution of the United States, adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777 and ratified by the states in 1781. In the video, they represent the initial attempt to create a unified government for the newly independent states, which would allow them to govern themselves while also working together during the American Revolutionary War. The script mentions the struggle to ratify these articles, reflecting the early challenges of establishing a national identity and governance.

💡Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the thirteen American colonies that became the governing body during the American Revolution. It was responsible for drafting and presenting the Articles of Confederation. In the script, the Congress is depicted as struggling to balance the states' desire for autonomy with the need for a centralized authority to manage the war effort.

💡American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War, also known as the American War of Independence, was a conflict that took place between 1775 and 1783, in which the thirteen American colonies fought for independence from Great Britain. The video script highlights the ongoing nature of this war during the drafting and ratification of the Articles of Confederation, emphasizing the urgency and difficulty of establishing a government amidst military conflict.

💡Territorial Disputes

Territorial disputes refer to disagreements between political entities over the possession and control of land. In the script, the early charters granted by Great Britain to the colonies led to vast territories for some states, causing disputes with states like Maryland that had no western claims. This issue is central to the narrative as it led to Maryland's refusal to ratify the Articles until control of the west was given to Congress rather than individual states.

💡Maryland

Maryland is one of the original thirteen states of the United States and plays a significant role in the script as the last state to ratify the Articles of Confederation. Its reluctance stemmed from concerns over the control of western territories and the fear of becoming less influential compared to larger, western-facing states. The script uses Maryland as an example of the internal conflicts that delayed the ratification process.

💡Virginia

Virginia, another one of the original thirteen states, is portrayed in the script as a state with extensive western land claims, which caused concern for states like Maryland. Virginia's actions and attitudes towards the Articles of Confederation and the territorial disputes reflect the power dynamics and the struggle for control among the states during the formation of the U.S. government.

💡Valley Forge

Valley Forge was the site of the Continental Army's winter encampment during the American Revolutionary War. The script describes the harsh conditions faced by the soldiers there, which included freezing and starving, due to a lack of supplies. This situation exemplifies the challenges faced by the army and the ineffectiveness of the Continental Congress in providing necessary support.

💡George Washington

George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and later the first President of the United States. In the script, he is depicted as struggling to lead the army through difficult times, including the winter at Valley Forge, and as losing faith in the Confederation model of government due to its inability to provide adequate support.

💡Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and served as the U.S. ambassador to France during the American Revolutionary War. The script highlights his crucial role in securing French support for the American cause, which was instrumental in reinforcing Washington's army and turning the tide of the war.

💡French Alliance

The French Alliance refers to the military and diplomatic alliance between France and the United States during the American Revolutionary War. The script describes Franklin's efforts to secure this alliance, which was critical for the success of the American cause and for the eventual ratification of the Articles of Confederation by Maryland.

💡Financier

A financier is a person who provides financial support or expertise, especially in the raising of funds for government or business. In the context of the script, the Confederation Congress needed a financier to stabilize their currency, establish reliable revenue sources, and demonstrate financial stability to Europe. This need arose due to the failure of their early funding methods and the accumulation of uncontrollable debt.

Highlights

After over a year of debate, the Continental Congress presented the new Articles of Confederation to the states.

The Articles aimed to balance state autonomy with a unified government to conduct the ongoing American Revolutionary War.

A three-month deadline was set for states to ratify the Articles, but it took over three years.

Vague colonial charters granted by Britain led to territorial disputes among the newly independent states.

Maryland's refusal to ratify the Articles unless western lands were controlled by Congress delayed ratification.

Virginia, a state with large western claims, suggested excluding Maryland to expedite ratification.

Ten of the thirteen states eventually ratified the Articles, establishing a semi-official rule set for the Confederation.

The Continental Army faced dire conditions at Valley Forge without adequate supplies during the winter.

Congress's excessive printing of money led to hyperinflation and a loss of purchasing power.

States began to ignore Congress's requests for funding, focusing on their own local issues.

George Washington resorted to forceful requisition of supplies and issuing I.O.U.s to sustain his army.

Washington's faith in the Confederation was shattered, fearing it would lose the war or collapse in peace.

Benjamin Franklin secured French alliance and support for the United States during the war.

The British campaign in the South threatened resistance, particularly targeting the holdout state of Maryland.

Maryland finally ratified the Articles under French pressure, making the Confederation Congress official.

Despite being official, the Confederation Congress was already falling apart due to states' noncompliance and delegates' neglect.

The Congress needed a financier to stabilize the currency, establish revenue, and prevent a government collapse.

Transcripts

After over a year of debate and revision,

The Continental Congress presented the states with their new Articles of Confederation.

♫ Intro Music ♫

The congress had done their best to create the government that the states wanted.

One that left them free to govern themselves without any congressional meddling,

but also one that let congress continue it's work

conducting that tiny little matter of

the American Revolutionary War

which was, still going on, by the way.

Hoping to keep things moving,

Congress set a deadline:

the states must ratify the Articles of Confederation,

and make them official, within three months.

It would take over three years.

Long before the Revolutionary War had started,

when Great Britain had been granting charters to start colonies in North America,

they had been a little lax about defining the territory each colony would control.

It was a new world; nobody had good maps yet. What are you gonna do?

What they did was tell several colonies that their borders extended

all the way from the East Coast to the West Coast,

uh, wherever that was.

It kept things simple.

And after all this new world couldn't be THAT big, right?

Turns out, it WASthat big.

And now that the colonies had become independant states,

the lucky one who had gotten huge territories

granted by those early charters, wanted to argue

that they still had the right to all that land.

But states like Maryland felt left out.

With no Western claims of their own,

they feared that all that extra land

would make their neighbors bigger, and richer, and more important than them.

They saw a future where they faded into irrelevance,

while giant, western-facing states ruled the nation.

So, Maryland refused to ratify the Articles of the Confederation,

unless everyone agreed to give congress, not individual states, control of the west.

Congress liked that idea,

but they knew, that if they let one state to start making changes, all of them were gonna want to.

So, they said 'no'.

And Virginia, who was exactly the neighbor Maryland was worried about,

suggested that they all needed to join together in harmony to focus on the war;

get these Articles ratified, already.

And, hey, if Maryland wants to be a pain about it,

maybe we just cut them out of this entierly.

Also, by the way, the West is ours, and we're going to do what we want with it, so back off.

Maryland dug it's heels in, Virginia played innocent,

and the deadline to ratify the Articles of the Confederation flew by.

But ten of the thirteen states did ratify them,

and Congress needed some form of organization,

so the Articles became, if not the law of the land,

then, at least its semi-official rule set.

Meanwhile, the British had not exactly agreed to take a time-out,

while the Americans decided what they wanted their new government to be.

The war was still going on, and the situation looked pretty dire for the Continental Army.

That same winter that the states had spent bickering over who got to control what lands,

the soldiers spent freezing and starving to death,

in their camp at Valley Forge.

George Washington, whom Congress had appointed to lead the army back when all this war business began,

had tried desperately to petition for help.

Congress had tried, just as desperately, to provide that help, but they ran into some major problems.

Congress had been just printing money.

And I mean that literally.

Need to buy equipment?

Print some money!

Need to pay your soldiers?

Print some more money.

By the winter of 1777,

they had printed so much money that it had become practically worthless.

When Washington tried to purchase supplies from the local farmers using that money,

they said 'no, thank you',

and sold those supplies to the British army instead for good, reliable pound sterling.

See, it wasn't that there was NO food in Valley Forge,

the locals and the British enjoyed a very comfortable winter, in fact,

it was just that Washington and his army couldn't buy anything with these worthless dollars

Congress kept printing for them.

So Congress turned to the states for money.

The idea, at least as the Articles of Confederation intended,

was that the states would raise money through taxes,

Congress would tell them how much the army needed,

and the states would pitch in to a general fund to make it happen.

But contributions from the states had been drying up.

They all had their own issues to deal with,

including their own local state millitias to fund.

So they began to treat the requests from Congress as entirely optional.

If they couldn't see the immediate benefit for themselves, they would not pay.

As the winter reached it's peak,

Washington began to fear that his army, and the backbone of the Revoltion,

would be defeated, not by the British,

but by this confederation model of government.

Congress could go nothing without the aid of the states,

and the states had become too wrapped up in their own concerns to help.

Even when Washington skipped Congress and wrote directly to them

about the desperate situation of his army.

In the end, he resorted to plundering the very countryside he wanted to protect.

Being a good Virginia gentleman,

he tried to make it a genteel-sort of plundering.

His troops would take whatever food they could find from local farmers by force,

but then give them an I.O.U. for their trouble.

But seeing that clearly nobody had the money to pay those I.O.U.s,

the farmers still felt pretty plundered.

But what mattered to Washington was that it worked.

The Continental Army crawled out of Valley Forge

in much the same condition it had started:

not great, but not dead.

Still both his, and his officers, faith in the Confederation had been shattered.

Washington called it a 'many headed monster that never will nor can steer to the same point.'

He still believed in an independent America,

but he feared that this government would either lose the war or fall apart when peace arrived.

While Washington struggled, another agent of the Confederation Congress pulled through for him.

Benjamin Fraklin had taken a break from his hobby of writing constitutions,

and now served and the U.S. ambassador to France.

Drawing on their mutual hatred of the British,

he convinced the French to become full alies of the United States.

and reinforce Washington's army.

His breakthrough came in the nick of time.

The British had launched a new campaign against the Southern states,

hoping to break the spirit of resistance there.

They crept steadily Northward on a trail of victories,

getting closer and closer to that one recalcitrant state:

Maryland.

By now, every state but Maryland had ratified the Articles of Confederation.

They stood fat in their refusal, but totally alone.

They begged the French for help,

and the French told them to ratify the Articles like a good little state and they would think about it.

With no other options left,

Maryland decided that, Virginia might be a bad neighbor, but, Britain would be worse.

So, they ratified the Articles.

The Confederation Congress FINALLY became official.

And yet, it was already falling apart.

States continued to ignore requests from Congress except when it suited them.

And even then, they never had as much as they were asked to pay.

Realizing that Congress has no real power,

the delegates themselves began to ignore their duties.

Time after time,

meetings of congress had to be disbanded

because over half the delegates simply didn't bother to show up to vote.

Support from the French had helped to keep the Continental Army together, but, they were still starving,

and Congress had no way to raise money to feed them.

Their early methods of funding the army without support from the states had stopped working.

The money they were printing had practically no value,

and the loans they had taken out from citizens and foreign powers

had ballooned into wildly uncontrollable debt.

If the Confederation Congress had any hope of seeing this war to the end,

they needed somebody to get their house in order,

they needed to stabilize their currency,

establish reliable sources of revenue,

and prove to the watching nations of Europe

that they were not a government on the verge of collapse.

They needed a financier.

♫ Music ♫