5.7.2 Articles of confederation and perpetual union between the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Providence plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South

This is the coversheet of the printed version of the Articles of Confederation. Read the document and consider the question, Who was represented by the document? The title highlights the ideas of “confederation” and “perpetual union. ” Confederation means the joining of many states into one larger political organization. Why was this an important idea for the states during this time? Perpetual means never ending. Why would this idea be part of the title of the document? What does this mean for the states that agreed to the Articles of Confederation?

Teachers may want to highlight for students the process of formal ratification of the document. While the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777, the document then had to be approved by the states. The mobilization of resources and soldiers required that the states join together to fight against the British. However, tensions over land acquisition remained, specifically between Virginia and Maryland over their competing claims to Native American lands and how to integrate these into the confederation. Newly independent states had no desire to maintain the existing treaties and royal boundary line that secured Native title to western lands after the Seven Years’ War. Maryland was the final state to approve the document on March 1, 1781, when the Articles of Confederation were adopted.

Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union Between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia
Williamsburg: Printed by Alexander Purdie