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Congress Of The Confederation




The Congress of the Confederation opened in the midst of the American Revolution . Seven months after it started operations, on October 19 , 1781 , the United States was victorious at the Battle Of Yorktown , which ended military operations in the colonies, although combat would continue in the Ohio Valley and in British colonies throughout the globe.

Two years later, the Treaty Of Paris was signed, which ended the war and gave British recognition to the United States. With very little power and without the external threat of a war against the British, it became more and more difficult to get enough delegates to meet to form a quorum. Nonetheless, even in its dysfunctional state, the Congress still managed to get important agreements passed, such as the Northwest Ordinance . There were enough problems that the Congress called a convention in 1787 to recommend changes to the Articles of Confederation. This convention instead issued a Constitution to replace the Articles. The Congress submitted the Constitution to the states, and the Constitution was ratified by enough states to become operative in September 1788. On September 12 , 1788 , the Congress set the date for choosing the electors for President as January 7 , 1789 , the date for the electors to vote for President as February 4 , 1789 , and the date for the Constitution to become operative as March 4 , 1789 . The Congress of the Confederation continued to conduct business for another month. On October 10 , 1788 , the Congress formed a quorum for the last time; afterwards, although delegates would occasionally appear, there were never enough to conduct business, and so the Congress of Confederation passed into history.


DATES AND PLACES OF SESSIONS


; First Confederation Congress











SEE ALSO



FURTHER READING

  • Edmund C. Burnet;''The Continental Congress''; 1941; 1975 reprint, Greenwood Publishing, ISBN 0837183863.

  • H. James Henderson; ''Party Politics in the Continental Congress''; 1974, McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0070281432; 2002 ''(paperback)'' reprint, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 0819165255.

  • Lynn Montross; ''The Reluctant Rebels; the Story of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789''; 1950, Harper; 1970 reprint, Barnes & Noble, ISBN 038903973X.



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