Articles of Confederation

American  

[ahr-ti-kuhlz uhv kuhn-fed-uh-rey-shuhn] / ˈɑr tɪ kəlz əv kənˌfɛd əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. the first constitution of the 13 American states, adopted in 1781 and replaced in 1789 by the Constitution of the United States.

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Articles of Confederation British  

plural noun

1. the agreement made by the original 13 states in 1777 establishing a confederacy to be known as the United States of America; replaced by the Constitution of 1788

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Articles of Confederation Cultural  

1. An agreement among the thirteen original states, approved in 1781, that provided a loose federal government before the present Constitution went into effect in 1789. There was no chief executive or judiciary, and the legislature of the Confederation had no authority to collect taxes.

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Example Sentences

He signed the Articles of Confederation in 1777, befriended Hamilton, and served as his top Treasury assistant.

From Barron's • Mar. 1, 2026

Over the next several years, these new states finalized a unifying treaty called the Articles of Confederation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 4, 2025

Yet while the drafters of the Constitution were suspicious of military power, they also understood that the national government created by the Articles of Confederation was too weak and couldn’t respond effectively to a crisis.

From Salon • Jul. 11, 2025

When the Constitution was officially adopted in 1789, it replaced the Articles of Confederation and significantly strengthened the country’s central governmental authority.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Distressed by the political disarray in the state governments in the 1780s and the congenital weakness of the Articles of Confederation, Madison had helped mobilize the movement for the Constitutional Convention.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis