Congress of the Confederation - wikipedia Congress of the Confederation Not to be confused with Congress of the Confederate States. Congress of the Confederation United States of America The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union Type Type Unicameral Term limits 3 out of 6 years History Established March 1, 1781 Disbanded March 4, 1789 Preceded by Second Continental Congress Succeeded by 1st United States Congress Leadership President of Congress Samuel Huntington ( first ) Cyrus Griffin ( last ) Secretary Charles Thomson Structure Seats Variable ; ~ 50 Committees Committee of the States Committees Committee of the Whole Length of term 3 - 6 years Authority President of Congress Salary None Elections Last election 1788 Meeting place Variable, see below Constitution Articles of Confederation Footnotes Though there were about 50 members of the Congress at a given time, it was the states that cast the votes, so there were effectively only 13 voting members or blocs. This article is part of a series on the United States Continental Congress Predecessors Albany Congress 1754 Stamp Act Congress 1765 1st Continental Congress Declaration and Resolves Continental Association Petition to the King 2nd Continental Congress Olive Branch Petition Committee of Secret Correspondence Necessity of Taking Up Arms Lee Resolution Declaration of Independence Model Treaty Articles of Confederation Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture Congress of the Confederation Bank of North America Land Ordinance of 1784 / of 1785 Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Members List of delegates Presidents of the Continental Congress Secretary of the Continental Congress United States portal The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America that existed from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789. A unicameral body with legislative and executive function, it comprised delegates appointed by the legislatures of the several states. Each state delegation had one vote. It was preceded by the Second Continental Congress ( 1775 -- 1781 ) and governed under the newly adopted Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, which were proposed 1776 -- 1777, adopted by the Continental Congress in July 1778 and finally agreed to by a unanimous vote of all thirteen states by 1781, held up by a long dispute over the cession of western territories beyond the Appalachian Mountains to the central government led by Maryland and a coalition of smaller states without western claims, the plan introduced by Maryland politician John Hanson ; the plan is referred to as ' The Hanson Plan '. The newly reorganized Congress at the time continued to refer itself as the Continental Congress throughout its eight - year history, although modern historians separate it from the earlier bodies, which operated under slightly different rules and procedures until the later part of American Revolutionary War. The membership of the Second Continental Congress automatically carried over to the Congress of the Confederation when the latter was created by the ratification of the Articles of Confederation. It had the same secretary as the Second Continental Congress, namely Charles Thomson. The Congress of the Confederation was succeeded by the Congress of the United States as provided for in the new Constitution of the United States, proposed September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia and ratified by the states through 1787 to 1788 and even into 1789 and 1790. Contents 1 Events 2 Meeting sites 3 Sessions 4 Presidents 5 See also 6 References 6.1 Bibliography 7 External links Events December 23, 1783 : General George Washington Resigning His Commission by John Trumbull The Congress of the Confederation opened in the last stages of the American Revolution. Combat ended in October 1781, with the surrender of the British after the Siege and Battle of Yorktown. The British, however, continued to occupy New York City, while the American delegates in Paris, named by the Congress, negotiated the terms of peace with Great Britain. Based on preliminary articles with the British negotiators made on November 30, 1782, and approved by the `` Congress of the Confederation '' on April 15, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was further signed on September 3, 1783, and ratified by Confederation Congress then sitting at the Maryland State House in Annapolis on January 14, 1784. This formally ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the thirteen former colonies, which on July 4, 1776, had declared independence. In December 1783, General George Washington, commander - in - chief of the Continental Army, journeyed to Annapolis after saying farewell to his officers ( at Fraunces Tavern ) and men who had just reoccupied New York City after the departing British Army. On December 23, at the Maryland State House, where the Congress met in the Old Senate Chamber, he addressed the civilian leaders and delegates of Congress and returned to them the signed commission they had voted him back in June 1775, at the beginning of the conflict. With that simple gesture of acknowledging the first civilian power over the military, he took his leave and returned by horseback the next day to his home and family at Mount Vernon near the colonial river port city on the Potomac River at Alexandria in Virginia. On March 1, 1781, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union were signed by delegates of Maryland at a meeting of the Second Continental Congress, which then declared the Articles ratified. As historian Edmund Burnett wrote, `` There was no new organization of any kind, not even the election of a new President. '' The Congress still called itself the Continental Congress. Nevertheless, despite its being generally the same exact governing body, with some changes in membership over the years as delegates came and went individually according to their own personal reasons and upon instructions of their state governments, some modern historians would later refer to the Continental Congress after the ratification of the Articles as the Congress of the Confederation or the Confederation Congress. ( The Congress itself continued to refer to itself at the time as the Continental Congress. ) The Congress had little power and without the external threat of a war against the British, it became more difficult to get enough delegates to meet to form a quorum. Nonetheless the Congress still managed to pass important laws, most notably the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The War of Independence saddled the country with an enormous debt. In 1784, the total Confederation debt was nearly $40 million. Of that sum, $8 million was owed to the French and Dutch. Of the domestic debt, government bonds, known as loan - office certificates, composed $11.5 million, certificates on interest indebtedness $3.1 million, and continental certificates $16.7 million. The certificates were non-interest bearing notes issued for supplies purchased or impressed, and to pay soldiers and officers. To pay the interest and principal of the debt, Congress had twice proposed an amendment to the Articles granting them the power to lay a 5 % duty on imports, but amendments to the Articles required the consent of all thirteen states : the 1781 impost plan had been rejected by Rhode Island and Virginia, while the revised plan, discussed in 1783, was rejected by New York. Without revenue, except for meager voluntary state requisitions, Congress could not even pay the interest on its outstanding debt. Meanwhile, the states regularly failed, or refused, to meet the requisitions requested of them by Congress. To that end, in September 1786, after resolving a series of disputes regarding their common border along the Potomac River, delegates of Maryland and Virginia called for a larger assembly to discuss various situations and governing problems to meet at the Maryland state capital on the Chesapeake Bay. The later Annapolis Convention with some additional state representatives joining in the sessions first attempted to look into improving the earlier original Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. There were enough problems to bear further discussion and deliberation that the Convention called for a wider meeting to recommend changes and meet the next year in the late Spring of 1787 in Philadelphia. The Confederation Congress itself endorsed the Call and issued one on its own further inviting the states to send delegates. After meeting in secret all summer in the Old Pennsylvania State House now having acquired the nickname and new title of Independence Hall, from the famous action here eleven years earlier. The Philadelphia Convention, under the presidency of former General George Washington instead of a series of amendments, or altering the old charter, issued a proposed new Constitution for the United States to replace the 1776 -- 1778 Articles. The Confederation Congress received and submitted the new Constitution document to the states, and the Constitution was later ratified by enough states ( nine were required ) to become operative in June 1788. On September 12, 1788, the Confederation Congress set the date for choosing the new Electors in the Electoral College that was set up for choosing a President as January 7, 1789, the date for the Electors to vote for the President as on February 4, 1789, and the date for the Constitution to become operative as March 4, 1789, when the new Congress of the United States should convene, and that they at a later date set the time and place for the Inauguration of the new first President of the United States. The Congress of the Confederation continued to conduct business for another month after setting the various dates. On October 10, 1788, the Congress formed a quorum for the last time ; afterwards, although delegates would occasionally appear, there were never enough to officially conduct business, and so the Congress of Confederation passed into history. The last meeting of the Continental Congress was held March 2, 1789, two days before the new Constitutional government took over ; only one member was present at said meeting, Philip Pell, an ardent Anti-Federalist and opponent of the Constitution, who was accompanied by the Congressional secretary. Pell oversaw the meeting and adjourned the Congress sine die. Meeting sites Rather than having a fixed capital, the Congress of the Confederation met in numerous locations which may be considered United States capitals. The Congress of the Confederation initially met at the Old Pennsylvania State House ( Independence Hall ), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ( March 1, 1781 to June 21, 1783 ). -- It then met at Nassau Hall, in Princeton, New Jersey ( June 30, 1783 to November 4, 1783 ), -- at the Maryland State House, in Annapolis, Maryland ( November 26, 1783 to August 19, 1784 ), -- at the French Arms Tavern, in Trenton, New Jersey ( November 1, 1784 to December 24, 1784 ), -- and the City Hall of New York ( later known as Federal Hall ), and in New York City, New York ( January 11, 1785 to Autumn 1788 ). Sessions First Confederation Congress March 1, 1781 -- November 3, 1781, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Second Confederation Congress November 5, 1781 -- November 2, 1782, Philadelphia Third Confederation Congress See also : Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 November 4, 1782 -- June 21, 1783, Philadelphia June 30, 1783 -- November 1, 1783, Princeton, New Jersey Fourth Confederation Congress November 3, 1783 -- November 4, 1783, Princeton Fifth Confederation Congress November 26, 1783 -- June 3, 1784, Annapolis, Maryland Sixth Confederation Congress November 1, 1784 -- December 24, 1784, Trenton, New Jersey January 11, 1785 -- November 4, 1785, New York, New York Seventh Confederation Congress November 7, 1785 -- November 3, 1786, New York Eighth Confederation Congress November 6, 1786 -- October 30, 1787, New York Ninth Confederation Congress November 5, 1787 -- October 21, 1788, New York Tenth Confederation Congress November 3, 1788 -- March 2, 1789, New York Presidents Further information : President of the Continental Congress Under the Articles of Confederation, the presiding officer of Congress -- referred to in many official records as President of the United States in Congress Assembled -- chaired the Committee of the States when Congress was in recess, and performed other administrative functions. He was not, however, an executive in the way the later President of the United States is a chief executive, since all of the functions he executed were under the direct control of Congress. There were 10 presidents of Congress under the Articles. The first, Samuel Huntington, had been serving as president of the Continental Congress since September 28, 1779. President State Term Samuel Huntington Connecticut 01 ! March 1, 1781 -- July 10, 1781 Thomas McKean Delaware 02 ! July 10, 1781 -- November 5, 1781 John Hanson Maryland 03 ! November 5, 1781 -- November 4, 1782 Elias Boudinot New Jersey 04 ! November 4, 1782 -- November 3, 1783 Thomas Mifflin Pennsylvania 05 ! November 3, 1783 -- June 3, 1784 Richard Henry Lee Virginia 06 ! November 30, 1784 -- November 4, 1785 John Hancock Massachusetts 07 ! November 23, 1785 -- June 5, 1786 Nathaniel Gorham Massachusetts 08 ! June 6, 1786 -- November 3, 1786 Arthur St. Clair Pennsylvania 09 ! February 2, 1787 -- November 4, 1787 Cyrus Griffin Virginia 10 ! January 22, 1788 -- November 15, 1788 See also America 's Critical Period Committee of the States History of the United States ( 1776 -- 1789 ) List of delegates to the Continental Congress References Jump up ^ `` Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774 -- 1789 '', Edited by Worthington C. Ford et al. 34 vols. Washington, D.C. : Government Printing Office, 1904 -- 37. Jump up ^ `` Confederation Congress ''. Ohio Historical Society. Retrieved October 23, 2010. Jump up ^ See : Peace of Paris ( 1783 ) # Treaty with the United States of America. Jump up ^ Proposed Amendments to the Articles of Confederation Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774 -- 1789. Edited by Worthington C. Ford et al. 34 vols. Washington, D.C. : Government Printing Office, 1904 -- 37. 31 : 494 -- 98 Jump up ^ The Nine Capitals of the United States. United States Senate Historical Office. Accessed June 9, 2005. Based on Fortenbaugh, Robert, `` The Nine Capitals of the United States '', York, Pa. : Maple Press, 1948. See : List of capitals in the United States # Former national capitals. Jump up ^ Jensen, Merrill ( 1959 ). The Articles of Confederation : An Interpretation of the Social - Constitutional History of the American Revolution, 1774 -- 1781. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 178 -- 179. ISBN 978 - 0 - 299 - 00204 - 6. Bibliography Burnett, Edmund C. `` The Continental Congress ''. Greenwood Publishing. ISBN 0 - 8371 - 8386 - 3. Henderson, H. James. `` Party Politics in the Continental Congress ''. Boston : Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0 - 8191 - 6525 - 5. Jensen, Merrill ( 1950 ). `` New Nation : A History of the United States During the Confederation, 1781 -- 1789 ''. New York : Knopf. McLaughlin, Andrew C. ( 1935 ). `` A Constitutional History of the United States ''. ISBN 978 - 1 - 931313 - 31 - 5. Montross, Lynn. `` The Reluctant Rebels ; the Story of the Continental Congress, 1774 -- 1789 ''. New York : Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0 - 389 - 03973 - X. Morris, Richard B. ( 1987 ). `` The Forging of the Union, 1781 -- 1789 ''. New York : Harper & Row. ISBN 0 - 06 - 091424 - 6. Morris, Richard B. ( 1956 ). `` The Confederation Period and the American Historian ''. William and Mary Quarterly. 13 ( 2 ) : 139 -- 156. doi : 10.2307 / 1920529. JSTOR 1920529. Rakove, Jack N. ( 1979 ). `` The Beginnings of National Politics : An Interpretive History of the Continental Congress ''. New York : Knopf. ISBN 0 - 394 - 42370 - 4. External links Major documents from the Congress, including journals, letters, debates, via Library of Congress Wikimedia Commons has media related to Continental Congress. Journals of the Continental Congress 1774 - 1789 Preceded by Second Continental Congress Legislature of the United States March 1, 1781 -- March 4, 1789 Succeeded by United States Congress Government of the United States under the Articles of Confederation Congresses 1st Continental Congress 2nd Continental Congress The US in Congress Assembled Delegates Committee of the States Congressional Officers President Secretary Civil Offices / Officers Postmaster General Superintendent of Finance / Agent of the Marine Secretary at War Secretary of Foreign Affairs Court of Appeals Military Board of War Continental Army Commander in Chief Continental Navy Continental Marines Historical documents of the United States Constitution Preamble & Articles Preamble II III IV V VI VII Amendments Ratified 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Pending Congressional Apportionment Titles of Nobility Corwin ( State Domestic Institutions ) Child Labor Unsuccessful Equal Rights District of Columbia Voting Rights See also List of Constitutional Amendments Bill of Rights ( Amendments 1 -- 10 ) Reconstruction Amendments ( Amendments 13 -- 15 ) Amendment proposals in Congress Conventions to propose amendments State ratifying conventions Formation History Articles of Confederation Mount Vernon Conference Annapolis Convention Philadelphia Convention Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan Connecticut Compromise Three - Fifths Compromise Committee of Detail Signing Independence Hall Syng inkstand The Federalist Papers Anti-Federalist Papers Massachusetts Compromise Virginia Ratifying Convention Hillsborough Convention Drafting and ratification timeline Clauses Appointments Appropriations Assistance of Counsel Bill of credit Case or Controversy Citizenship Commerce Compact Compulsory Process Confrontation Contract Copyright and Patent Double Jeopardy Due Process Equal Protection Establishment Exceptions Excessive Bail Ex post facto Extradition Free Exercise Free Speech Fugitive Slave Full Faith and Credit General Welfare Guarantee Impeachment Import - Export Ineligibility ( Emolument ) Militia Natural - born citizen Necessary and Proper New States No Religious Test Oath or Affirmation Origination Petition Postal Presentment Privileges and Immunities Privileges or Immunities Recommendation Self - Incrimination Speech or Debate Speedy Trial State of the Union Supremacy Suspension Take Care Takings Taxing and Spending Territorial Title of Nobility Treaty Trial by Jury Vesting Vicinage War Powers List of clauses Interpretation Concurrent powers Congressional enforcement Constitutional law Criminal procedure Criminal sentencing Dormant Commerce Clause Enumerated powers Equal footing Executive privilege Incorporation of the Bill of Rights Judicial review Nondelegation doctrine Preemption Saxbe fix Separation of church and state Separation of powers Taxation power Unitary executive theory Signatories Convention President George Washington New Hampshire John Langdon Nicholas Gilman Massachusetts Nathaniel Gorham Rufus King Connecticut William Samuel Johnson Roger Sherman New York Alexander Hamilton New Jersey William Livingston David Brearley William Paterson Jonathan Dayton Pennsylvania Benjamin Franklin Thomas Mifflin Robert Morris George Clymer Thomas Fitzsimons Jared Ingersoll James Wilson Gouverneur Morris Delaware George Read Gunning Bedford Jr. John Dickinson Richard Bassett Jacob Broom Maryland James McHenry Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Daniel Carroll Virginia John Blair James Madison North Carolina William Blount Richard Dobbs Spaight Hugh Williamson South Carolina John Rutledge Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Charles Pinckney Pierce Butler Georgia William Few Abraham Baldwin Convention Secretary William Jackson Display and legacy National Archives Charters of Freedom Rotunda Independence Mall Constitution Day Constitution Gardens National Constitution Center Scene at the Signing of the Constitution ( painting ) A More Perfect Union ( film ) Worldwide influence Declaration of Independence Primary author Thomas Jefferson Signatories President of Congress John Hancock ( Massachusetts ) New Hampshire Josiah Bartlett William Whipple Matthew Thornton Massachusetts Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Elbridge Gerry Rhode Island Stephen Hopkins William Ellery Connecticut Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington William Williams Oliver Wolcott New York William Floyd Philip Livingston Francis Lewis Lewis Morris New Jersey Richard Stockton John Witherspoon Francis Hopkinson John Hart Abraham Clark Pennsylvania Robert Morris Benjamin Rush Benjamin Franklin John Morton George Clymer James Smith George Taylor James Wilson George Ross Delaware George Read Caesar Rodney Thomas McKean Maryland Samuel Chase William Paca Thomas Stone Charles Carroll of Carrollton Virginia George Wythe Richard Henry Lee Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Harrison Thomas Nelson Jr. Francis Lightfoot Lee Carter Braxton North Carolina William Hooper Joseph Hewes John Penn South Carolina Edward Rutledge Thomas Heyward Jr. Thomas Lynch Jr. Arthur Middleton Georgia Button Gwinett Lyman Hall George Walton See also Virginia Declaration of Rights Lee Resolution Committee of Five Document 's history signing portrait Second Continental Congress `` All men are created equal '' `` Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness '' `` Consent of the governed '' Independence Hall Syng inkstand American Revolution Articles of Confederation Signatories Primary drafter John Dickinson New Hampshire Josiah Bartlett John Wentworth Jr. Massachusetts John Hancock Samuel Adams Elbridge Gerry Francis Dana James Lovell Samuel Holten Rhode Island William Ellery Henry Marchant John Collins Connecticut Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington Oliver Wolcott Titus Hosmer Andrew Adams New York James Duane Francis Lewis William Duer Gouverneur Morris New Jersey John Witherspoon Nathaniel Scudder Pennsylvania Robert Morris Daniel Roberdeau Jonathan Bayard Smith William Clingan Joseph Reed Delaware Thomas McKean John Dickinson Nicholas Van Dyke Maryland John Hanson Daniel Carroll Virginia Richard Henry Lee John Banister Thomas Adams John Harvie Francis Lightfoot Lee North Carolina John Penn Cornelius Harnett John Williams South Carolina Henry Laurens William Henry Drayton John Mathews Richard Hutson Thomas Heyward Jr. Georgia John Walton Edward Telfair Edward Langworthy See also Continental Congress Congress of the Confederation American Revolution Perpetual Union Continental Association Signatories President of Congress Peyton Randolph New Hampshire John Sullivan Nathaniel Folsom Massachusetts Bay Thomas Cushing Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Rhode Island Stephen Hopkins Samuel Ward Connecticut Eliphalet Dyer Roger Sherman Silas Deane New York Isaac Low John Alsop John Jay James Duane Philip Livingston William Floyd Henry Wisner Simon Boerum New Jersey James Kinsey William Livingston Stephen Crane Richard Smith John De Hart Pennsylvania Joseph Galloway John Dickinson Charles Humphreys Thomas Mifflin Edward Biddle John Morton George Ross The Lower Counties Caesar Rodney Thomas McKean George Read Maryland Matthew Tilghman Thomas Johnson, Junr William Paca Samuel Chase Virginia Richard Henry Lee George Washington Patrick Henry, Junr Richard Bland Benjamin Harrison Edmund Pendleton North Carolina William Hooper Joseph Hewes Richard Caswell South Carolina Henry Middleton Thomas Lynch Christopher Gadsden John Rutledge Edward Rutledge See also Virginia Association First Continental Congress Carpenters ' Hall Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress Location of the capital of the United States and predecessors 1774 First Continental Congress Philadelphia 1775 -- 81 Second Continental Congress Philadelphia → Baltimore → Lancaster → York → Philadelphia 1781 -- 89 Congress of the Confederation Philadelphia → Princeton → Annapolis → Trenton → New York City 1789 -- present Federal government of the United States New York City → Philadelphia → Washington, D.C. Pennsylvania during the American Revolutionary War 1774 First Continental Congress Articles of Association 1775 Independence Hall Second Continental Congress 1776 United States Declaration of Independence Pennsylvania Constitution Washington Crosses the Delaware 1777 Articles of Confederation Philadelphia campaign Battle of Brandywine Battle of the Clouds Liberty Bell moved to Allentown Battle of Paoli Battle of Germantown Siege of Fort Mifflin Battle of White Marsh Battle of Matson 's Ford Valley Forge 1778 Battle of Crooked Billet Battle of Barren Hill British occupation of Philadelphia ends Wyoming Valley battle and massacre 1781 Congress of the Confederation Mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line 1783 1783 Mutiny Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Congress_of_the_Confederation&oldid=832752139 '' Categories : Continental Congress History of the United States ( 1776 -- 89 ) History of the United States government 1780s in the United States 1781 establishments in the United States 1789 disestablishments in the United States Defunct unicameral legislatures History of New York City History of Philadelphia History of Trenton, New Jersey Pennsylvania in the American Revolution Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from April 2011 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Esperanto Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Português Română Русский Tiếng Việt 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 27 March 2018, at 20 : 19. 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Question: where did congress meet under the articles of confederation
Answer: the Maryland State House