Articles of Confederation
The first postcolonial government of the colonies, the Articles of Confederation grew directly out of the exigencies of war. When the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, most Americans still considered themselves to be English citizens. Indeed, in responding negatively to various taxes enacted by the British Parliament, colonists thought they were upholding their rights as English citizens to "no taxation without representation." The First Continental Congress, which met in 1774, and the Second Continental Congress, which began meeting in 1775, were not intended as a new form of government but a way of collecting colonial grievances and sending them to the English king. As George III proved no more willing than the British Parliament to back down from British policies, and as Thomas Paine undermined the idea of kingly rule and hereditary succession in his Common Sense (published in January 1776), the colonies inched closer to Revolution. This step was ultimately taken with the proclamation of independence in July 1776.
The Writing and Adoption of the Articles of Confederation
At the same time that the Second Continental Congress appointed a committee to write the Declaration of Independence, it also appointed committees to seek foreign allies and to draw up a form of government.
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