III.

Independence

The principal business of the Continental Congress was to direct the Revolutionary War and to preserve the union formed by the 13 colonies. Not until November 15, 1777, did the delegates finally agree on the Articles of Confederation, which codified their procedures and stipulated their powers. The states, fearful of central authority and of one another, did not unanimously consent to the document for more than three years. When Maryland, the last to ratify, approved the Articles of Confederation on March 1, 1781, the Continental Congress was replaced by the Congress of the Confederation.

In 1782-1783 emissaries of Congress negotiated the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain, securing British recognition of U.S. independence. With its primary goal accomplished, the Congress began to forfeit power to the state governments. Had it not been for proponents of a strong central government, such as James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, Congress might have become inconsequential. These insurgent nationalists took advantage of the sense of crisis created by Shays' Rebellion to press for a thorough revision of the articles. The result was the Constitutional Convention, held in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. With the adoption of the United States Constitution in 1789, the Congress of the Confederation was succeeded by the present U.S. Congress.