Understanding the Articles of Confederation

Children's Literature - Jodie Peters

On July 4, 1776, the leaders of the thirteen colonies officially broke ties with Britain to form a new country called the United States of America. This book explains the process that the colonists and leaders went through as they formed rules for the new union. The Articles of Confederation is described the imperfect starting point for the rules that would run the country. The book includes a review of how the colonies broke away from British rule, including the Boston Tea Party, the first battle in the American Revolution, and Jefferson's writing of the Declaration of Independence. Because the states wanted to form a nation and raise money for their government, the development of the Articles of Confederation began. This was an attempt to unite the states without each state giving up too much power to the national government. The state leaders soon realized the difficulty of joining states that lived differently, especially those with very different views about slavery. After a year, the states worked to approve the Articles. After the large states decided to give up their land settlements to the government so that new states could be formed, the document was accepted on March 1, 1781. Although this was a starting point for the new nation, many problems remained. Eventually, the nation's leaders realized that the initial document could not be fixed and met at the Constitutional Convention to create a new constitution. This book is a part of the "Documenting Early America" series. It is beneficial for early readers or English second language learners learning about American history. Reviewer: Jodie Peters