Articles of Confederation - Doomed From the Start

This week I talk about the first draft in United States Government - the Articles of Confederation. Banded together in their quest to defeat the British, the colonies established a basic framework to formalize their current power structure. Nervous about centralizing power, the framers were focused on vesting as much authority as possible into the individual states. However, a series of events known as Shays Rebellion helped put into focus just why a centralized government would be needed if the republic was going to remain standing. Sources Used This Episode:The Quartet by Joseph EllisonYou Don't Know Much About History by Kenneth C DavisThe John Dickinson Draft of the Articles of Confederation by Jane E Calvert, The Panorama (LINK)Support the show