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The Treaty of Paris was signed by U.S and British Representatives on September 3,1783, ending the American Revolution. Based on a 1782 preliminary treaty, the agreement recognized U.S. independence and created its borders.

The Articles of Confederation were the first constitution of the United States of America and legally established the Union of the States. The Second Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft the articles in June 1776 and sent the draft to the states for approval in November, 1777. The approval process was completed in March, 1781 legally joining the colonies to form the "United States of America". Under the Articles, the states kept independence over all governmental functions not specifically given to the central government.



​ The Articles of Confederation, the first official government of the United States had many serious weaknesses. 1) Under the Articles there was only a unicameral legislature so that there was no separation of powers. 2) The central government under the Articles was too weak since the majority of the power rested with the states. 3) Congress, under the Articles, did not have the power to tax which meant that they could never put their finances in order. 4) In order to change or amend the Articles, unanimous approval of the states was required which essentially meant that changes to the Articles were impossible. 5) For any major laws to pass they had to be approved by 9 or the 13 states which proved difficult to do so that even the normal business of running a government was difficult. 6) Under the Articles, Congress did not have the power to regulate commerce which will cause competition between states as well as diplomatic issues,