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# The Articles of Confederation
- URL: https://www.cascadepbs.org/show/the-american-revolution/extras/the-articles-of-confederation-y8op85/
- Published: 2025-11-12T18:00:55.000Z
- Updated: 2026-05-12T20:13:30.000Z
- Description: The Articles were weak by design and left Congress unable to pay soldiers in the Continental Army.
- Author: Cascade PBS Staff
- Tags: The American Revolution, #ZZZ_Show_f16516f8-e9bd-49d8-b49b-96781c68070a, #v1.7, #ZZZ_Extra_f1167872-2afb-4b62-9c3a-b1fe31fb1e93, #extra

It took the Continental Congress 526 days to fashion the Articles of Confederation and another 39 months to ratify them. They were meant to show France the 13 former colonies could work together. But they were also weak and constrained by design, leaving each state more-or-less independent and giving Congress no power to tax. That meant they had no way to pay the soldiers in the Continental Army.