During the War for Independence (the American Revolution), the United States was run by the Continental Congress.  The Continental Congress was made up of leaders from each state.  The leaders realized that the states needed to have a national (federal) government--a government that ruled over all the states.

The Continental Congress wrote the Articles of Confederation to set up a national government.  In 1781, the states approved it.

The questions you are researching today are...

• How did a federal (central) government begin to take shape after 1776?

• How did the Articles of Confederation distribute power between state governments and the federal government?

DIRECTIONS: Click on the pages below to research the functional (effective) and dysfunctional (ineffective) aspects of the Articles of Confederation.