The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation were first drafted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1777. This first draft was prepared by a man named John Dickinson in 1776. The Articles were then ratified in 1781. The cause for the changes to be made was due to state jealousies and widespread distrust of the central authority. This jealousy then led to the emasculation of …showed first 75 words of 765 total…

…showed last 75 words of 765 total…The delegates' knowledge concerning government, both ideal and practical, made the convention perhaps the most intelligent such gathering ever assembled. On September 17 the Constitution was signed by 39 of the 42 delegates present. A period of national argument followed, during which the case for support of the constitution was strongly presented in the FEDERALIST essays of Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. The last of the 13 states to ratify the Constitution was Rhode Island on May 29, 1790.