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85 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 397 (2017)
A Concise Guide to the Articles of Confederation as a Source for Determining the Original Meaning of the Constitution

handle is hein.journals/gwlr85 and id is 425 raw text is: A Concise Guide to the Articles of Confederation as a Source for Determining the Original Meaning of the Constitution Gregory E. Maggs* ABSTRACT Judges and scholars often refer to the Articles of Confederation when making claims about the original meaning of the United States Constitution. To help readers understand and evaluate such claims, this piece describes the formation and content of the Articles of Confederation and explains four ways in which the Articles may provide evidence of the original meaning of the Constitution. The two appendices to this piece contain an annotated copy of the Articles of Confederation and a table linking provisions of the Constitu- tion to their antecedents in the Articles. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................... 398 I. OVERVIEW OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION ..... 401 A. The Continental and Confederation Congresses ..... 401 B. Key Sources for Research Concerning the Articles of Confederation ....................................... 403 C. Description of the Articles of Confederation ........ 406 D. Drafting the Articles of Confederation .............. 409 E. Approval and Ratification ........................... 411 F. Successes and Shortcomings ......................... 414 G. Replacement by the Constitution .................... 417 II. DEFINITIONS OF ORIGINAL MEANING ................... 418 III. FOUR WAYS OF USING THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION TO MAKE CLAIMS ABOUT THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF THE CONSTITUTION ............ 420 A. Claims Based on a Comparison of the Text of the Constitution to the Text Used in the Articles of Confederation ....................................... 420 * Professor of the Law, The George Washington University Law School. The Author thanks the Law School for its generous financial support and is grateful to his research assistant, Mr. Frank Chang, for improving the Article in many ways. March 2017 Vol. 85 No. 2

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