445 How Independence Happened, Pt 3: The Articles of Confederation

The man Congress chose to draft the United States’ first constitution refused to vote for independence. John Dickinson wrote a bold plan, one with a strong central government, religious liberty protections that included women, and a question in the margins about whether Congress should abolish slavery. Congress stripped out nearly all of these ideas and provisions. What replaced it sparked a debate over federal vs. state power that has never gone away. This is the third episode in our How Independence Happened series. In Part 1, we explored Richard Henry Lee's Virginia Resolution of June 7, 1776. In Part 2, we examined the Model Treaty and how the new United States made foreign alliances. In this third part, we're joined by historians Jane Calvert and Jonathan Gienapp so we can investigate the Articles of Confederation, the third element of independence. Jane's Website | Book Jonathan's Website | Book Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/445 EPISODE OUTLINE 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:34 The Articles of Confederation 00:08:29 Why A Confederation Was Important 00:12:49 Why the Second Continental Congress Create A Formal Union 00:21:44 Drafting the Articles of Confederation 00:22:38 John Dickinson's Role in Drafting the Articles 00:45:50 The Founding Generation's Ideas About Government 01:05:40 Viewing the Articles of Confederation in Context 01:13:07 The Unwritten Constitution of the People RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 179: Governance During the Critical Period 🎧 Episode 258: John Dickinson, Life, Religion, & Politics 🎧 Episode 323: American Expansion and the Political Economy of Plunder 🎧 Episode 366: James Wilson & the U.S. Constitution 🎧 Episode 443: How Independence Happened, Pt 1: The Lee Resolution 🎧 Episode 444: How Independence Happened, Pt 2: The Model Treaty SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community 🌍 Join the History Explorers Club TAKE THE QUIZ 🧭 Discover How You Explore History (under 2 minutes) 👉 https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/quiz LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz’s Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices