who argued that the articles of confederation were too weak
Articles of Confederation The Continental Congress, before the Articles were approved, had promised soldiers a pension of half pay for life. However Congress had no power to compel the states to fund this obligation, and as the war wound down after the victory at Yorktown the sense of urgency to support the military was no longer a factor. No progress was made in Congress during the winter of 1783â€“84. General Henry Knox, who would later become the first Secretary of War under the Constitution, blamed the weaknesses of the Articles for the inability of the government to fund the army. The army had long been supportive of a strong union.[18] Knox wrote:
American Revolution The Continental Army forced the British out of Boston in 1776, but the British captured and held New York City for the duration of the war. The British blockaded ports and captured other cities for brief periods, but they failed to defeat Washington's forces. The Patriots unsuccessfully attempted to invade Canada during the winter of 1775–76, but they captured a British army at the Battle of Saratoga in late 1777, and the French entered the war as allies of the United States as a result. The war later turned to the American South where the British under the leadership of Charles Cornwallis captured an army at South Carolina but failed to enlist enough volunteers from Loyalist civilians to take effective control of the territory. A combined American–French force captured a second British army at Yorktown in 1781, effectively ending the war in the United States. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 formally ended the conflict, confirming the new nation's complete separation from the British Empire. The United States took possession of nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, with the British retaining control of Canada and Spain taking Florida.
Battles of Trenton and Princeton They are noted as the first successes won by Washington in the open field. They put new life into the American cause, and established Washington in the confidence of his troops and the country at large.[1]
United States Congress The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the Federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives.