John Dickinson, a delegate from Delaware, was the principal author of the draft of the Articles of Confederation.
Articles of Confederation
As the delegates to the Second Continental Congress were drafting the Declaration of Independence they were also developing a plan for unifying the thirteen colonies to defeat Great Britain. In the summer of 1776, a committee composed of one delegate from each colony drafted the Articles of Confederation, America’s first constitution. Although the document created a weak central government in comparison to the federal government established by the current Constitution, the Articles successfully created a “firm league of friendship” that guided the emerging nation through its fledgling years.