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Confederation
| Federalism |
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| •Key terms • Court cases •Major arguments • State responses to federal mandates • Federalism by the numbers • Index of articles about federalism |
A confederation is a group of sovereign states that agree to unify in pursuit of shared goals or actions. Confederations are often formed to address issues like defense, international relations, currency, and trade under a single central government.[1]
The U.S. was a confederation under the Articles of Confederation between 1781-1789. The U.S. became a federation in 1789 under the Constitution.[1]
Background
The United States has maintained stronger distinctions between confederations and federations as political concepts even though the words have the same etymology.[2] In confederations, the ties between the members are weaker. For example, the states that seceded from the United States before the Civil War formed a confederation that opposed the federal union.[2]
Confederation came to refer to unions of sovereign states emphasizing the autonomy of the members while federations implied a stronger central government.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
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