NewCountryMeans
NewGovernment
You cannot run a country successfully without
a government. While the American colonies were
fighting for their independence fromEngland in
1776, the Second Continental Congress selected
a committee to draft the plan for a new
government. Thus, leaders of the Second
Continental Congress were busy directing the
American Revolution and writing a plan of
government for their new country.
Debated for one year, this new plan of
government was called the
Articles of
Confederation.
The Articles of Confederation
was the first constitution of our country. It
contained 13 articles, or sections, describing
the duties of the national government. The word
confederation
means a group of states united for
a common purpose.
At this point, let’s take a side trip into how our
country obtained the name United States of
America. Our story begins in the late 1490s and
early 1500s when an Italianmapmaker by the
name of
Amerigo Vespucci
explored the coast of
what is now known as South America. At this time,
Europeans thought that this land was part of Asia.
Vespucci was the first person to suggest that this
land was a different continent. Using Vespucci’s
information, Germanmapmaker
Martin
Waldseemuller
first used the word America in his
1507 collection of maps to honor Vespucci’s trips.
The label stuck and became popular. Later, when
the Europeans realized there was a continent to
the north, it was natural to separate the Americas
into North and South.
KEY
WORDS
confederation
stile
delegates
refugees
compromise
ratified
amendments
KEY
PEOPLE
Amerigo Vespucci
MartinWaldseemuller
Gouverneur Morris
Ben Franklin
James Madison
Roger Sherman
Oliver Ellsworth
KEY
DOCUMENTS
Articles of
Confederation
U.S. Constitution
Bill of Rights
KEY
PLACES&EVENTS
Philadelphia
York
Constitutional
Convention
AN
EW
N
ATION
E
MERGES
LESSON
12
F
OCUS
Q
UESTIONS
1. What was the first plan of
government for the United States?
2. Why was this first plan of
government unsuccessful?
3. What role did Pennsylvania
play in forming the Constitution
of the United States?
The wordAmerica comes from the 16th century Italian
explorer andmapmaker Amerigo Vespucci. AGerman
mapmaker first used the termAmerica in 1507 to
honor the trips of Vespucci.
54
Understanding Pennsylvania
