New Jersey Agrees to Articles of Confederation
- When
- 1778
- Where
- New Jersey
- Episodes
- 1
On November 26, 1778, New Jersey signed the Articles of Confederation, becoming the second state to ratify the document, following Virginia's ratification of December 16, 1777. The Articles had been finalized by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777 and submitted to the states for ratification in late November 1777.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, served as the first constitution of the United States during the American Revolution. The Second Continental Congress finalized the document on November 15, 1777, and submitted it to the states for ratification in late November 1777. Virginia was the first state to ratify, doing so on December 16, 1777.
Ratification Sequence. Congress began the signing process by examining its copy of the Articles on June 27, 1778. Georgia signed on July 24, 1778, and New Jersey followed on November 26, 1778, making it the second state to agree to the Articles. Delaware signed on February 12, 1779. Twelve states had ratified by February 1779, fourteen months into the process.
Completion of Ratification. The Articles came into force on March 1, 1781, after all thirteen states had ratified. Maryland, the final state, ratified on February 2, 1781, and its two delegates completed the confirmation signing in Philadelphia at noon that day.
People involved
- Second Continental Congress · Body that finalized the Articles and managed the ratification process
- New Jersey · Second state to agree to the Articles of Confederation
Sources
- Articles of Confederation Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-30
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.