Thirteen States Signed The Articles of Confederation

• Maryland was the last state to sign.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  A delay in the ratification of the Articles lasting more than three years was the result of one state, Maryland, holding out until New York and Virginia ceded claims in the Ohio River Valley. The final paragraph of the document states: "The aforesaid articles of confederation were finally ratified on the first day of March 1781; the state of Maryland having, by their Members in Congress, on that day acceded thereto, and completed the fame." The states that ratified the Articles were New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
  
  

The Articles of Confederation Were Not Strong Enough

• The United States Constitution replaced The Articles of Confederation.Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
  
  Stated in Article II: "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right..." The creation of this document resulted in the 13 states forming a loose confederation. However, the central government was weak because most of the power was still with the individual states. There were problems with that structure, however, and the United States Constitution granted central government stronger powers eight years after the Articles were ratified.
  
  

The Articles Established Extradition Between The States

• Governors were given power to request extradition.Hemera Technologies/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  In creating a form of extradition between the states, Article IV decreed that "if any person guilty of, or charged with, treason, felony, or other high misdemeanor in any of the states" fled and was subsequently found in another state, "upon demand of the Governor or executive power of the State from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the State having jurisdiction of his offense." Simply put, the governor or other executive power of the state where the crime was committed could demand the alleged perpetrator be returned.
  
  

The Articles Set Rules for War Costs, Treaties, Confederations and Alliances

• States were to share in costs of war.Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  According to Article VI, "no two or more states could enter into any treaty, confederation or alliance between them, without the consent of the 'United States in Congress' assembled." Article VIII states "if there is a war voted on by Congress for the common defense of the states, or to ensure the welfare of one or more of the states, the costs are paid out of a common treasury." The amount of land and value of improvements within individual states determined the amount of each state's contribution to that treasury.
  
  

Canada Was Also Entitled To The Advantages

• Canada was covered under The Articles of Confederation.Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  Article XI states: "Canada acceding to this confederation, and adjoining in the measures of the United States, shall be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages of this Union." Plainly stated, as long as Canada agreed to everything in the Articles of Confederation, it would enjoy the same rights as the states that formed the Union. Article XI also states that no other colony could be admitted unless nine states were in agreement.