Creating a Republican Executive

This chapter refers to the Articles of Confederation, which governed the new United States until the adoption of the Constitution in 1788. It elaborates how the national government had no executive branch, only a Congress and a tiny judiciary for maritime cases under the Articles of Confederation. It also talks about executive functions that were carried out by Congress, committees of Congress, or ministers appointed by and accountable to Congress. The chapter recounts the development of a new constitution that includes a real executive by the late 1780s. It mentions the framers, who had long experience in colonial legislatures, making it relatively easy for them to draft a practical scheme for the legislative branch.