Editing Second Continental Congress (section)

== Government in Exile ==

The British capture of Philadelphia in September 1777 forced Congress to flee the city, beginning a period of itinerant government that would last until the war's end. Congress relocated first to Lancaster, then to York, Pennsylvania, where it remained until the British evacuation of Philadelphia in June 1778. The experience of government in exile was difficult and sometimes dispiriting, but it also demonstrated that the Congress could function apart from any particular location. The legitimacy of the revolutionary government rested not on possession of Philadelphia but on the continued allegiance of the states and the success of the Continental Army.<ref name="burnett">{{cite book |last=Burnett |first=Edmund Cody |title=The Continental Congress |year=1941 |publisher=Macmillan |location=New York}}</ref>

During the York exile, Congress completed and submitted the Articles of Confederation to the states for ratification. The Articles, drafted primarily by John Dickinson in 1776-1777, formalized the structure of the Continental Congress as a permanent government while carefully limiting its powers. The states retained sovereignty over most matters, with Congress possessing authority primarily over foreign affairs and war. The Articles required unanimous state approval for ratification, a process that would not be completed until 1781 due to disputes over western land claims. In the meantime, the Continental Congress continued to govern without formal constitutional authority, a situation that reflected both the revolutionary origins of the government and the mutual trust that sustained it.<ref name="rakove"/>