The committee consisted of one member from each state and was designed to carry out the functions of government while the Congress of the Confederation was in recess.
In the draft of the Articles of Confederation by John Dickinson and the draft committee, this committee was called the Council of State, vested with executive and staff control for commerce, trade, education and issues as delegated by Congress.
A minimum of nine of the thirteen states would have had to vote in favor of delegating any new powers to the council, a model after the various administrative committees set up during the American Revolutionary War.
"[3] This was the only time that the committee was formed, and never had a quorum to carry out its administrative tasks.
[2] The congressional powers that did not require nine votes were: This United States government–related article is a stub.