Articles Of Association

A story that may or may not be true: the Articles of Association is the name given to a document semi-related (in a roundabout sort of way) to the structure of U.S. government written just prior the passage of the Articles of Confederation. It consisted of a note from Sam Adams to John Hancock that read "Want to hang out later?" Hancock scrawled "YES!!" real big on the bottom (no one could stop him from writing real big; it wasted a lot of parchment). Roger Sherman saw the note and got jealous. It was a thing: Sherman accused Adams of being "a real phony" and made a rude remark about Hancock's name. For years afterwards, the other founding fathers would taunt Sherman about the outburst, sarcastically referring to the "signing of the Articles of Association," and then refusing to invite him to the tavern. Sherman would brood on this for a long time, but you know what? It got better...

Outside of early American hazing, the term "articles of association" refers to a particular document included in the packet of information a company is required to provide the U.K. government when the firm is being set up. The doc outlines what the company does and details information about how the firm will operate. It frequently includes other information about the general set up of the company, like how stock will be issued, how directors will be appointed and how its finances will recorded.