For America250, which document served as the United States’ first national governing framework?

For America250, the Articles of Confederation served as the United States’ first national governing framework.

The Articles were approved by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and became effective after Maryland ratified them on March 1, 1781. They created a “firm league of friendship” among the states and gave Congress responsibility for diplomacy, war, and western territories.

The system deliberately preserved extensive state sovereignty. Congress lacked an independent power to tax individuals, regulate interstate commerce, or easily enforce national decisions. Those weaknesses became more evident after the Revolutionary War, when financial problems and disputes among states encouraged calls for reform.

Delegates meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 produced the Constitution instead of merely amending the Articles. The Constitution replaced the Articles in 1789. The two documents are therefore sequential, not interchangeable: the Declaration announced independence, the Articles organized the first national government, and the Constitution created the current federal framework.