For America's 250th anniversary, which document replaced the Articles of Confederation as the U.S. governing framework?

The United States Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation as the U.S. governing framework.

The Articles created the first national government of the United States, but they gave Congress limited powers and no independent executive branch. Financial problems, interstate disputes, and concerns about national defense encouraged leaders to seek a stronger system.

Delegates met in Philadelphia in 1787 and signed the Constitution on September 17 of that year. The new framework established the federal government’s legislative, executive, and judicial branches and divided authority between the national government and the states. The Constitution did not replace the Declaration of Independence; the Declaration announced independence in 1776, while the Constitution organized the government that followed. That distinction helps place both documents within the long historical arc celebrated by America250.