The Articles of Confederation became effective as the first U.S. national governing framework in 1781.
The Articles were finalized by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, but they required ratification by every state. Maryland was the last state to approve them, doing so on February 2, 1781. Congress announced that the Articles were in force on March 1, 1781.
The Articles created a confederation in which the states retained extensive sovereignty. Congress could conduct foreign affairs, declare war, and manage western territories, but it could not impose taxes directly or regulate interstate commerce. It therefore depended heavily on state cooperation for money and supplies.
The system helped coordinate the final years of the Revolutionary War and the early republic, but its weaknesses contributed to calls for a stronger national government. The Constitution replaced the Articles’ government in 1789. The transition was therefore not an immediate consequence of independence, but a later restructuring of the union.