On what date did Congress finalize the Articles of Confederation during the American Revolution?

Congress finalized the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777.

The Articles were the first constitution and governing framework of the United States. The Second Continental Congress debated them from July 1776 through November 1777, while the Revolutionary War continued and Congress moved between threatened cities in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

The document created a confederation in which the states retained substantial sovereignty. Congress had important responsibilities, including diplomacy, war, and western territories, but it lacked several powers later granted to the federal government by the Constitution, including a general power to tax.

The Articles did not become effective immediately after finalization. Maryland's ratification resolved the last state objection, allowing the Articles to take effect on March 1, 1781. They remained in force until the Constitution replaced them in 1789, after delegates concluded that the confederation's structure was too weak.