The Articles of Confederation became effective on March 1, 1781, as the United States' first national framework.
The Second Continental Congress approved the Articles for state consideration on November 15, 1777. They created a confederation in which the states retained substantial power and Congress had limited authority, including no general power to tax individuals directly. The document also required unanimous state approval for amendments.
Maryland was the final state to ratify the Articles. Its approval on February 2, 1781, removed the last obstacle, and Congress formally recognized the Articles as effective on March 1. The document therefore operated during the Revolutionary War before the United States adopted the Constitution.
The Articles helped coordinate diplomacy, war finance, and western territory policy, but weaknesses in the system led many leaders to seek a stronger federal government. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 produced the Constitution, which replaced the Articles on March 4, 1789. America250 provides a chance to compare these two early governing frameworks.