The Articles of Confederation became effective on March 1, 1781, in the founding era celebrated by America250.
The Articles were the first written framework of government for the United States. The Second Continental Congress approved them in November 1777, but they could not take effect until every state ratified them. Maryland became the final state to approve the document on March 1, 1781.
Under the Articles, the states retained substantial sovereignty while Congress handled war, diplomacy, treaties, and disputes between states. The system lacked an independent executive and gave Congress no general power to tax, weaknesses that later encouraged calls for a stronger federal structure.
The Constitution replaced the Articles in 1789. The two documents are therefore not interchangeable: the Articles governed during the Revolutionary War’s final years and the Confederation period, while the Constitution created the current federal framework.