The Articles of Confederation took effect as the first U.S. constitution on March 1, 1781. The Continental Congress had approved the document in 1777, but it required ratification by all 13 states.
Maryland was the last state to ratify, resolving a dispute over western land claims and allowing the Articles to become operative. The Articles created a “firm league of friendship” among the states and gave Congress responsibility for diplomacy, war, and certain national matters. They did not create a separate executive branch or a national judiciary, and Congress had no general power to tax citizens directly.
The system helped coordinate the Revolutionary War and manage relations among the states, but its weaknesses became increasingly evident after the war. Congress struggled to raise revenue and regulate trade. The Constitutional Convention met in 1787 and produced the Constitution, which replaced the Articles after ratification. The Articles were therefore not the Declaration of Independence or the later Constitution, but the first governing framework of the United States.