The Articles of Confederation took effect as the United States’ first constitution on March 1, 1781, during the era commemorated by America250.
Congress adopted the Articles on November 15, 1777, but they did not become operative immediately. All thirteen states had to ratify them, and Maryland’s approval completed the process after disputes over western land claims.
The Articles created a confederation in which the states retained extensive sovereignty. Congress could conduct diplomacy, declare war, and manage certain national affairs, but it lacked several powers later assigned to the federal government by the Constitution.
The Articles were superseded by the Constitution on March 4, 1789. Their adoption and operation therefore belong to the founding period between independence and the present constitutional system.