What document became the first frame of government for the United States when it took effect on March 1, 1781?

The Articles of Confederation became the first frame of government for the United States when they took effect on March 1, 1781.

The Second Continental Congress debated the Articles during the Revolutionary War and finalized them on November 15, 1777. Every state had to ratify the document before it could take effect. Maryland became the final state to approve it, completing ratification in 1781.

The Articles created a confederation in which the states retained substantial sovereignty. Congress could conduct diplomacy, declare war, manage western territories, and oversee the war effort, but it lacked important powers such as direct taxation and a separate executive branch.

The system continued after the war but was replaced by the United States Constitution. The Constitution took effect for the new federal government on March 4, 1789. The Articles therefore belong to the founding period between independence and the creation of the current constitutional system.