What document became the United States’ governing framework on March 1, 1781?

The Articles of Confederation became the United States’ governing framework on March 1, 1781.

Officially titled the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the document was the new nation’s first frame of government. The Second Continental Congress approved it for distribution to the states on November 15, 1777. Maryland became the final state to ratify it on February 2, 1781, allowing it to take effect the following month.

The Articles created a confederation in which the states retained substantial sovereignty. Congress could conduct diplomacy, declare war, and manage western territories, but it could not impose taxes directly or regulate interstate commerce. Each state had one vote in Congress regardless of population.

The system helped coordinate the Revolutionary War and the early republic, but its limited central authority caused serious financial and administrative problems. The Constitution replaced the Articles on March 4, 1789. The two documents are often confused because both served as national governing frameworks, but they established very different balances between state and federal power.