What was the first constitution and national framework of government used by the United States?

The Articles of Confederation were the first constitution and national framework of government used by the United States.

The Second Continental Congress debated the Articles from July 1776 through November 1777. The document was approved by Congress in 1777, but it did not take effect until March 1, 1781, after all thirteen states had ratified it. The Articles created a “firm league of friendship” among the states and provided a Congress as the central institution.

The system deliberately gave most authority to the states. Congress could conduct diplomacy, declare war, manage western territories, and coordinate the war effort, but it could not directly tax individuals or regulate interstate commerce. Each state had one vote in Congress regardless of population.

The Articles helped the United States function during the closing years of the Revolution and afterward. They were replaced by the United States Constitution on March 4, 1789, after concerns about national weakness led to the Constitutional Convention.