What was the first governing charter of the United States, ratified in 1781?

The Articles of Confederation were the first governing charter of the United States, ratified in 1781.

The Second Continental Congress approved the Articles in 1777, but all 13 states had to agree before they could take effect. Maryland became the final state to ratify them on March 1, 1781. The document formally linked the states in a “firm league of friendship.”

The Articles created a national congress but gave it limited powers. Congress could conduct diplomacy, declare war, and manage western territories, yet it could not directly tax citizens or regulate interstate commerce. Each state had one vote, regardless of population.

The system helped coordinate the revolutionary war effort but proved too weak for several national problems, including debt and trade disputes. Delegates therefore met at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and drafted the Constitution, which replaced the Articles in 1789.