What was the first U.S. constitution, in force from 1781 to 1789?

The Articles of Confederation were the first U.S. constitution, in force from 1781 to 1789.

The Second Continental Congress approved the Articles on November 15, 1777, during the American Revolution. The document created a “firm league of friendship” among the states, but it gave the national Congress limited powers. Congress could conduct diplomacy, declare war, and manage western territories, yet it could not directly tax citizens or regulate interstate commerce.

Maryland was the last state to ratify the Articles, doing so on February 2, 1781. They took effect when Congress received confirmation of that ratification on March 1. The Articles were replaced by the U.S. Constitution, which was signed in 1787 and became effective in 1789.

A common mix-up is calling the Articles merely a wartime agreement. They were also the nation’s formal framework of government for most of the 1780s, before the stronger federal system established by the Constitution.