What was the name of the first governing framework used by the United States before the Constitution?

The Articles of Confederation were the first governing framework used by the United States before the Constitution.

The Articles created a “firm league of friendship” among the states and established a Congress with limited central powers. Congress could conduct diplomacy, declare war, manage western territories, and issue currency, but it could not directly tax citizens or regulate interstate commerce effectively.

The framework was approved by the Continental Congress in 1777 and took effect after Maryland became the last state to ratify it in 1781. Its weaknesses became increasingly clear after the Revolutionary War, when the national government struggled with debt, trade disputes, military funding, and enforcement of congressional decisions.

The Constitutional Convention met in 1787 to revise the Articles but instead drafted a replacement. The Constitution strengthened federal institutions while retaining a federal structure. The transition explains why America’s founding story includes both the 1776 Declaration and a later redesign of government.