What was the name of the United States’ first constitution before the current Constitution, relevant to America250?

The Articles of Confederation were the United States’ first constitution and national governing framework.

The Second Continental Congress completed the Articles on November 15, 1777, during the Revolutionary War. The document became effective on March 1, 1781, after Maryland became the final state to ratify it. Its formal title was the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.

The Articles created a confederation in which the states retained substantial sovereignty. Congress could conduct foreign affairs, declare war, make treaties, and manage certain national matters, but it lacked several powers associated with the later federal government, including a general power to tax and a separate executive branch.

Weaknesses exposed after the war encouraged calls for reform. Delegates meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 ultimately drafted an entirely new Constitution rather than simply amending the Articles. The Constitution replaced the Articles’ system when the new government began operating in 1789.