When was the Articles of Confederation ratified by all 13 states?

The Articles of Confederation were ratified by all 13 states on March 1, 1781.

The Articles served as the first written constitution of the United States. The Second Continental Congress approved the document for state consideration on November 15, 1777, but final ratification took several years because states disputed western land claims.

Maryland was the last state to approve the Articles. Once Maryland ratified them on March 1, 1781, the Articles formally became the governing framework for the United States during the Revolutionary War’s final years and the postwar period.

The Articles created a loose confederation with a Congress but no separate executive branch or national court system. Congress could conduct diplomacy, declare war, and manage certain national matters, but it could not directly tax individuals or regulate interstate commerce effectively. These weaknesses contributed to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the replacement of the Articles by the Constitution.