Which 1776 document became the first U.S. national constitution before the Constitution of 1787?

The Articles of Confederation became the first U.S. national constitution before the Constitution of 1787. Officially titled the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, they created a league of states with a deliberately limited central government.

Congress approved the Articles in 1777, but they did not take effect until March 1, 1781, after all thirteen states had ratified them. The document gave Congress responsibility for war, diplomacy, and western territories, while leaving most governing power with the states. There was no separate executive president or national court system comparable to those created by the later Constitution.

The Articles helped the United States conduct the Revolutionary War and manage the country's first postcolonial years. Financial problems, interstate trade disputes, and the inability to enforce congressional decisions exposed their limitations. The Philadelphia Convention produced the Constitution, which replaced the Articles in 1789.