Which document did the Second Continental Congress adopt on November 15, 1777, during the era commemorated by America250?

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777.

The Articles were the first written constitution of the United States. They established a perpetual union among the states and created a national government centered on Congress. However, the system gave the central government limited powers, including no general authority to levy taxes or regulate interstate commerce.

The Articles did not take effect immediately. The states debated and ratified them over several years, and the document became operative on March 1, 1781, after Maryland completed ratification. Congress then governed under the Articles until the Constitution replaced them in 1789.

Philadelphia hosted the congressional adoption during the Revolutionary War, linking the document to the wider founding era remembered by America250. The Articles are sometimes confused with the Declaration of Independence because both were associated with the Continental Congress, but they served different purposes: the Declaration announced independence, while the Articles organized the new union.