Maryland was the last state to ratify the Articles of Confederation before America’s first national government took effect.
The Articles had been finalized by Congress in 1777, but they required approval from every state. Disputes over western land claims delayed unanimous ratification for several years. Maryland’s legislature finally authorized ratification on February 2, 1781.
Maryland’s approval was reported to Congress in February, and the Articles entered force on March 1, 1781. That date marked the beginning of the United States’ first national constitutional system under the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.
The Articles gave Congress authority over diplomacy, war, and western territories, but they did not provide a strong executive or a dependable national tax system. Financial and political difficulties eventually encouraged the Philadelphia Convention to draft the Constitution in 1787.