Articles of Confederation Ratified
The Articles of Confederation, America's first governing document, were ratified — creating a loose union of states that proved too weak to govern effectively and was replaced by the Constitution in 1788.
What Happened
Drafted in 1776 and 1777, the Articles of Confederation were finally ratified by all thirteen states on March 1, 1781, when Maryland — the last holdout — signed on. The Articles created a national Congress but gave it almost no power: it could not tax, could not regulate commerce, had no executive branch, and required unanimous consent for any amendment. Each state retained full sovereignty. Under the Articles, Congress struggled to fund the Revolutionary War, pay its debts, or respond to internal rebellions like Shays' Rebellion in 1786.
Why It Mattered Then
The Articles represented the founders' deep fear of centralized power after years under British authority. They were a deliberate experiment in minimal government — one that quickly revealed the limits of that approach when the new nation needed to coordinate defense, finance, and diplomacy.
Why It Matters Now
The failure of the Articles of Confederation is the direct reason the Constitution exists. The lessons of the 1780s — that a federal government needed real authority to function — shaped the Constitutional Convention and continue to inform debates about federal vs. state power.
Key Themes
This event is part of the 1776–1783: Revolution and Independence era (1776–1783).
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