Answer:The Articles of Confederation, officially titled the "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union," served as the first constitution of the United States. They were adopted by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, but they did not go into effect until they were ratified by all thirteen of the original states. The Articles of Confederation were the result of ongoing discussions and debates among the American colonies during the early years of the American Revolutionary War.
The Continental Congress appointed a committee, known as the "Committee of Thirteen," in June 1776 to draft a constitution for the newly declared independent states. The committee, which included prominent figures like John Dickinson and Benjamin Franklin, worked on a draft that would eventually become the Articles of Confederation. It was presented to the Congress in July 1776.
The Continental Congress then debated and made revisions to the draft constitution over the following year. On November 15, 1777, the Congress approved the final draft of the Articles of Confederation and sent it to the states for ratification. It wasn't until March 1, 1781, that Maryland became the thirteenth and final state to ratify the Articles, marking the official beginning of the Articles of Confederation as the first constitution of the United States.
The Articles of Confederation established a loose confederation of states with a weak central government, as it limited the power of the federal government and granted more authority to the individual states. This arrangement had limitations and weaknesses, leading to issues such as difficulties in raising revenue and maintaining a standing army, which eventually led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the drafting of the United States Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.