Final answer:
The Articles of Confederation established a loose association of states where the central government was weak, and states retained much of their sovereignty. The system's inefficiencies led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution which formed a stronger federal government.
Step-by-step explanation:
The government established by the Articles of Confederation was A) A loose association of states. This first constitution of the United States created a confederation, where the central government had limited power, and the states retained their sovereignty and independence. The national government was intentionally kept weak, with states having significant autonomy. Each state had one vote in the unicameral Congress, and there were no separate executive or judiciary branches at the national level.
Under the Articles, states maintained control over their own military forces, currency, and trade policies. However, the weaknesses of this system, such as the inability to resolve economic problems post-Revolutionary War or to quell uprisings like Shays' Rebellion, underscored the need for a stronger federal government. These issues led to the Constitutional Convention and the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, which established a federal system with a more balanced distribution of power between national and state governments.