The first constitution of the United States was the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. It was drafted by a committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress in 1777, adopted by the Congress on November 15, 1777, and ratified by all thirteen states by March 1, 1781. The Articles established a loose confederation of sovereign states with a weak central government, lacking executive and judicial branches, and providing limited powers to the central government, especially in taxation and enforcement. This first constitution was in effect until 1789, when the current United States Constitution took over.
