The Constitution
Articles of Confederation
The first national framework, in force 1781 to 1789. Congress could not tax, could not regulate commerce, and needed unanimity to amend.
In full
The Articles created a league of states with no executive, no national judiciary, and a Congress dependent on state requisitions it could not enforce. The resulting inability to pay debts, settle interstate trade disputes, or respond to unrest drove the call for the 1787 convention. Nearly every structural feature of the Constitution answers a specific failure of the Articles.
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Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.