The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777. However, they were not fully ratified and did not come into force until March 1, 1781, when Maryland, the last state to ratify, gave its approval. This ratification made the Articles the official constitution of the United States, establishing the nation as a sovereign federal state under this first constitution until 1789, when the current U.S. Constitution went into effect.