What was the first constitution of the United States called?

• A. The Articles of Confederation
• B. The Constitution
• C. The Bill of Rights
• D. The Federalist Papers

Answer: (A)

The first constitution was the Articles of Confederation. It created a very loose national government with a single Congress, but it gave most power to the states. There was no separate executive to enforce laws and no national court system to settle disputes. Crucially, the central government could not tax or regulate trade, which made it hard to pay for national needs or solve problems that crossed state lines. Because of these limitations, many people saw the need for a stronger, more effective framework, which led to the drafting of a new constitution in 1787. The current United States framework is the Constitution, which established a stronger federal government and a system of checks and balances. The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments added to that Constitution to protect individual rights, while the Federalist Papers were essays arguing for ratification of the new Constitution, not a constitution themselves.