Articles of the Confederation

The Continental Congress, the same group who had written the Declaration of Independence, assigned a committee to make a plan for governing the newly formed nation. This plan was called the Articles of Confederation. Many of the colonies, now called states because they no longer belonged to another country, had their own constitutions, or sets of laws. The Articles of Confederation were the first step toward establishing a government that would have some control over all the states, while still allowing each state to create some of its own rules. 

Each state had to give up some power to the federal government, but they were all wary because of their experience with a king who had too much power. It took some time for all the states to agree to the Articles of Confederation, but after some changes, they all did. In 1781, the first government over the entire group of states was established.