1777: The Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation. Submitted to the states for ratification two days later, the Articles of Confederation were accompanied by a letter from Congress urging that the document. Although Congress debated the Articles for over a year, they requested immediate action on the part of the states. However, three-and-a-half years passed before ratification on March 1, 1781. Eventually, the Articles were determined to be too weak and were replaced by the newly written U.S. Constitution, ratified by two-thirds of the states in 1788 and took effect in 1789. George Washington was then elected the nation's first president and took office on April 30, 1789. (Source: Library of Congress)