What form of government did the Articles of Confederation establish?

The Articles of Confederation established a form of government known as a confederation or a confederacy. This was the first constitution of the United States, adopted during the Revolutionary War. Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government was relatively weak compared to the state governments. It established a "firm league of friendship" among the states, which retained their sovereignty, freedom, and independence.

The national government had limited powers and was comprised of a single-house Congress where each state had one vote. There was no executive branch to enforce laws and no national judiciary to interpret them. The Congress was granted powers to make treaties, declare war, coin money, and conduct foreign affairs, but it lacked the authority to regulate interstate commerce or to levy taxes, which significantly constrained its ability to fund itself or to ensure economic stability and uniformity across the states.

The Articles of Confederation were in effect from their ratification in 1781 until 1789, when they were replaced by the United States Constitution. While the Articles did allow the Continental Congress to accomplish some things, like successfully negotiating the Treaty of Paris which ended the Revolutionary War, the lack of a strong central government presented serious challenges.

For instance, without the power to tax, the national government had to request money from the states, which often was not provided. Additionally, not having a president or national courts made it difficult to enforce or interpret laws. Another problem with the government under the Articles was that major decisions required approval from nine of the thirteen states, making it extremely difficult to enact any significant policy changes.

These weaknesses ultimately led to the calling of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where the current Constitution of the United States was drafted, creating a stronger federal government with an executive headed by a president, a judiciary, and a bicameral legislature (the Senate and the House of Representatives) that had the power to tax and regulate commerce among the states. This new structure aimed to balance power between the state and federal governments — an approach known as federalism.