After the beginning of the American War of Independence, on May 10, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution recommending the establishment of new state governments in the colonies. By the time the Declaration of Independence was issued on July 4, 1776, many colonies had their own governments. Within one year after the declaration of independence, all states except Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island drafted new state constitutions.
However, the problem of how these 13 states can unite and form a unified central government is difficult to solve. However, with the development of the revolution, the Continental Congress made many important decisions, and it became more and more of the nature of the central government. It controls the Continental Army, declares independence, concludes contracts with other countries, borrows debts, issues paper money, and so on. In order to resolve issues such as the composition and powers of the central government and the relationship between the states and the central government, the Continental Congress has begun to draft the constitution before and after the declaration of independence. However, this work was highly controversial and dragged on for a long time. It was not until November 15, 1777, after Saratoga, that the Continental Congress passed the "Federal Regulations" drafted by John Dickinson, and it took another three years. It took more time to get the approval of the states. On March 1, 1781, the last state, the Maryland State Assembly, approved, and the "Federal Regulations" came into effect.
The "Federal Regulations" stipulate that the United States is a confederate country composed of independent states; there is no president; the Federal Congress controls the legislative, executive, and judicial powers; each state sends 2 to 7 representatives to the Federal Congress; each state maintains its own sovereignty, Freedom and independence; everything related to declaration of war, contracting, recruitment, constitution, and finance. Important matters such as the appointment of the commander-in-chief must be approved by more than two-thirds of the states to be effective. The federal government has no right to levy taxes directly from the states, and can only collect taxes from the states.
The Federal Regulations were the first constitution of the United States.