The first written constitution of the United States, the Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Second Continental Congress in November, 1777. They were adopted by all the states except Maryland by 1779, but Maryland was intractably opposed on account of the issue of western lands. Finally, Virginia agreed that western lands would be divided and would enter the confederation as new states. Maryland ratified the Articles on March 1, 1781.
Although the Articles gave the federal government certain powers, it denied the power of direct taxation. Taxes were collected by the states according to the value of privately owned land. During the 1780's, the feeling grew that a revision was required. The result was the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, which developed the new Constitution of the United States.
