typeracer

The initial attempt, the "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union," ratified in 1781 proved stunningly ineffectual, for it granted the government no authority to tax its citizens, no ability to maintain a military force, and had no executive officer to oversee things. The leaders of the new United States Congress quickly noted these and other flaws; they soon convened a secret convention meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles. Instead, after much pontificating and argument, the conventioneers drafted a new Constitution entire, one adopted by the states in 1789, giving the United States' government its present shape - more or less. That same year Washington was elected the first president. In 1791 a Bill of Rights was added; since then 17 more amendments have been added and another six proposed to get it right.