Relations between the thirteen British colonies and their homeland became strained after the Seven Years' War, when colonial America desired its independence from Great Britain. During the war the British government supported the American colonies but suffered severe financial losses. Desperate to seek compensation and maintain power over its overseas colonies, the English Parliament began imposing harsh laws and taxes on the colonists. In retaliation, furious colonists demanded statehood, and when Parliament refused to grant it, a Revolutionary War broke out in 1775. During the Revolutionary War, on June 12, 1776, the Second Continental Congress representing all thirteen colonies under British control assembled a draft Articles of Confederation; the first of two doctrines that led to the unification of the divided colonies, the establishment of self-government, and the ratification of today's United States Constitution. The first US constitutional doctrine ever written were the Articles of Confederation, composed during a time when the thirteen British colonies were still in a revolutionary war with Great Britain. On November 15, 1777, after a year of debate, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation. However, it did not become effective until ratified by all thirteen states in 1781; a task that proved difficult after some states refused to cooperate. Under the Articles of Confederation, the British colonies were to unite, become individual self-sovereign states, and distinguish themselves as the United States of America. It would allow them to abandon the statutes of the British monarchy and design an organized government... middle of paper... government was absolutely necessary to regulate national laws and avoid unrest. However, Anti-Federalists were content with states possessing more government power and were concerned with the elimination of slavery in the South. Somehow, these two groups had to reach an agreement to allow the Constitution to be passed. On June 21, 1788, the United States Constitution went into effect after being ratified by the required nine states. In 1789, George Washington was elected to become the first president of the United States. Subsequently, the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in 1791 to protect individual rights from the power of the national government. Finally, Americans had a Constitution, a strong national government, and individual rights that still exist in the United States today. Works Cited The American Pageant