Today's government of the United States under the Constitution is the nation's second form of government. The first was the United States in Congress Assembled which existed from November 5, 1781, until November 3, 1788. To correct governmental weaknesses, the first government created the nation's second government under the Constitution, putting itself out of business. The second government came into being on April 30, 1789, with the inauguration of George Washington.

The United States In Congress Assembled was established by a predecessor body, the Second Continental Congress, which was not a government but a consultative body among the thirteen independent states. The Second Continental Congress authored the Articles of Confederation which in 1781 created the United States In Congress Assembled, the nation's first government. As its first act on November 5, 1781, the original government elected John Hanson unopposed as the nation's first president.

In 1787, the United States In Congress Assembled convened the Constitutional Convention which authored the Constitution and effected the transition from the nation's first government to the second in 1789. Click here to read more about the two governments.