Conversation so far:
what made the initial us system of government a confederacy
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 original states of the United States of America that served as its first constitution.
when did the The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union  start working
The Articles of Confederation came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all 13 states.

Question: what was the main theme of the agreement
Self-contained rewrite: what was the main theme of The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union