Most Americans, I believe, know that the United States came into existence when colonists fought against Great Britain and won the American Revolutionary War in the late 18th century.

I also think that it is safe to say that most of us know that our national government was created when the “Constitution of the United States” went into effect in 1789.

But throughout my career teaching U.S. history, I have found that most of my students do not realize that there was an 8-year gap between the two events.

During that period (1781 to 1789), the “United States of America” was governed by a document...