Under the Articles of Confederation, who retained sovereignty?

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Sovereignty rested with the states. The Articles of Confederation set up a loose confederation in which the central government had only limited powers and acted mainly on behalf of the states. There was no executive branch, no national judiciary, and Congress could conduct foreign affairs and manage certain common interests, but it could not levy taxes or regulate trade directly. Because ultimate authority did not reside in a strong national government, the states retained their own sovereignty and autonomy rather than ceding it to a central authority. The other options don’t fit because the central government, a President, and a national Supreme Court did not hold sovereign power under the Articles.