A surgical instrument comprising an elongate shaft assembly that defines a shaft axis. The surgical instrument includes a surgical end effector that has a distal end and a proximal end. The proximal end is pivotally coupled to the elongate shaft assembly for selective pivotal travel about an articulation axis that extends transversely relative to the shaft axis. The surgical end effector is selectively pivotable about the articulation axis from an unarticulated position wherein the distal end of the surgical end effector is located an unarticulated distance from the articulation axis to articulated positions wherein the distal end of the surgical end effector is located a corresponding articulated distance from the articulation axis that is less than the unarticulated distance.