Even before the last state had ratified them in 1781, the Articles of Confederation had faced criticism. The critics, most prominently Alexander Hamilton, General George Washington's aide-de-camp in the Revolutionary War, thought that the country's first attempt at a government was too weak to deal with the internal and external problems that faced the young nation. Rather than a national government that could only do what the thirteen separate state governments allowed it to do, the critics of the Articles of Confederation suggested a stronger national government that would have the authority to negotiate treaties, regulate trade among the states, and have a source of independent funding. This would allow the government to act, at times, against the wishes of the various state governments when national emergencies required it to do so.

Not everyone thought that the Articles of Confederation were flawed, however...