Under the Articles, the US economy faltered, since the central government lacked the power to enforce tax laws or regulate commerce.
Shays’s Rebellion, an uprising of Revolutionary War veterans in Massachusetts that both the state and national governments struggled to address due to a lack of centralized military power, illustrated the need to create a stronger governing system.
The Federalists opposed a strong central government, and they believed that the government through the Constitution would have too much power in contrast with the States, who would have very little.