The main reason the articles of confederation were replaced as the basis of the United States government was that they

The Articles of Confederation were replaced by the US Constitution because the federal government had almost no power. Since the federal government had almost no power, very few new laws were passed and the US could not raise a strong army to put down Shay's Rebellion.

When creating the Articles of Confederation, framers feared giving the central (aka federal) government too much power. This was based on America's experience with a "tyrannical" central government when they were under British rule. This is why the Articles of Confederation does not give the federal government the right to tax and needs 13 out of 13 states in order to add an amendment.