In the years after the revolutionary war, there were several conflicts that the federal government did not have the authority to resolve under the articles of confederation. match the conflicts with the weakness in the articles of confederation that would lead george washington to describe the confederation government as "a half-starved, limping government."

The two biggest conflicts of the Articles of Confederation were the inability to collect taxes and the inability to raise a federal army.

Following the Revolutionary War, the newly formed country owed many debts to both soldiers and the French ally. However, the federal government was not allowed to collect or demand taxes for federal debt. Therefore the Congress had to ask states to raise money for the debt and be willing to hand over taxation money to pay that debt. Most states were unwilling to raise taxes and/or hand it over to the federal Congress.

Secondly, Shay's Rebellion demonstrated a lack of ability to raise an army and put down threats to the new government. Under the AoC, the Congress had to request militia from the states to create a defense force. Consequently, rebellions could not be squashed, let alone an invading foreign power.