When it was clear that the weaknesses that existed in the plan of government created by the Articles of Confederation were harming the progress of the United States, a convention was held to develop a new plan of government. This convention was referred to as the Constitutional Convention.

The writers of the new Constitution wanted to make the federal government stronger. For example, with the Articles of Confederation, the federal government couldn’t levy taxes. This made it hard for the federal government to pay its debts. This changed with the new government created by the Constitution. The new government could now levy taxes. Additionally, a judicial branch of government was created by the Constitution. Prior to this time, there was no court system. States had no place to go in order to resolve their disputes that they may have had with other states. Finally, the federal government could require people to join the military with the Constitution. This was not possible with the Articles of Confederation. During the time when the Articles of Confederation existed, the United States had trouble dealing with aggressive action toward the United States by Spain and Britain, partially because the United States government couldn't require people to join the military.

The Constitution was developed to resolve some of the weaknesses that existed in the plan of government created by the Articles of Confederation.