After America won its independence, it faced the task of creating a new government. The delegates of the Continental Congress realized even before the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, was signed that a strong central government linking all thirteen states had to be created.

The first attempt at government was with the Articles of Confederation, which failed because the central government was too weak. It had no power to tax, and the states had so much power it was as if it was thirteen different nations, not one. What made things more difficult was the fact that any change to the Articles needed all thirteen states to ratify the change.

Knowing how difficult it would be to get all thirteen states, of which some were very happy with such great power, to support changing the Articles, the Founding Fathers (including James Mason, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin) called a meeting to "revise" the Articles. In reality, they were ready to scrap it and start anew.

In the end, they came out with the Constitution, which gave the federal government more power while still allowing states to have their say.