[Brion McClanahan]

Tate:

Not everyone was sold that the Articles needed to be scrapped. Certainly a small faction of persistent men believed so, Madison and Hamilton foremost among them, but also people like John Dickinson of DE, Roger Sherman of CT, Francis Dana of MA, and other leading men were of the opinion that at least a revision was necessary due to 1) financial problems arising under the monetary structure of the central government, 2) the difficulty of doing business (many States simply chose not to send delegates to the Congress at times) and 3) internal strife (Shay’s Rebellion).

Patrick Henry, for example, denied that the Articles did not function well, as did other opponents of the Constitution from PA, NC, MA, and NY. The Constitution was a great coup for its proponents and was only ratified because they swore that the document would not fundamentally alter the existing federal nature of the government.

Hope that helps.