<P> Historian Ralph Ketcham comments on the opinions of Patrick Henry, George Mason, and other Anti-Federalists who were not so eager to give up the local autonomy won by the revolution: </P> <P> Antifederalists feared what Patrick Henry termed the "consolidated government" proposed by the new Constitution . They saw in Federalist hopes for commercial growth and international prestige only the lust of ambitious men for a "splendid empire" that, in the time - honored way of empires, would oppress the people with taxes, conscription, and military campaigns . Uncertain that any government over so vast a domain as the United States could be controlled by the people, Antifederalists saw in the enlarged powers of the general government only the familiar threats to the rights and liberties of the people . </P> <P> Historians have given many reasons for the perceived need to replace the articles in 1787 . Jillson and Wilson (1994) point to the financial weakness as well as the norms, rules and institutional structures of the Congress, and the propensity to divide along sectional lines . </P> <P> Rakove (1988) identifies several factors that explain the collapse of the Confederation . The lack of compulsory direct taxation power was objectionable to those wanting a strong centralized state or expecting to benefit from such power . It could not collect customs after the war because tariffs were vetoed by Rhode Island . Rakove concludes that their failure to implement national measures "stemmed not from a heady sense of independence but rather from the enormous difficulties that all the states encountered in collecting taxes, mustering men, and gathering supplies from a war - weary populace ." The second group of factors Rakove identified derived from the substantive nature of the problems the Continental Congress confronted after 1783, especially the inability to create a strong foreign policy . Finally, the Confederation's lack of coercive power reduced the likelihood for profit to be made by political means, thus potential rulers were uninspired to seek power . </P>

Where did the power rest under the articles of confederation