Why did the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, instead of revising the Articles of Confederation as they were charged to do, scrap that document and devise an entirely new plan of government? What might have been the consequences had they kept the Articles of Confederation?

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was called to revise the ailing Articles of Confederation. However, the Convention soon abandoned the Articles, drafting a new Constitution with a much stronger national government. Nine states had to approve the Constitution before it could go into effect. After a long and often bitter debate, eleven states ratified the Constitution, which instituted a new form of government for the United States.