Americans had a myriad of concerns in the years following the end of the War for Independence. Many of those issues centered on the Articles of Confederation and the powers delegated to Congress. Previous attempts to amend the Articles of Confederation inside and outside of Congress proved unsuccessful. All proposals to give Congress powers to tax and regulate commerce failed to get the approval of all thirteen state legislatures which was required by Article XIII of the Articles of Confederation. Among the many considerations that Americans faced during the “critical period,” the items below certainly paint a somber backdrop to the decade following the Revolutionary War. Many of these selections are from our Commentaries on the Constitution (CC), Volume XIII and Constitutional Documents and Records, 1776-1787 (CDR), Volume I. The Introduction from Constitutional Documents and Records, 1776-1787 will give you a broad perspective of the issues extant during the Confederation Period.