The Articles of Confederation have been denounced for so long that no one bothers to denounce them anymore. Almost every American and almost every single person around the world who studies American history at any level considers the Articles a failure. The failure of the Articles is as sure as the sun rising tomorrow. It’s just an accepted “truism” that they did not work and that we Americans needed something to replace them. Even those who take seriously the criticisms of the Constitution by the anti-Federalists typically believe the Articles a disaster. A close examination, however,...