The Founding Fathers could have empowered the federal government to print paper money, a power enjoyed by the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation.

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Cornell, who is the Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American History at the school, said the Constitution incorporates lessons learned while the nation was under the Articles of Confederation.

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Under the old Articles of Confederation the central government could not collect taxes, only the states could.

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But he soon realized that the Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787.

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