What if America's first government was so broken that founding fathers had to meet in secret just to save the country? In this episode, Michael Stevens reveals how the Articles of Confederation nearly destroyed the United States before it even got started, and why most Americans have never heard this story. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • How 13 different currencies turned simple trade into economic chaos • Why only 7 out of 13 states bothered showing up to Congress by 1786 • The shocking reason states were charging tariffs against each other like foreign enemies • How a tax collection crisis forced the Constitutional Convention to scrap everything and start over 👤 Perfect for: curious listeners who thought they knew the founding story but want the messy, complicated truth behind America's shaky start. 📍 Chapters: [00:00] Michael Stevens introduces America's forgotten government failure [01:45] Why Congress couldn't collect taxes and states ignored federal requests [04:20] The currency nightmare that made buying bread across state lines impossible [06:50] How interstate trade wars nearly broke the union before it began [09:15] The secret meetings that led to scrapping the Articles entirely [11:30] What this teaches us about government power and why it still matters This isn't just ancient history. Stevens connects these 1780s government failures to modern debates about federal power, showing how the same tensions that nearly killed America in its infancy still shape politics today. You'll understand why the Constitution wasn't some brilliant first draft, but a desperate plan B when everything else fell apart. 🔔 Never miss an episode: Follow When Rome Burns on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away. 🔍 Topics: Articles of Confederation, Constitutional Convention, American founding, government failure, economic history

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------------ Keywords: catherine the great, civilization collapse, cultural disasters, historical catastrophes

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