Question

why did George Washington call the congress under the articles of confederation "a shadow without a substance"

Answer 1

George Washington called the Congress under the Articles of Confederation a "shadow without substance" because under the Articles of Confederation the Congress was given very limited powers. The Articles of Confederation gave most of the power to states and did not give much power to the national government. Therefore although it created national bodies like Congress they were just a shadow because they had very limited powers and not much of an ability to institute any real policies.