Question

The main criticism of the Articles of Confederation was that they failed to

Answer 1

The main criticism was that they gave the central government no power, meaning:      
-Congress could not collect taxes
-Congress could not regulate foreign or interstate commerce
-The executive branch did not exist (no checks and balances)

Answer 2

Govern effectively. they couldn't tax anything so they couldn't raise revenue and without revenue they couldn't pay anyone to help govern.