It refers to the artists of the turn of the century, that is the art made at the beginning of the 20th century. It mostly refers to modernists and symbolism who created in this period and whose art was full of things like pessimism and cynicism. Modernity in general is associated with it.
This is of course impossible to tell, but most agree that if the Articles of Confederation hadn't been replaced by the more powerful Constitution, the federal government wouldn't have had the power to tax the states and therefore wouldn't have been able to re-pay its war debt--causing the new nation to crumble.
George Washington.
Hope this helps.
