He thought the articles of confederation were a failure. With the states having so much power, there were border disputes, tolls for crossing state lines or shipping products across lines, each state could print its own money, etc. Essentially, every thing was decided upon by a committee (Congress). (Try planning a vacation with 13 people, all having equal say, and you'll see how hard it is to get anything accomplished.) Alexander Hamilton was in Washington's administration, and he was a strong advocate of a centralized government.