Final answer:
The states were cautious about giving complete power to the central government, and instead pursued their own interests while addressing the need for a political framework that balanced power between the people and the national government during the late 1770s and 1780s.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the Revolutionary War, states were leery to give complete power to the central government, so they pursued their own interests. Most revolutionaries pledged their greatest loyalty to their individual states due to fear of authoritative control similar to that imposed by the British during the 1760s and 1770s. The Continental Congress recognized the need for a political framework to address the political and economic problems that had emerged under the British system and worked between 1776 and 1789 to lay out government structures for the states and the nation. However, they remained cautious, not wanting a national government to undermine the rights for which they were fighting. They debated the framework of their new governments, trying to find the right balance of power between the people and the national government.