What are some of the liabilities of the U.S. that made it hard to build a nation?

The preface of the book sets up the chapters that follw and emphasizes the effects of the American Revolution. The fact that America had succeeded in gaining its freedon from Great Britain was looked upon with amazement, and most people didn't believe the fledgling country had a chance at further success. Liabilities would include the absence of an active and organized government, and the general belief that eventually the states would fall off and become individual entities. The Founding Fathers were able to draft the Constitution and implement the laws that would in effect guarantee by its sheer brilliance the success of this country.