Was it because the high hopes that he had held during the war, that America should be the noblest among the nations, had been disappointed, or was it because he saw farther into the future than his colleagues saw?
On May 18, 1786, he writes intimately to John Jay: ...

We are certainly in a delicate situation; but my fear is that the people are not yet sufficiently _misled_ to retract from error.

To be plainer, I think there is more wickedness than ignorance mixed in our councils.

Under this impression I scarcely know what opinion to entertain of a general convention.

That it is necessary to revise and amend the Articles of Confederation, I entertain no doubt; but what may be the consequences of such an attempt is doubtful.