Why might the early years of American government be called the "Critical Period"???
2 answers
Think about it. We were starting a new country with radical ideas about freedom, liberty, human rights, and participatory democracy. Many, many things could have gone wrong with this fledgling government.
A person who is on the critical list in a hospital is in serious condition. It is not really known if that patient will survive. The government under the Articles Of Confederation was also on the critical list. We did not know if it would survive either.