The Articles of Confederation ended up having a legacy similar to '90s boy bands. At the time, people thought a toothless federal government was a good idea. You could even say they wanted it that way.

But like the Backstreet Boys, the Articles of Confederation were only around for about one fleeting decade. The Confederation government peaked with the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, right before the ball got rolling for the Constitutional Convention.

After the Constitution took effect, America took off. The economy boomed as Washington and Adams embraced mercantilist policy favored by Alexander Hamilton. Then, Thomas Jefferson doubled the size of the country with the Louisiana Purchase.

The nation was well on its way to becoming the superpower that it is today.

Abraham Lincoln would later say that the Articles of Confederation helped "mature" the union, while the Constitution perfected it (Source). That sentiment pretty much sums up how historians discuss the Articles: they got the ball rolling, and then gave way to something more effective.

Long story short is, if you pick up any American history textbook, visit any website, or listen to any historian, they're not going to sing the praises of the Articles of Confederation. This infant form of government was a blip at the beginning of American history.