The framers of the Constitution intended to correct the flaws of the Articles of Confederation by strengthening the national government and weakening the state governments. Yet despite the Constitution's ratification in 1787, most Americans retained a strong suspicion of government power. Establishment of the operating practices of the new federal system could occur only over time and through experience, leaving the new government in an uncertain and potentially perilous situation. The Revolution had strengthened the ideology of republicanism, but Americans with different political, social, and economic visions of the Republic's future interpreted republicanism differently. This conflict, which became the central issue in the struggle over ratification of the Constitution, intensified after 1789. And once again, when war resumed between Britain and France in this period, the United States found its rights and independence challenged by these two nations. The first years under the Constitution represented a further working out of domestic and international problems that harkened back to the Revolution and its meaning for the American people.