That was the fear mongering. How has the federation worked out so well? The US saddled with massive debt, a massive entitlement culture, and an Executive that acts like a monarchy. The US would have been better off as a Confederation without an Executive, clearly.
The confederation was formed to deal with a war, the Revolutionary War. The states barely participated in what passed for a non-government during that awful time. Afterward, after the peace, the states hardly bothered to send delegates to congress at all. Call it what you want, but the AC were not government, and those petty little republics were ripe for eventual picking by European powers. Delegates from Delaware said as much at the constitutional convention.
How has the federation worked out so well?
Our once confederated republic worked out very well, warts and all until 1913.