Its a good essay, even though I disagree with its conclusions.
A premise you might want to re-examine, though. You indicate that our confederal form of government was a gift. I suspect those who opposed the Federal constitution such as Patrick Henry would have had a different view.
As for article V. I make no secret of my disagreement with it. I just don’t see 3/4 of the states agreeing to anything that would materially change the status quo. So why bother with it? I guess its fairly harmless, but to think that great things are going to come out the process is to set yourself up for disappointment.
Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee didn’t attend the federal convention to which they were appointed. Perhaps their input would have resulted in a more federal constitution. We’ll never know.
What is certain now, is the federalism they supported is necessary to save the republic.