The History Book Club discussion

This is a supplemental thread which is not a non spoiler thread. All members are welcome to post and discuss The Articles of Confederation in this thread.

Here is a copy of the Articles of Confederation:



Foundations of Freedom Common Sense, The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, The Federalist Papers, The U.S. Constitution




MAKING OF THE CHARTERS:

The Articles of Confederation preceeded The Constitution and was ultimately replaced by it.

Here is the syllabus for reviewing and discussing The Articles of Confederation:

Preamble - Week of April 26 - May 2nd (2009)

Article I - Week of May 3rd - May 9th

Article II - Week of May 10th - May 16th

Article III - Week of May 17th - May 23rd

Article IV - Week of May 24th - May 30th

Article V - Week of May 31st - June 6th

Article VI - Week of June 7th - June 13th

Article VII - Week of June 14th - June 20th

Article VIII - Week of June 21st - June 27th

Article IX - Week of June 28th - July 4th

Article X - Week of July 5th - July 11th

Article XI - Week of July 12th - July 18th

Article XII - Week of July 19th - July 25th

Article XIII - Week of July 26th - August 1st

Conclusion and Signatures - Week of August 2nd - August 8th

We will move on to the Constitution next: The Bill of Rights (Amendments 1 - 10) and the remainder of the amendments (11 - 27) will already be under discussion) See Amendments here:

Preamble to the Articles of Confederation for preview:

Preamble

To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting.

Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Regarding the First Constitution: The Articles of Confederation

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Resources:





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Comparison:



(has music which you can turn off)

Book:

Book:

Book:

Audio:



Jefferson discusses the Articles in his autobiography:



Regarding the Signers of the Articles of Confederation:



Cute Video by student:

Video (not bad - short and basic):

Controversial but effective video:

Sparknotes:

Shays' Rebellion:

In preparation for this discussion, a great many resources have been posted. One question to ponder could be to consider the impact of the Shays' Rebellion on constitutional government in the United States? What was this rebellion all about and what impact did it have on the Articles of Confederation?

Bentley wrote: "Preamble to the Articles of Confederation for preview:

Preamble

To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting.

Articles ..."

It appears that there were 14 entities (states) signing the Articles. Most were self evident.

However, the names of two looked slightly different:

1) Massachusetts Bay (I am not sure what states made up Massachusetts Bay; but I assume it was a combination of Maine and Massachusetts at the time - does anybody know - 1777)

2. Rhode Island and Providence Plantations - its original name

"Rhode Island and Providence Plantations[3:], more commonly referred to as Rhode Island ( /roʊd ˈaɪlɨnd/ (help·info)), is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area. Rhode Island borders Connecticut to the west and Massachusetts to the north and east. Rhode Island also shares a water border with New York's Long Island to the southwest.
Despite being called Rhode Island in common usage most of the state is on the continental mainland. The name Rhode Island derives from the colonial-era name for what is now known as Aquidneck Island, which now comprises the city of Newport and the towns of Middletown and Portsmouth, the largest of several islands in Narragansett Bay.[4:]"

I can't say that the preamble said much.

Oldesq wrote: "This reminds me of one of those Encyclopedia Brown tricks. "How many states are there?" There are only 46 states. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Kentucky are Commonwealths and Rhode Island is a..."

You are making me laugh. I wonder if some of the states bristled with a "state" connotation and hence we have some differences. Maybe they just wanted to sound grander or maybe they wanted to be known as a smaller conglomerate of other units. Hard to tell.

From reading the blog below and the comments I was struck by some of the differences and how in some states like Virginia interpretation of laws and how they are administered varies from county to county. There does not appear to be much of a yardstick there.

Chris, I often wonder if we read more into the words themselves than our founding fathers even thought of (including our Supreme Court). I think the "more perfect" refers to the Articles of Confederations' limitations versus a statement on perpetuality. Just of course, MHO.

You raise an interesting side discussion.

Here is Article One of the Articles of Confederation:

Article I. The Stile of this Confederacy shall be "The United States of America."

Here are Article Two and Article Three of the Articles of Confederation:


Article II. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.

Article III. The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever.

Here is Article Four for the week coming up:

Article IV. The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and intercourse among the people of the different States in this Union, the free inhabitants of each of these States, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several States; and the people of each State shall free ingress and regress to and from any other State, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions, and restrictions as the inhabitants thereof respectively, provided that such restrictions shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into any State, to any other State, of which the owner is an inhabitant; provided also that no imposition, duties or restriction shall be laid by any State, on the property of the United States, or either of them.

If any person guilty of, or charged with, treason, felony, or other high misdemeanor in any State, shall flee from justice, and be found in any of the United States, he shall, upon demand of the Governor or executive power of the State from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the State having jurisdiction of his offense.

Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these States to the records, acts, and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of every other State.

Feel free to open up discussion on this or any of the other preceeding articles.

Here is Article Five:

Article V. For the most convenient management of the general interests of the United States, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legislatures of each State shall direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved to each State to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in their stead for the remainder of the year.

No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor more than seven members; and no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the United States, for which he, or another for his benefit, receives any salary, fees or emolument of any kind.

Each State shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the States, and while they act as members of the committee of the States.

In determining questions in the United States in Congress assembled, each State shall have one vote.

Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Congress, and the members of Congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests or imprisonments, during the time of their going to and from, and attendance on Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.

Here is Article Six: (Rights Denied the States)

Article VI. No State, without the consent of the United States in Congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, or enter into any conference, agreement, alliance or treaty with any King, Prince or State; nor shall any person holding any office of profit or trust under the United States, or any of them, accept any present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever from any King, Prince or foreign State; nor shall the United States in Congress assembled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility.

No two or more States shall enter into any treaty, confederation or alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the United States in Congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue.

No State shall lay any imposts or duties, which may interfere with any stipulations in treaties, entered into by the United States in Congress assembled, with any King, Prince or State, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by Congress, to the courts of France and Spain.

No vessel of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any State, except such number only, as shall be deemed necessary by the United States in Congress assembled, for the defense of such State, or its trade; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any State in time of peace, except such number only, as in the judgement of the United States in Congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the defense of such State; but every State shall always keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutered, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of filed pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition and camp equipage.

No State shall engage in any war without the consent of the United States in Congress assembled, unless such State be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being formed by some nation of Indians to invade such State, and the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay till the United States in Congress assembled can be consulted; nor shall any State grant commissions to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the United States in Congress assembled, and then only against the Kingdom or State and the subjects thereof, against which war has been so declared, and under such regulations as shall be established by the United States in Congress assembled, unless such State be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted out for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or until the United States in Congress assembled shall determine otherwise.

I find the above extremely interesting in terms of what the states were not allowed to do - no freelancing!

Article VII. When land forces are raised by any State for the common defense, all officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by the legislature of each State respectively, by whom such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such State shall direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by the State which first made the appointment.

The above seems to relate to state militias, etc.

Article VIII deals with the cost of wars and who is going to pay for them and where these funds will be coming from. It sounds like this discussion still has not gone away.

Discussion of Article VIII will be from June 21st through June 27th.

Article VIII.

All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defense or general welfare, and allowed by the United States in Congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States in proportion to the value of all land within each State, granted or surveyed for any person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated according to such mode as the United States in Congress assembled, shall from time to time direct and appoint.

The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several States within the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled.

How did the idea of a confederation come about?

The Articles of Confederation were actually in existence from 1781 until 1789.

It is hard to believe in retrospect, but this was the first official document that defined the United States government and it was called the Articles of Confederation. The founding fathers tried to reflect two things: the ideals and the philosophies of the American Revolution. What things had they learned from that experience and what were the country's hot buttons. The founding fathers knew that there were more than a few difficulties of democratic government. And the Articles of Confederation was their first attempt.

When did the founding fathers originally come up with the idea of this perfect union? At first, the idea of a union was all about mutual defense and this idea started to take hold in 1643. The first colonial union was called the New England Confederation and that is what gave impetus to the Articles and coming together.

The colonists knew that they needed to defend themselves against the threat of Indian attacks, a potential French invasion, or others. So coming together in this loose confederation established the idea that unified strength was a more effective means of protecting themselves on the North American continent.

And that is how they started to discuss this kind of a union. Benjamin Franklin did the first draft and outline as early as 1775, and then John Dickinson rewrote it and put it in final form a year later. Many folks fail to realize that when the Articles of Confederation were ratified that the first President of that Congress was a man named John Hanson (most people never heard of him and automatically think of George Washington as the first president of anything to do with the first union).

Here is a helpful timeline that Spark Notes had on line which helps give a frame of reference to this document and the other important US charters.

The Articles of Confederation (1781-1789) THE FOUNDING FATHERS

Timeline

1643: Formation of the New England Confederation Consisting of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven and Connecticut colonies, this was the first union formed for the purpose of mutual defense against the French and Indians and as a forum for inter-colonial disputes.

June, 1754: Formation of the Albany Congress With delegates representing Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania (including Delaware), Maryland, Virginia, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, this congress provided for unified negotiations with the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederation.

July 10, 1754: Publication of the Albany Plan of Union Drafted by Benjamin Franklin, this was the first document to detail a proposal of inter- colonial unity and to aim for a permanent union of American colonies.

1765: The Stamp Act Congress meets in New York City This congress developed a unified colonial strategy to appeal and protest the unfair legislation of Parliament.

1774: Meeting of the First Continental Congress Meeting in Philadelphia, the First Continental Congress organized a unified colonial boycott, and agreed to meet again if their terms were not met.

1774: Presentation of the Galloway Plan to Congress This proposal for union included a plan to establish an American Parliament that would provide legislative authority over the colonies and empowered with veto power over the British Parliament in regards to colonial matters.

May, 1775: The Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia This congress met to discuss further unified colonial appeals, to plan protests and to manage the beginnings of military action against the British.

January,1776: Publication of Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union Benjamin Franklin drafts a plan of union that based representation in congress and contributions to the common treasury on the number of males in each state between sixteen and sixty years of age.

June 7, 1776: Richard Henry Lee proposes independence in Congress
Lee proposes a resolution that calls for drafting a declaration of independence and a plan of government and confederation.

June 12, 1776: Committee appointed to draft Articles of Confederation Congress appoints a committee chaired by John Dickinson to draft the plan of confederation.

July 2, 1776: Draft of the Articles submitted to Congress John Dickinson's draft of the Articles of Confederation is submitted to Congress for debate and revision.

July 4, 1776: U.S. declares independence Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence is published to the world.

November 15, 1777: Congress completes the Articles of Confederation The final version of the Articles of Confederation is adopted by Congress and submitted to the states for ratification.

July 9, 1778: Eight of the thirteen states officially ratify the Articles The delegations from New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina sign and ratify the Articles of Confederation.

February 22, 1779: Delaware ratifies the Articles Delaware ratifies the Articles of Confederation, and Maryland is the only state yet to ratify. The confederation does not take effect until all states have ratified.

January 2, 1781: Virginia cession of land Virginia cedes a portion of its land west of the Appalachian Mountains to Congress.

March 1, 1781: Establishment of the U.S. Government Maryland ratifies the Articles of Confederation, formally establishing the first government of the United States.

October 17, 1781: Surrender at Yorktown British General Charles Cornwallis surrenders to the Continental Army at Yorktown, Virginia, ending the war between the United States and Great Britain.

1782: Establishment of the Bank of North America Founded by the Secretary of Finance, Robert Morris, this bank helped to stabilize the commerce of the United States.

March, 1783: Newburgh MutinyThe army stationed at Newburgh threatened mutiny because they had not received their pay and were only stopped by George Washington's effective persuasion to remain loyal to the patriotic cause.

June, 1783: Congress forced from Philadelphia A mutinous group of Pennsylvania troops, demanding pay, forced Congress to leave Philadelphia. President John Dickinson refused the assistance of all on the state militia, as he feared they were not reliable. Congress retreated to Princeton.

September 3, 1783: Signing of Treaty of Paris The Treaty of Paris establishes the terms of peace between the United States and Great Britain.

March 1784: Acquisition of the Northwest Territory Congress officially acquires the land ceded by Virginia north and west of the Ohio River.

April 23,1784: Passage of the Land Ordinance Drafted by Thomas Jefferson and accepted by Congress, this ordinance is the first to establish the process to administer newly acquired lands.

March 25, 1785: Meeting of Mount Vernon Conference Representatives of Maryland and Virginia met at George Washington's plantation to resolve conflicts over the navigation of the Potomac and Pocomoke Rivers.

September 11, 1786: Meeting of the Annapolis Convention New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia, meet to discuss uniform trade regulations, but agree to appeal to all states to meet again to discuss broader reforms.

January 25, 1787: Shays' Rebellion Daniel Shays and other armed farmers from western Massachusetts are defeated in their attempt to conquer an arsenal of weapons in Springfield, Massachusetts.

May 25, 1787: First meeting of the Constitutional Convention Delegates from all states except Rhode Island meet in Philadelphia for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.

July 13, 1787: Passage of the Northwest Ordinance This serves as a revision of the earlier ordinance and establishes, amongst other things, that slavery is prohibited from the new region.

September 17, 1787: Draft of constitution submitted to the states The Constitutional Convention sends its draft of the U.S. Constitution to the states for ratification.

Source: Spark Notes

Article IX Part One:

Article IX. The United States in Congress assembled, shall have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth article — of sending and receiving ambassadors — entering into treaties and alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made whereby the legislative power of the respective States shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners, as their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species of goods or commodities whatsoever — of establishing rules for deciding in all cases, what captures on land or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by land or naval forces in the service of the United States shall be divided or appropriated — of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace — appointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the high seas and establishing courts for receiving and determining finally appeals in all cases of captures, provided that no member of Congress shall be appointed a judge of any of the said courts.

The United States in Congress assembled shall also be the last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting or that hereafter may arise between two or more States concerning boundary, jurisdiction or any other causes whatever; which authority shall always be exercised in the manner following. Whenever the legislative or executive authority or lawful agent of any State in controversy with another shall present a petition to Congress stating the matter in question and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of Congress to the legislative or executive authority of the other State in controversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who shall then be directed to appoint by joint consent, commissioners or judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in question: but if they cannot agree, Congress shall name three persons out of each of the United States, and from the list of such persons each party shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number shall be reduced to thirteen; and from that number not less than seven, nor more than nine names as Congress shall direct, shall in the presence of Congress be drawn out by lot, and the persons whose names shall be so drawn or any five of them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major part of the judges who shall hear the cause shall agree in the determination: and if either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons, which Congress shall judge sufficient, or being present shall refuse to strike, the Congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each State, and the secretary of Congress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing; and the judgement and sentence of the court to be appointed, in the manner before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, or judgement, which shall in like manner be final and decisive, the judgement or sentence and other proceedings being in either case transmitted to Congress, and lodged among the acts of Congress for the security of the parties concerned: provided that every commissioner, before he sits in judgement, shall take an oath to be administered by one of the judges of the supreme or superior court of the State, where the cause shall be tried, 'well and truly to hear and determine the matter in question, according to the best of his judgement, without favor, affection or hope of reward': provided also, that no State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States.

All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under different grants of two or more States, whose jurisdictions as they may respect such lands, and the States which passed such grants are adjusted, the said grants or either of them being at the same time claimed to have originated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, shall on the petition of either party to the Congress of the United States, be finally determined as near as may be in the same manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different States.

The United States in Congress assembled shall also have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective States — fixing the standards of weights and measures throughout the United States — regulating the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians, not members of any of the States, provided that the legislative right of any State within its own limits be not infringed or violated — establishing or regulating post offices from one State to another, throughout all the United States, and exacting such postage on the papers passing through the same as may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said office — appointing all officers of the land forces, in the service of the United States, excepting regimental officers — appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and commissioning all officers whatever in the service of the United States — making rules for the government and regulation of the said land and naval forces, and directing their operations.

Article IX Part II and Article X:

The United States in Congress assembled shall have authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of Congress, to be denominated 'A Committee of the States', and to consist of one delegate from each State; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the United States under their direction — to appoint one of their members to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term of three years; to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the service of the United States, and to appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public expenses — to borrow money, or emit bills on the credit of the United States, transmitting every half-year to the respective States an account of the sums of money so borrowed or emitted — to build and equip a navy — to agree upon the number of land forces, and to make requisitions from each State for its quota, in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in such State; which requisition shall be binding, and thereupon the legislature of each State shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the men and cloath, arm and equip them in a solid- like manner, at the expense of the United States; and the officers and men so cloathed, armed and equipped shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled. But if the United States in Congress assembled shall, on consideration of circumstances judge proper that any State should not raise men, or should raise a smaller number of men than the quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, cloathed, armed and equipped in the same manner as the quota of each State, unless the legislature of such State shall judge that such extra number cannot be safely spread out in the same, in which case they shall raise, officer, cloath, arm and equip as many of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared. And the officers and men so cloathed, armed, and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled.

The United States in Congress assembled shall never engage in a war, nor grant letters of marque or reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the defense and welfare of the United States, or any of them, nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the United States, nor appropriate money, nor agree upon the number of vessels of war, to be built or purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a commander in chief of the army or navy, unless nine States assent to the same: nor shall a question on any other point, except for adjourning from day to day be determined, unless by the votes of the majority of the United States in Congress assembled.

The Congress of the United States shall have power to adjourn to any time within the year, and to any place within the United States, so that no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than the space of six months, and shall publish the journal of their proceedings monthly, except such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances or military operations, as in their judgement require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the delegates of each State on any question shall be entered on the journal, when it is desired by any delegates of a State, or any of them, at his or their request shall be furnished with a transcript of the said journal, except such parts as are above excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the several States.

Article X. The Committee of the States, or any nine of them, shall be authorized to execute, in the recess of Congress, such of the powers of Congress as the United States in Congress assembled, by the consent of the nine States, shall from time to time think expedient to vest them with; provided that no power be delegated to the said Committee, for the exercise of which, by the Articles of Confederation, the voice of nine States in the Congress of the United States assembled be requisite.

Article XI.

This week's article discussion:

Canada acceding to this confederation, and adjoining in the measures of the United States, shall be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages of this Union; but no other colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed to by nine States.

This seems to be an interesting article that belonged to the Articles of Confederation regarding Canada; it was almost like a colony. It seems odd that things changed substantially when the new constitution was drawn up.

Additional thoughts on above:

What is interesting about this article is that at that time if Canada had chosen to declare its independence first and then further to agree to the terms of the Articles of Confederation, it could have joined the original union and it would have become a fully sovereign state like the other thirteen colonies/states.

What was also curious was that the articles of confederation and this particular article in no way mentioned any other colony or area of land; however, the founding fathers really had on their thinking caps because they offered an approach to add new states in the future if nine states agreed to extend an offer to another colony or location. It seemed to pave the way for future expansion.

Additionally, one of the other motivating factors was to get Great Britain off of the continent. They probably thought that this would make the colonies and the union that much more secure and safer. It would also give the union more of an expansive reach to other land and natural resources.

I have to admit that this was a forward thinking article.

Bentley

Next week's article is article 13:


Article XIII.

Every State shall abide by the determination of the United States in Congress assembled, on all questions which by this confederation are submitted to them. And the Articles of this Confederation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and the Union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them; unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every State.

It might be interesting to review the conclusion and the signatures for the articles of confederation.

And Whereas it hath pleased the Great Governor of the World to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in Congress, to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union. Know Ye that we the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that purpose, do by these presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, and all and singular the matters and things therein contained: And we do further solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the determinations of the United States in Congress assembled, on all questions, which by the said Confederation are submitted to them. And that the Articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the States we respectively represent, and that the Union shall be perpetual.

In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in Congress. Done at Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania the ninth day of July in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-Eight, and in the Third Year of the independence of America.

On the part and behalf of the State of New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
John Wentworth Junr. August 8th 1778

On the part and behalf of The State of Massachusetts Bay:
John Hancock
Samuel Adams
Elbridge Gerry
Francis Dana
James Lovell
Samuel Holten

On the part and behalf of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations:
William Ellery
Henry Marchant
John Collins

On the part and behalf of the State of Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
Oliver Wolcott
Titus Hosmer
Andrew Adams

On the Part and Behalf of the State of New York:
James Duane
Francis Lewis
Wm Duer
Gouv Morris

On the Part and in Behalf of the State of New Jersey, November 26, 1778.
Jno Witherspoon
Nath. Scudder

On the part and behalf of the State of Pennsylvania:
Robt Morris
Daniel Roberdeau
John Bayard Smith
William Clingan
Joseph Reed 22nd July 1778

On the part and behalf of the State of Delaware:
Tho Mckean February 12, 1779
John Dickinson May 5th 1779
Nicholas Van Dyke

On the part and behalf of the State of Maryland:
John Hanson March 1 1781
Daniel Carroll

On the Part and Behalf of the State of Virginia:
Richard Henry Lee
John Banister
Thomas Adams
Jno Harvie
Francis Lightfoot Lee

On the part and Behalf of the State of No Carolina:
John Penn July 21st 1778
Corns Harnett
Jno Williams

On the part and behalf of the State of South Carolina:
Henry Laurens
William Henry Drayton
Jno Mathews
Richd Hutson
Thos Heyward Junr

On the part and behalf of the State of Georgia:
Jno Walton 24th July 1778
Edwd Telfair
Edwd Langworthy


Who were some of these people? In the conclusion, who or what was being referred to as the "Great Governor of the world?"

Bentley wrote: "Next week's article is article 13:


Article XIII.

Every State shall abide by the determination of the United States in Congress assembled, on all questions which by this confederation are submit..."

What is interesting about article 13 is that each state "had to accept and to agree to follow the decisions of the United States in Congress assembled. The states must follow all of the rules as stated in the Articles of Confederation. The union of states is meant to last forever. No alterations can be made to the Articles without the agreement of Congress and the confirmation by each of the state legislatures. Of course we realize that the Articles of Confederation did not last forever because it had some inherent flaws which had to be worked out by the founding fathers.


Each of the delegates that signed the document had the power to commit the state that they represented to all of the Articles and their specific contents.

Doesn't that seem so odd today where we have local elections etc and town hall meetings, etc. and a much larger population. Back then two or three representatives from the state spoke up for the entire populace and everybody allegedly went along.


The people of each state agreed to follow the rulings of Congress on all matters discussed, and each of the states agreed to never violate the union. Of course, we know in hindsight that there were problems with that agreement as well; i.e.; specifically South Carolina, etc and other situations.


The founding fathers then signed the Articles as members of Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 9, 1778, the third year of American Independence.

The country was independent for three full years before they had a document agreed to (the Articles of Confederation)

Article 13 gave the confederation the means and the power to enforce the Articles and its success depended upon the "friendship" clause of Article II which had already proved in danger. It was supposed to be enforced by the mutual commitment of all of the people who had signed the document to respect the union of the thirteen states and honor each other and their respective constituencies. What was discovered is that their commitments seem to waiver as the threat of war diminished.

What occurred and was evident was that there was no strong and coercive power to force states into compliance. The states didn't send their delegates to Congress as they were supposed to do. Some of the states were delinquent on contributions to the general treasury which was necessary to keep the country going. Other states were not that interested in matters of foreign commerce, and others decided to just do what they wanted and decided to take power into their own hands. War had kept them together because they needed a common and mutual means to defend themselves and they saw the value of a central government then; but when this threat was not always prevalent; then some of the states resolve for a strong core government was lessened. There has always been a struggle between those who want a strong central government and those who want more power in the hands of the individual states (state's rights); goodness some of these same arguments are going on today.

Source: The Articles of Confederation, Spark Notes and the following books:

Bernstein, Richard B. with Rice, Kym S. Are We to Be a Nation? The Making of the Constitution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987.

Jensen, Merrill. The Articles of Confederation. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1970.

Mitchell, Broadus and Mitchell, Louise Pearson. A Biography of The Constitution of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1964.

Morgan, Edmund S. The Birth of the Republic 1763-89. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1977.

Morris, Richard B. The Forging of the Union 1781-1789. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1988

Are We to Be a Nation?

JOSIAH BARTLETT

I thought it would be interesting to find out more about the signers of the Articles of Confederation and who were these men and how they are depicted today. So I started reading about Josiah Bartlett.

Josaih Bartlett was from New Hampshire but actually had been born in Massachusetts. He was a physician, a statesman, a judge, and the Governor of New Hampshire (in those days they called the governors sometimes the president of their states).

Here is an excerpt from wikipedia:

"Josiah Bartlett (November 21, 1729 – May 19, 1795), was an American physician and statesman, delegate to the Continental Congress for New Hampshire, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was later Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court of Judicature and Governor of the state."

Some other interesting details about the man and his family:

a) Descendants of his family still live in the home! They give tours throughout the year in Kingston, New Hampshire I believe.

b) There is a statue in honor of Bartlett in the town of Amesbury, Massachusetts where he was born.

c) "The fictional U.S. president on The West Wing, a popular NBC television drama series, is named "Josiah Bartlet". Despite the spelling difference, the character (played by Martin Sheen), who is also a former governor and Congressman from New Hampshire, is a fictional direct descendant of the New Hampshire signer of the Declaration of Independence." - Source - Wikipedia

d) Bartlett was a physician;" when the area around Kingston had an epidemic of a fever and canker called throat distemper around 1735. For adults it was a serious illness, but for children it was frequently fatal, especially among the very young. When the illness struck again in 1754, Dr. Bartlett simply tried doses of several available drugs, and discovered that Peruvian Bark would relieve symptoms long enough to allow recovery." - Source - Wikipedia

e) He was appointed a judge to the New Hampshire Supreme Court even though he had never been a lawyer.

f) In terms of the Continental Congress, Bartlett was selected as a delegate from New Hampshire again in 1775 (John Pickering had also bee elected to serve before when Bartlett declined the first time - his house had been burned down by the Tories!). He attended that session in 1775 as well as the meetings in 1776.

Indeed, for a time in late 1775 and early 1776 he was the only delegate attending from New Hampshire!

Much of the work of the Congress was carried out in Committees. The most important of these had a delegate from each state, which meant that Bartlett served on all of them, including those of Safety, Secrecy, Munitions, Marine, and Civil Government. He was very busy; no wonder he wrote home for help from some other New Hampshire citizens.

g) When the question of declaring independence from Great Britain was officially brought up in 1776, as a representative of the northernmost colony Bartlett was the first to be asked, and answered in the affirmative. So he was the first to declare himself and NH was the first state to declare its intentions.

h) On August 2, 1776 when delegates signed the formal copy of the Declaration of Independence, his position made him the second to sign, just after John Hancock, the president of the Congress. That in of itself is fairly impressive.

i) He was re-elected to Congress in 1778, and served on the committee that drafted the Articles of Confederation. But, after the articles were adopted, he returned to New Hampshire to attend to personal business. This was the last of his federal service. While he was at the Congress in 1776, his wife Mary had managed the farm, seen to the completion of rebuilding their house, cared for nine children, and given birth to Hannah.


Source - Wikipedia



Other Sources:











Papers of Josiah Bartlett

On August 2, 1776 when the Articles of Federation were signed; it is important to note that John Hancock was the President of the Continental Congress "at that time." He was the fourth man to serve in that capacity and his was the fifth term.

But it is also important to note that "he was not the first nor the last President of the Continental Congresses" and that he served for more than one year. I am posting a listing of all of the Presidents of the Continental Congresses to make that point clearer.



United States: Presidents of Congress: 1774-1789

President of Congress [1:]

5 Sep 1774 - 22 Oct 1774 Peyton Randolph

22 Oct 1774 - 26 Oct 1774 Henry Middleton

26 Oct 1774 - 10 May 1775 dissolution period [2:]

10 May 1775 - 24 May 1775 Peyton Randolph (x)

24 May 1775 - 29 Oct 1777 John Hancock

29 Oct 1777 - 1 Nov 1777 office vacant [3:]

1 Nov 1777 - 9 Dec 1778 Henry Laurens

10 Dec 1778 - 28 Sep 1779 John Jay

28 Sep 1779 - 10 Jul 1781 Samuel Huntington

10 Jul 1781 - 4 Nov 1781 Thomas McKean

5 Nov 1781 - 3 Nov 1782 John Hanson

4 Nov 1782 - 2 Nov 1783 Elias Boudinot

Then the title changed to the Chairman of Congress:

Chairman of Congress [4:]

3 Nov 1783 - 12 Dec 1783 Daniel Carroll

Then the title changed back to President:

President of Congress

3 Nov 1783 - 31 Oct 1784 Thomas Mifflin [5:]

1 Nov 1784 - 30 Nov 1784 office vacant

30 Nov 1784 - 6 Nov 1785 Richard Henry Lee

7 Nov 1785 - 23 Nov 1785 office vacant

Then the title went back to Chairman of Congress once again:

Chairman of Congress [6:]

23 Nov 1785 - 12 May 1786 David Ramsay

13 May 1786 - 15 May 1786 office vacant

15 May 1786 - 5 Jun 1786 Nathaniel Gorham

Then the title goes back again to President:

President of Congress

6 Jun 1786 - 5 Nov 1786 Nathaniel Gorham (x)

6 Nov 1786 - 2 Feb 1787 office vacant

2 Feb 1787 - 4 Nov 1787 Arthur St. Clair

5 Nov 1787 - 22 Jan 1788 office vacant

22 Jan 1788 - 2 Nov 1788 Cyrus Griffin

3 Nov 1788 - 2 Mar 1789 office vacant

I am amazed at this zig zagging back and forth; the title changes, the fact that in some years there was nobody minding the store for certain periods of time and the office was just left vacant with no backup named!

It is also amazing to me that all of these men served in the capacity really of President of the Congressional Congress and really the President of the country under the Articles of Confederation.yet most of them the average American has never heard of.

In looking through the entire list of all of the men who served as Presidents under the Continental Congress; I only recognized two names Henry Middleton (because I had visited Middleton Place - his plantation in South Carolina outside of Charleston) and of course John Hancock and on second thought John Jay.

It is interesting that the Presidents who US citizens even remember or know about for the most part start with General George Washington; although all of these other men should be remembered too but are not really. George Washington is known as the Father of our Country but that is a fallacy too when you see how many great and brave men served before he ever did. I guess one could say that because he served in the American Revolution that this nickname would still suffice..he did to a certain extent lead us through the morass of the American Revolution.

After the Articles of Confederation were replaced with the Constitution, the last President of the Continental Congresses (Cyrus Griffin) resigned because now the ratification of the new Constitution replacing the Articles made the Continental Congress and the Presidency of the Continental Congress obsolete.

This paved the way for the first President of the United States elected under the new and improved Constitution. It paved the way for George Washington who served as the President of the United States from April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797 ( a period of 8 years) and he did not want to do it any longer. Since he was the 1st Commander in Chief of the Continental Army; it would seem that his election at that time was a natural progression from the service that he had given the new country's cause in battle. But before George Washington became our first president under the new Constitution, it is very fair to say that under the Articles of Confederation there were sixteen men who served our country in a similar capacity before he did!

REGARDING THE SIGNING OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION:

It appears that some signed the document on July 9, 1778 and others did not. It was also mentioned in the Articles of Confederation that as of July 9, 1778, our fledgling country was in its third year. It took three years for us to get to the Articles of Confederation with 13 colonies! And then some of the time we had nobody in charge. I think it was touch and go getting our democracy up and running. I guess in retrospect we may be expecting much too much from countries who are just trying to set up a democracy for the first time. It certainly was not like somebody just flicked a switch and said it was done.

I guess we had the benefit of the English perspective of how a society interacts with each other and gets along with differences (at least to a certain extent) when we started out in the new world). But a fair amount of time had elapsed before getting our country to work.

The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union as they were called seemed to indicate that the relationship was forever: aka perpetual union. It was first drafted in June of 1776 and was the first constitution of the United States. The draft was then presented to the union for ratification and to be voted upon on November 1777. There was actually a second draft which had been done in the summer of 1777; then the Second Continental Congress approved it for ratification by the states on November 15, 1777. It was actually allegedly presented in York, Pennsylvania.

"A copy at that time was made for each state and one was kept by the Congress. The copies sent to the states for ratification were unsigned, and a cover letter had only the signatures of Henry Laurens and Charles Thomson, who were the President and Secretary to the Congress at that time.

But, the Articles at that time were unsigned, and the date was blank. Congress began the signing process by examining their copy of the Articles on June 27, 1778. They ordered a final copy prepared (the one in the National Archives), and that delegates should inform the secretary of their authority for ratification." - source wikipedia

Some might ask who signed the document on the date stated: July 9, 1778. There seemed to be some who signed right away and then there were other signatures with other dates besides their names. In fact the delegation from New Hampshire signed on different days.

What actually occurred was "that on July 9, 1778, the prepared copy was ready. They dated it, and began to sign. They also requested each of the remaining states to notify its delegation when ratification was completed. On that date, delegates who were present from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina signed the Articles to indicate that their states had ratified. New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland could not, since their states had not ratified. North Carolina and Georgia also didn't sign that day, since their delegations were absent.

After the first signing on July 9, 1778, some delegates who were not present on that date signed at the next meeting they attended.

For example, John Wentworth of New Hampshire added his name on August 8. John Penn was the first of North Carolina's delegates to arrive (on July 10), and the delegation from North Carolina actually signed the Articles on July 21, 1778.

"The other states had to wait until they ratified the Articles and notified their Congressional delegation. Georgia signed on July 24, New Jersey on November 26, and Delaware on February 12, 1779. Maryland refused to ratify the Articles until every state had ceded its western land claims."

"On February 2, 1781, the much-awaited decision was taken by the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis.[15:] As the last piece of business during the afternoon Session, "among engrossed Bills" was "signed and sealed by Governor Thomas Sim Lee in the Senate Chamber, in the presence of the members of both Houses… an Act to empower the delegates of this state in Congress to subscribe and ratify the articles of confederation" and perpetual union among the states. The Senate then adjourned "to the first Monday in August next." The decision of Maryland to ratify the Articles was reported to the Continental Congress on February 12. The formal signing of the Articles by the Maryland delegates took place in Philadelphia at noon time on March 1, 1781 and was celebrated in the afternoon. With these events, the Articles entered into force and the United States came into being as a united, sovereign and national state." - source - wikipedia

It is hard for us to believe I am sure but the Continental Congress had debated the Articles for over a year and a half with at least two drafts, then the ratification process had taken nearly three and a half years! When you think about it anything could have happened during that time period and there was absolutely no Constitution of any kind before the Articles of Confederation.

By the time of the ratification and signings; participants in the original debates were no longer delegates, and some of the signers had only recently arrived.

The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union were signed by a group of men who were never present in the Congress at the same time. It is mind boggling when you think about it. But this explains all of the different dates beside the signatures and why there was such a delay getting this ratified by Maryland.

Source - wikipedia

WHO DRAFTED THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION?

In 1754, Benjamin Franklin drafted the Albany Plan of Union. The First Continental Congress met in 1774. Also in 1774, a delegate from Pennsylvania Joseph Galloway had a plan where the colonies could remain in the British Empire. this was rejected. He had wanted to set up an American Colonial Parliament to work with the British Parliament (nixed). Then in 1776, Benjamin Franklin knew more was needed and drafted the outline and the overall initial draft of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union; this gave the Congress a good running start; and the next draft which went to committee was drafted by John Dickerson. Then a lot of members got involved changing and debating the draft including Jefferson and Madison and many many others. It appears that it took another two years to get something readied for signature!

BIOGRAPHIES OF THE SIGNERS OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION:

I read a great book on Robert Morris who was in charge of finance:

by Charles Rappleye

That looks great Bryan.

An upcoming book:
Release date: October 24, 2017

We Have Not a Government: The Articles of Confederation and the Road to the Constitution

by George William Van Cleve (no photo)

Synopsis:

In 1783, as the Revolutionary War came to a close, Alexander Hamilton resigned in disgust from the Continental Congress after it refused to consider a fundamental reform of the Articles of Confederation. Just four years later, that same government collapsed, and Congress grudgingly agreed to support the 1787 Philadelphia Constitutional Convention, which altered the Articles beyond recognition. What occurred during this remarkably brief interval to cause the Confederation to lose public confidence and inspire Americans to replace it with a dramatically more flexible and powerful government? We Have Not a Government is the history of this contentious moment in American history.

In George William Van Cleve’s compelling book, we encounter a sharply divided America. The Confederation faced massive war debts with virtually no authority to compel its members to pay them. It experienced punishing trade restrictions and strong resistance to American territorial expansion from powerful European governments. Bitter sectional divisions that deadlocked the Continental Congress arose from exploding western settlement. And a deep, long-lasting recession led to sharp controversies and social unrest across the country amid roiling debates over greatly increased taxes, debt relief, and paper money. Van Cleve shows how these remarkable stresses transformed the Confederation into a stalemate government and eventually led previously conflicting states, sections, and interest groups to advocate for a union powerful enough to govern a continental empire.

Touching on the stories of a wide-ranging cast of characters—including John Adams, Patrick Henry, Daniel Shays, George Washington, and Thayendanegea—Van Cleve makes clear that it was the Confederation’s failures that created a political crisis and led to the 1787 Constitution. Clearly argued and superbly written, We Have Not a Government is a must-read history of this crucial period in our nation’s early life.

Thank you Jerome

Here are some wonderful courses on Khan Academy in AP - US Government and Politics - Foundations of American Democracy.



Source: Khan Academy

James Madison and the Constitution - discussed Articles of Confederation as well in this C-Span video

Video on C-Span - James Madison and the Constitution


Source: C-Span

Khan Academy tackles the Constitutional Convention: - this is pretty good


James Madison - age 32 in 1783

In this video, historian Joe Ellis and Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson discuss the Constitutional Convention and the replacement of the Articles of Confederation, the Virginia Plan and national government vs. states rights. Created by Aspen Institute.



Source: Khan Academy, Youtube, Aspen Institute

More:
The Constitution and democracy - Ellis and Isaacson for Khan Academy - pretty good - they get into the discussion of a republic versus a democracy which is part of the Federalist 14 essay

The Constitution and the role of the President - Ellis and Isaacson - pretty good

The Constitution and slavery part 1 - - Ellis and Isaacson - pretty good - they discuss the Constitution and ideological divide around slavery in addition to the Three-Fifths compromise


Note: I have decided to include all of these brief presentations by Ellis and Isaacson because they are very good and give some excellent background information either about the discussions at the Constitutional Conference itself or repercussions later on.

More (cont'd):
The Constitution and slavery part 2 - Ellis and Isaacson continue the discussion of the Constitution and slavery and what compromise meant at the Constitutional Convention and George Washington's involvement with slaves - pretty good

The Constitution and proportional representation - this one has relevance to Federalist 14 in terms of the states - Ellis and Isaacson talk about the following: In the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the delegates compromised on state representation by dividing the legislative branch between the Senate, in which every state has two representatives regardless of size, and the House of Representations, where representatives are apportioned to the states according to their population. For the purposes of apportionment, the delegates agreed to the now-infamous Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted each enslaved resident of the Southern states as three-fifths of a person - this one was excellent and describes extremely well what is wrong in Congress and other branches today - lack of humility - quite good when they discuss Ben Franklin's letter

The Constitution and "We, the People of the United States" - Joe Ellis and Walter Isaacson discuss the beginning of the Constitution and the term "We, the People of the United States" and what that means - relevant to Federalist 14 and the power of the people - very good

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights: Amendments 1-3
Ellis and Isaacson discuss the Constitution's Bill of Rights, Amendments 1-3 - Relevant to Federalist 14 in many ways because Madison is the author of the Bill of Rights which was a compromise to the Anti Federalists to get their votes to ratify the Constitution - 7 states ratified the constitution with suggested amendments - the amendments were not stipulations by recommendations (Madison wanted to make that point) - there were actually 124 suggested original state recommended amendments - many overlapped and repeated themselves - but Madison said in order to get the full cooperation of the states - remember Rhode Island had not certified, North Carolina was lingering, New York really signed against its will that we need to prove and show that we have listened to them. Madison writes them on his own time when he was then in the House of Representatives and is a codicil to the Constitution - very good

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights: Amendments 4, 5, 10
Ellis and Isaacson discuss the Constitution's Bill of Rights, Amendments 4, 5, and 10. - this is interesting because the 10th amendment was a catch all for everything not discussed in the Constitution about the rights of the states and its people - but this amendment has caused quite a bit of ire and confusion. - good

For Fun - there is a Practice Test:
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