and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and
conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally
entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of
conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian
forbearance, love and charity towards each other.
* * * * *
[The failure of historians to give due credit to this bill of rights is
remarkable. I call attention to two illustrations.
(1) Cushing's _Transition from Provincial to Commonwealth Government
in Massachusetts_ (Columbia University Studies, VII, 1896) states
incorrectly (p. 246, note 1) that the constitution of Virginia
contained no preamble (cf. No. 137 below): and, on page 247 and notes,
it quotes precedents from the Maryland bill of rights instead of from
the Virginia document from which the Maryland statement was taken;
while page 248, in referring to "others [than Massachusetts that]
realized keenly the vital importance of a clear and abiding statement
of the immunities and privileges of man in civil society," adds the
note: "A Declaration of Rights was adopted by Delaware, Maryland,
New Hampshire (1784), North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, _and_
Virginia" (!) The order of statement is ingeniously misleading. All the
others named drew mainly from the one named last.
(2) Merriam's _History of American Political Theories_ (1902) contains
several such misleading statements. On page 49, to illustrate the
fact that some State constitutions (as well as the Declaration of
Independence) asserted the doctrine of "inalienable rights," including
"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," reference is made in
detail to the New Hampshire bill of rights (eight years later than
the Declaration), but not at all to the Virginia bill of rights,
which preceded the Continental Declaration. So, too, especially on
page 153, a footnote is inserted expressly to show how the idea of
"frequent recurrence to fundamental principles" was often expressed in
Revolutionary State constitutions, as follows: "Massachusetts (1780),
Art. 18; Pennsylvania (1776), Art. 14; New Hampshire, Art. 38; North
Carolina, Art. 21; Vermont, Art. 16." Would it not have been well to
recognize in such a list the State in whose constitution the phrase was
first used?]
137. The First Declaration of Independence by a State
_Preamble to the Virginia Constitution, June 29, 1776_
The Virginia constitution, adopted on June 29, 1776, consisted of
three parts: (1) a declaration of independence; (2) the bill of
rights; (3) the frame of government. The original intention (No.
135, close) had been to include the last two only, and to leave
the declaration of independence to Congress. But on June 24, when
the convention had nearly completed its consideration of the
constitution, it received from Jefferson a draft of a constitution
prefaced by a declaration of independence. Of the adoption of this
preface, Jefferson wrote in 1825:
"I was then at Philadelphia ... knowing that the Convention of
Virginia was engaged in forming a plan of government, I turned my
mind to the same subject, and drew a sketch ... of a Constitution
with a preamble, which I sent to Mr. Pendleton, president of the
Convention ... He informed me ... that he received it on the day
on which the Committee of the Whole had reported to the House the
plan they had agreed to; and that it had been so long in hand,
so disputed inch by inch ... that they were worried with the
contentions it had produced, and could not, from mere lassitude,
have been induced to open the instrument again; but that, being
pleased with the Preamble to mine, they adopted it in the House,
by way of amendment to the report of the committee [June 29]; and
thus my Preamble was tacked to the work of George Mason, ... _The
Preamble was prior in composition to the Declaration_ [of July
4]."[132]
Whereas George Guelf, king of Great Britain ... and heretofore
entrusted with the exercise of the kingly office in this government
[Virginia], hath endeavored to pervert the same into a detestable and
insupportable tyranny:
by putting his negative on laws the most wholesome and necessary
for the public good;
by ... [21 indictments follow--similar to the charges in the
Declaration soon after adopted at Philadelphia] by which
several acts of mis-rule the said George Guelf has forfeited
the kingly office, and has rendered it necessary for the
preservation of the people that he should be immediately
deposed from the same....
Be it therefore enacted by the authority of the people that the said
George Guelf be, and he hereby is deposed from the kingly office within
this government, and absolutely divested of all its rights, powers,
and prerogatives: and that he and his descendants, and all persons
acting by or through him, and all other persons whatsoever, shall be
and forever remain incapable of the same: and that the said office
shall henceforth cease, and never more either in name or substance be
reestablished within this colony.
138. Revolutionary State Governments
_a. Recommendation of Congress, May 15, 1776_
_Journals of Congress_ (Ford edition), V, 357 ff.
IN CONGRESS, May 15, 1776.
_Whereas_, his Britannic majesty, in conjunction with the lords and
commons of Great Britain, has, by a late act of parliament, excluded
the inhabitants of these united colonies from the protection of his
crown--And whereas no answer whatever to the humble petitions of the
colonies for redress of grievances and reconciliation with Great
Britain, has been, or is likely to be given, but the whole force of
that kingdom, aided by foreign mercenaries, is to be exerted for the
destruction of the good people of these colonies--and whereas it
appears absolutely irreconcilable to reason and good conscience, for
the people of these colonies NOW to take the oaths and affirmations
necessary for the support of any government under the crown of Great
Britain; =and it is necessary that the exercise of every kind of
authority under the said crown should be totally suppressed, and all
the powers of government exerted under the authority of the people of
the colonies=, for the preservation of internal peace, virtue, and
good order, as well as for the defence of their lives, liberties and
properties, against the hostile invasions and cruel depredations of
their enemies--Therefore,
=_Resolved_, That it be recommended to the respective assemblies, and
conventions, of the united colonies, where no government sufficient to
the exigencies of their affairs has been heretofore established, to
adopt such government as shall, in the opinion of the representatives
of the people, best conduce to the happiness and safety of their
constituents in particular, and America in general.=
_b. John Adams' Comment upon the Bearing of that Action (#a# above)
upon Independence_
_Letters of John Adams to His Wife_, I, 109-111. Adams had been
the special champion of the action finally recommended by Congress
as above. On the following Sunday, he wrote as follows of that
memorable action, and of the earlier action in South Carolina in
adopting a _temporary_ government of its own.
_John Adams to Abigail Adams_
Philadelphia, May 17, 1776.
I have this morning heard Mr. Duffield, upon the signs of the
times. ... He concluded, that the course of events indicated strongly
the design of Providence, that we should be separated from Great
Britain, etc....
Is it not a saying of Moses, "who am I, that I should go in and out
before this great people?" When I consider the great events which
are passed, and those greater which are rapidly advancing, and that
I may have been instrumental in touching some springs, and turning
some small wheels, which have had and will have such effects, I feel
an awe upon my mind, which is not easily described. Great Britain has
at last driven America to the last step, a complete separation from
her; a total absolute independence, not only of her Parliament, but
of her crown, _for such is the amount of the resolve of the 15th.
Confederation among ourselves, or alliances with foreign nations, are
not necessary to a perfect separation from Britain. That is effected by
extinguishing all authority under the crown, Parliament, and nation, as
the resolution for instituting governments has done, to all intents and
purposes._ Confederation will be necessary for our internal concord,
and alliances may be so for our external defence.
_I have reasons to believe that no colony, which shall assume a
government under the people, will give it up._ There is something
very unnatural and odious in a government a thousand leagues off. A
whole government of our own choice, managed by persons whom we love,
revere, and can confide in, has charms in it, for which men will
fight. Two young gentlemen from South Carolina in this city, who were
in Charlestown when their new constitution was promulgated, and when
their new Governor and Council and Assembly walked out in procession,
attended by the guards, company of cadets, light horse, etc., told me,
that they were beheld by the people with transports and tears of joy.
The people gazed at them with a kind of rapture. They both told me,
that the reflection, that these were gentlemen whom they all loved,
esteemed and revered, gentlemen of their own choice, whom they could
trust, and whom they could displace, if any of them should behave
amiss, affected them so, that they could not help crying. _They say,
their people will never give up this government. ..._
139. Instructions by "State" Conventions _against_ Independence
(January-May, 1776)
_Proceedings of the Conventions of Maryland in 1774, 1775, and
1776_, pages 82-84, 140-142, 176.
Similar instructions were given in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
(1) _In Convention, January 12th,_
To the honorable Matthew Tilgham, Esq., Thomas Jefferson, Jr., Robert
Goldsborough, William Paca, Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone, Robert
Alexander, and John Rogers, Esquires.
The convention taking into their most serious consideration the present
state of the unhappy dispute between Great Britain and the united
colonies, think it proper to deliver you their sentiments, and to
instruct you in certain points, relative to your conduct in congress,
as representatives of this province.
The experience we and our ancestors have had of the mildness and equity
of the English constitution, under which we have grown up to and
enjoyed a state of felicity, not exceeded among any people we know of,
until the grounds of the present controversy were laid by the ministry
and parliament of Great Britain, has most strongly endeared to us that
form of government from whence these blessings have been derived, and
makes us ardently wish for a reconciliation with the mother country,
upon terms that may insure to these colonies an equal and permanent
freedom.
To this constitution we are attached, not merely by habit, but by
principle, being in our judgments persuaded [that] it is of all known
systems best calculated to secure the liberty of the subject, to guard
against despotism on the one hand, and licentiousness on the other.
Impressed with these sentiments, we warmly recommend to you, to keep
constantly in your view the avowed end and purpose for which these
colonies originally associated,--the redress of American grievances and
[the] securing the rights of the colonists.
* * * * *
We further instruct you, =_that you do not without the previous
knowledge and approbation of the convention of this province, assent
to any proposition to declare these colonies independent of the crown
of Great Britain, nor to any proposition for making or entering into
alliance with any foreign power, nor to any union or confederation
of these colonies_=, which may necessarily lead to a separation from
the mother country, unless in your judgments of any four of you, or
of a majority of the whole of you, if all shall be then attending in
congress, it shall be thought absolutely necessary for the preservation
of the liberties of the united colonies; and =_should a majority of the
colonies in congress, against such your judgment, resolve to declare
these colonies independent of the crown of Great Britain, or to make
or enter into alliance with any foreign power, or into any union or
confederation of these colonies, which may necessarily lead to a
separation from the mother country, then we instruct you immediately
to call the convention of this province, and repair thereto with such
proposition and resolve, and lay the same before the said convention,
for their consideration, and this convention will not hold this
province bound by such majority in congress, until the representative
body of the province in convention assent thereto._=
Desirous as we are of peace with Great Britain upon safe and honourable
terms, we wish you nevertheless, and instruct you to join with the
other colonies in such military operations as may be judged proper and
necessary for the common defence, until such a peace can be happily
obtained.
[May 15, came the recommendation of Congress for extinguishing
all authority under the British crown and the setting up of
state governments (No. 138_a_ above), and also the instructions
of the Virginia Convention for Independence and Confederation.
The response in Maryland was merely a repetition of her previous
instructions, in the passage given below. Note the jealous
disposition to deny authority to Congress and to resent the wording
of its recommendations.]
(2) _Tuesday, May 21, 1776_
* * * * *
The convention took into their consideration the report from the
committee appointed to report on the resolution of congress of the 15th
instant, and thereupon came to the following resolutions.
_Resolved unanimously_, That the people of this province have the sole
and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police of
this province.
* * * * *
_Resolved unanimously_, That this province has hitherto exerted itself,
and will upon all occasions continue to exert itself, with cheerfulness
and alacrity, in the common cause, agreeable to the faith pledged in
the union of the colonies: and _if it shall appear to this province_
necessary to enter into a further compact for the preservation of the
constitutional rights of America, this province will enter into such
further engagement for that purpose.
_Resolved unanimously_, That this convention, by a resolution of the
15th day of this instant, hath made sufficient provision to prevent a
necessity for any person within this province now taking the oaths for
the support of government under the crown of Great Britain, and that it
is the opinion of this convention, that =_it is not necessary that the
exercise of every kind of authority under the said crown should be now
totally suppressed_= in this province, and all the powers of government
exerted under the authority of the people.
* * * * *
_Resolved unanimously_, That as this convention is firmly persuaded
that a re-union with Great Britain on constitutional principles would
most effectually secure the rights and liberties, and increase the
strength and promote the happiness of the whole empire, objects which
this province hath ever had in view, =_the said deputies are bound and
directed to govern themselves by the instructions given to them by this
convention in its session of December[133] last, in the same manner as
if the said instructions were particularly repeated_=.
[These instructions continued in force until revoked on _June_ 28 as
follows:]
(3) _Resolved unanimously_, That the instructions given by the
convention of December last (and renewed by the convention in May)
to the deputies of this colony in Congress be recalled, and the
restrictions therein contained removed; and that the deputies of this
colony attending in Congress ... be authorized and empowered to concur
with the =_other_=[134] united colonies, or a majority of them, in
declaring the united colonies free and independent states, in forming
such further compact and confederation between them, in making foreign
alliances, and in adopting such other measures as shall be judged
necessary for securing the liberties of America; and this colony
will hold itself bound[135] by the resolutions of a majority of the
united colonies in the premises: provided the sole and exclusive right
of regulating the internal government and police of this colony be
reserved to the people thereof.
140. Motion in Congress for Independence
_Journals of Congress_, V, 425. In obedience to the instructions
from the Virginia Convention, Richard Henry Lee, on June 7,
moved in Congress the following resolutions. After delays, to
permit certain delegates to secure permission for their colonial
assemblies, the resolution was finally adopted July 2, by the vote
of all colonies but New York. For further detail, cf. _American
History and Government_, # 150.
That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and
independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the
British Crown; and that all political connection between them and the
State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.
That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for
forming foreign alliances.
That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the
respective colonies for their consideration.
141. The Continental Declaration of Independence
While the debate was proceeding on Lee's resolutions (No. 140), to
save time, in case those resolutions should be adopted, Congress
appointed a committee (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin
Franklin, Roger Sherman, and R. R. Livingston) to draft a full
"Declaration of Independence." Jefferson, the member from the
colony which had moved the resolution,[136] was naturally made
chairman and drew the document, which with slight modification
was presented to Congress on June 28. After the adoption of the
resolutions on July 2, this formal Declaration was taken up by
Congress, considered on the 2d, 3d, and 4th of July, and passed.
August 2, a copy, engrossed on parchment, was signed by the members
of Congress there present. Other signatures were added later until
all thirteen States were represented. The following capitalization,
paragraphing, and punctuation follow the original parchment.
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA
#When# in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one
people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with
another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and
equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle
them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.--We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed.--That whenever
any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the
Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its
powers in such forms, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their
Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments
long established should not be changed for light and transient
causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are
more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right
themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But
when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the
same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism,
it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and
to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the
patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity
which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.
The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of
repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the
establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this,
let Facts be submitted to a candid world.--He has refused his Assent
to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.--He
has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing
importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should
be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend
to them.--He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation
of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish
the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable
to them and formidable to tyrants only.--He has called together
legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant
from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of
fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.--He has dissolved
Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness
his invasions on the rights of the people.--He has refused for a long
time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby
the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to
the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the
mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and
convulsions within.--He has endeavoured to prevent the population of
these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization
of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration
hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.--He
has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to
Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.--He has made Judges dependent
on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and
payment of their salaries.--He has erected a multitude of New Offices,
and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out
their substance.--He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing
Armies without the Consent of our legislature.--He has affected to
render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.--He
has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to
our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent
to their acts of pretended legislation:--For quartering large bodies
of armed troops among us:--For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from
Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants
of these States:--For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the
world:--For imposing taxes on us without our Consent:--For depriving
us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:--For transporting
us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offence:--For abolishing the
free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing
therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to
render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the
same absolute rule into these Colonies:--For taking away our Charters,
abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the
Forms of our Governments:--For suspending our own Legislature, and
declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all
cases whatsoever.--He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us
out of his Protection and waging War against us.--He has plundered
our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the
lives of our people.--He is at this time transporting large armies of
foreign mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and
tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely
paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head
of a civilized nation.--He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken
Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become
executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by
their Hands.--He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has
endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless
Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished
destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. In every stage of these
Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms:
Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A
Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define
a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have We
been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned
them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend
an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the
circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed
to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by
the ties of common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would
inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too
have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must,
therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation,
and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace
Friends.--
#We, therefore,# the Representatives of the #united States of America#,
in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of
the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and
by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish
and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to
be, #free and Independent States#; that they are Absolved from all
Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection
between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be
totally dissolved; and that as FREE and INDEPENDENT STATES, they have
full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish
Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES
may of right do.--And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm
reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to
each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
JOHN HANCOCK.
[Signatures of the other representatives of the thirteen States.]
142. Anti-Social Tendencies of the Pre-Revolutionary Measures
_a. Closing of the Courts_
From "Passages from an Autobiography" in John Adams' _Works_ (II,
420-421).
The passage illustrates one of the forces that drove many of the
respectable classes into Tory ranks.
* * * * *
An event of the most trifling nature in appearance, and fit only to
excite laughter in other times, struck me into a profound reverie, if
not a fit of melancholy. I met a man who had sometimes been my client,
and sometimes I had been against him. He, though a common horse-jockey,
was sometimes in the right, and I had commonly been successful in his
favor in our courts of law. He was always in the law, and had been
sued in many actions at almost every court. As soon as he saw me, he
came up to me, and his first salutation to me was, "Oh! Mr. Adams,
what great things have you and your colleagues done for us! We can
never be grateful enough to you. There are no courts of justice now
in this Province and I hope there never will be another." Is this the
object for which I have been contending? said I to myself, for I rode
along without any answer to this wretch. Are these the sentiments of
such people, and how many of them are there in the country? Half the
nation, for what I know; for half the nation are debtors, if not more,
and these have been, in all countries, the sentiments of debtors.
If the power of the country should get into such hands, and there is
great danger that it will, to what purpose have we sacrificed our time,
health and every thing else? Surely we must guard against this spirit
and these principles, or we shall repent of all our conduct. However,
the good sense and integrity of the majority of the great body of the
people came into my thoughts, for my relief, and the last resource was
after all in a good Providence.
_b. Mob Violence, to enforce the "Association"_
From an anonymous parody, expressing the loyalist's dilemma, in
Moore's _Diary of the American Revolution_, I, 169.
To sign, or not to sign!--That is the question:
Whether 'twere better for an honest man
To sign--and so be safe; or to resolve,
Betide what will, against 'associations'
And, by retreating, shun them. To fly--I reck
Not where--and by that flight to 'scape
Feathers and tar, and thousand other ills
That Loyalty is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To fly--to want--
To want--perchance to starve! Ay there's the rub!
* * * * *
_c. Correspondence between a Tory and a Committee_
Niles' _Principles and Acts of the Revolution_, 260-261.
I acknowledge to have wrote a piece, and did not sign it, since said to
be an extract of a letter from Kent county, on Delaware, published in
Humphreys' Ledger, No. 3. It was not dated from any place, and is some
altered from the original. I folded it up and directed the same to J.
F. and Sons. I had no intention to have it published; and further, I
let them know the author thought best it should not be published; nor
did I think they would.--I am sincerely sorry I ever wrote it, as also
for its being published, and hope I shall be excused for this, my first
breach in this way, and I intend it shall be the last.
R. H.
_To the committee of correspondence for Kent county, on Delaware. May
2d, 1775._
SIR.--The president of the committee of correspondence, by and with the
advice of such other of the members of that committee as he was able to
collect and consult, this day laid before the committee of inspection
for this county, your letter wherein you confess yourself to be the
author of the Kentish letter (commonly so called) published in 3d No.
of Humphreys' Ledger.
The committee took the same into consideration, and have unanimously
resolved that it is unsatisfactory, and you are requested to attend
the committee at their next meeting on Tuesday the 9th inst. at French
Battell's, in Dover and render such satisfaction to the committee,
as will enable them to clear the good people of this county from the
aspersions of that letter, and justify them in the eyes of the public.
Signed by order of the committee.
_To R. H._
GENTLEMEN.--With sorrow and contrition for my weakness and folly, I
confess myself the author of the letter, from which an extract was
published in the 3d No. of Humphreys' Ledger, said to be from Kent
county, on Delaware; but at the same time to declare it was published
without my consent, and not without some alterations.
I am now convinced that the political sentiments therein contained,
were founded on the grossest error; more especially that malignant
insinuation, that "if the king's standard were now erected, nine out of
ten would repair to it," could not have been suggested, but from the
deepest infatuation. True indeed it is, the people of this county have
ever shewn a zealous attachment to his majesty's person and government,
and whenever he raised his standard in a just cause, were ready to
flock to it: but let the severe account I now render to an injured
people, witness to the world, that none are more ready to oppose
tyranny or to be first in the cause of liberty, than the inhabitants of
Kent county.
Conscious that I can render no satisfaction adequate to the injury I
have done my country, I can only beg the forgiveness of my countrymen,
upon those principles of humanity, which may induce them to consider
the frailty of human nature--and I do profess and promise, that I
will never again oppose those laudable measures, necessarily adopted
by my countrymen, for the preservation of American freedom: but will
cooperate with them to the utmost of my abilities, in their virtuous
struggle for liberty (so far as is consistent with my religious
principles).
R. H.
Resolved unanimously, that the committee do think the above
recantation fully satisfactory.
THO'S. NIXON, Jr. Clerk.
_May 9th, 1775._
143. An Oath of Allegiance to a New State, 1777
A facsimile from Scharf and Westcott's _History of Philadelphia_,
I, 338.
[Illustration: Oath of Allegiance A.D. 1777.
I DO hereby CERTIFY, That Fransis Hopkinson of the City of Philad
Esquire hath voluntarily taken and subscribed the Oath [or Affirmation]
of Allegiance and Fidelity, as directed by an Act of General Assembly
of Pennsylvania, passed the 13th day of June, A.D. 1777. Witness my
hand and seal, the first day of July _A.D._ 1777
(L.S.) Jon Ord No: 662.
PRINTED BY JOHN DUNLAP.]
144. A Loyalist's Suggestion of the Danger to American Liberty in the
French Alliance, 1779
Tyler's _Literary History of the Revolution_, II, 75-76. The
extracts come from a keen pamphlet by a Tory, with the style of a
"diary" of the year 1789--ten years later than the publication, to
intimate what would then be the condition in America under French
rule.
Boston, November 10, 1789.--His Excellency, Count Tyran, has this
day published, by authority from his majesty, a proclamation for the
suppression of heresy and establishment of the inquisition in this
town, which has already begun its functions in many other places of the
continent under his majesty's dominion.
The use of the Bible in the vulgar tongue is strictly prohibited, on
pain of being punished by discretion of the inquisition.
November 11.--The Catholic religion is not only outwardly professed,
but has made the utmost progress among all ranks of people here, owing,
in a great measure, to the unwearied labors of the Dominican and
Franciscan friars, who omit no opportunity of scattering the seeds of
religion, and converting the wives and daughters of heretics. We hear
that the building formerly called the Old South Meeting, is fitting up
for a cathedral, and that several other old meeting-houses are soon to
be repaired for convents.
November 12.--This day being Sunday, the famous Samuel Adams read his
recantation of heresy, after which he was present at mass, and we hear
he will soon receive priest's orders to qualify him for a member of the
American Sorbonne....
The king has been pleased to order that five thousand of the
inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay should be drafted to supply his
garrisons in the West Indies; the officers for them are already arrived
from France.
* * * * *
New York, November 15.--The edict for prohibiting the use of the
English language, and establishing that of the French in all law
proceedings, will take place on the 20th instant. At the same time, the
ordinance for abolishing trials by juries, and introducing the imperial
law, will begin to take effect....
November 17.--A criminal of importance, who has been long imprisoned
in the New Bastille, was this day privately beheaded. He commanded the
American forces against Great Britain for a considerable time, but
was confined by order of the government on suspicion of possessing a
dangerous influence in a country newly conquered, and not thoroughly
settled.[137]...
The king has been pleased to parcel out a great part of the lands in
America to noblemen of distinction, who will grant them again to the
peasantry upon leases at will, with the reservation of proper rents and
services.
His majesty has been graciously pleased to order that none of the
natives of America shall keep any firearms in their possession, upon
pain of being sentenced to the galleys....
November 22.--We hear from Williamsburg, in Virginia, that some
commotions took place there when the new capitation tax was first
executed. But the regiment of Bretagne, being stationed in that
neighborhood, speedily suppressed them by firing upon the populace, and
killing fifty on the spot. It is hoped that this example will prevent
any future insurrection in that part of the country.
November 23.--His majesty has directed his viceroy to send five hundred
sons of the principal inhabitants of America, to be educated in France,
where the utmost care will be taken to imbue them with a regard for the
Catholic faith, and a due sense of subordination to government.
145. How the Revolution set free Social Forces
David Ramsey's _History of the American Revolution_ (1789), II, 315
ff. Dr. Ramsey was a citizen of South Carolina.
When the war began, the Americans were a mass of husbandmen,
merchants, mechanics, and fishermen; but the necessities of the country
gave a _spring_ to the active powers of the inhabitants, and set them
on thinking, speaking, and acting, in a line far beyond that to which
they had been accustomed. The difference between nations is not so much
owing to nature, as to education and circumstances. While the Americans
were guided by the leading strings of the mother country, they had no
scope nor encouragement for exertion. All the departments of government
were established and executed _for_ them, but not _by_ them. In
the years 1775 and 1776, the country, being suddenly thrown into a
situation that needed the abilities of all its sons, these generally
took their places, each according to the bent of his inclination. As
they severally pursued their objects with ardor, _a vast expansion of
the human mind speedily followed_. This displayed itself in a variety
of ways. It was found that the talents for great stations did not
differ in kind, but only in degree, from those which were necessary for
the proper discharge of the ordinary business of civil society....
FOOTNOTES:
[130] For the recommendation of Congress, on this same day, regarding
setting up State governments, cf. _American History and Government_,
# 148. (For earlier recommendations as to temporary governments, cf.
_ib._) This action, of course, was not known in Virginia when this
Convention took action regarding independence and a permanent State
constitution.
[131] The sixth article seems to have been designed by George Mason,
who drew it, as an argument for extending the franchise to heads of
families. Mason drew also a plan for the _frame of government_, which
the convention in the main adopted on _June 29_. In this plan he
proposed to "extend" the franchise to leaseholders with seven-year
terms, and to any "housekeeper" who was also the father of three
children (Article V of Mason's Plan; printed in full in Kate Mason
Rowland's _Life and Correspondence of George Mason_, I, 444 ff.). The
convention, however, left the franchise as "now established by law"--on
a freehold basis (_American History and Government_, ## 105, 107).
Mason, in his plan, suggested graded landed qualifications for holding
office: £500 freehold to act as a member of his proposed electoral
college to choose state senators; £1000 freehold to sit in the lower
House; £2000 freehold to sit in the upper House.
It is often said that Mason proposed a £1000-freehold qualification
for the franchise. The language of Section III of his "plan," _taken
by itself_, would so indicate. But the clauses III and IV are very
loosely worded and punctuated; and, when they are read in conjunction
with Section V, the only possible conclusion is the one stated above.
In proposing so liberal a franchise, however, Mason stood alone in
Virginia in his day. Even Jefferson's plan for a Virginia constitution
called for "a freehold of 1/4 of an acre of land in a town, or 25 acres
in the country" (_Works_, Ford edition, II, 7 ff.).
Eleven years later at the Philadelphia convention, Mason used the same
language as in the Virginia bill of rights, in opposing a real-estate
qualification for the national franchise; but he still advocated a
landed qualification for membership in even the lower House of Congress.
[132] Jefferson's plan was indorsed. " ... It is proposed that this
bill, after correction by the Convention, shall be referred by them to
the people, to be assembled in their respective counties; and that the
suffrages of two-thirds the counties shall be necessary to establish
it." Jefferson always contended that the Virginia constitution, since
it was not so submitted to popular ratification, was not a "fundamental
law," but was subject to repeal, like any other statute, by ordinary
legislative action. Cf. _American History and Government_, # 152.
[133] The action of January 12 in (1) above belonged to the session
beginning in December.
[134] Is the following word "united" then, in this place, part of a
proper noun, or merely an adjective?
[135] Would that colony have felt itself "bound" _before_ it gave them
instructions, if Congress had acted on these matters? Cf. _American
History and Government_, # 187, for a discussion of this and allied
points.
[136] Lee was about to return to Virginia, and so was not placed on the
committee.
[137] The student will see that Washington is here designated.
E. CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION
XXIV. THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
146. Debates in the Continental Congress on the Articles of
Confederation
John Adams (_Works_, II, 492-502) preserved fairly full notes upon
part of the discussion on the Articles. The parts dealing with
western lands, with basis of taxation, and with the equality of
the States in Congress are reproduced here. The form is rather
fragmentary; and, in some cases, allusions are made which it would
take too long to explain here. But the student can at least get the
general drift and the alignment of the States on the opposing sides.
_In Committee of the Whole_
1776. July 25. Article 14 of the confederation. Terms in this Article
equivocal and indefinite.[138]
_Jefferson._ The limits of the Southern Colonies are fixed. Moves an
amendment, that all purchases of lands, not within the boundaries of
any Colony, shall be made by Congress of the Indians in a great Council.
_Sherman_ seconds the motion.
_Chase_ [Maryland]. The intention of this Article is very obvious and
plain. The Article appears to me to be right and the amendment wrong.
It is the intention of some gentlemen to limit the boundaries of
particular States. No Colony has a right to go to the South Sea; they
never had; they can't have. It would not be safe to the rest. It would
be destructive to her sisters and to herself.
ARTICLE 15. _Jefferson._ What are reasonable limits? What security have
we, that the Congress will not curtail the present settlements of the
States? I have no doubt that the Colonies will limit themselves.
_Wilson._ Every gentleman has heard much of claims to the South Sea.
They are extravagant. The grants were made upon mistakes. They were
ignorant of the Geography. They thought the South Sea within one
hundred miles of the Atlantic Ocean. It was not conceived that they
extended three thousand miles. Lord Camden considers the claims to the
South Sea, as what never can be reduced to practice. Pennsylvania has
no right to interfere in those claims, but she has a right to say, that
she will not confederate unless those claims are cut off. I wish the
Colonies themselves would cut off those claims....
July 30. Article 17. "In determining questions, each Colony shall have
one vote."
_Dr. Franklin._ Let the smaller Colonies give equal money and men, and
then have an equal vote. But if they have an equal vote without bearing
equal burthens, a confederation upon such iniquitous principles will
never last long.
_Dr. Witherspoon._ [New Jersey]. We all agree that there must and shall
be a confederation for this war. ... The greatest danger we have, is
of disunion among ourselves. Is it not plausible that the small States
will be oppressed by the great ones? The Spartans and the Helots. The
Romans and their dependents. Every Colony is a distinct person....
_Clark._ We must apply for pardons if we don't confederate.
_Wilson._ We should settle upon some plan of representation.
* * * * *
_Wilson._ If the war continues two years, each soul will have
forty dollars to pay of the public debt. It will be the greatest
encouragement to continue slave-keeping and to increase it, that can
be, to exempt them from the numbers which are to vote and pay. Slaves
are taxables in the Southern Colonies. It will be partial and unequal.
Some Colonies have as many black as white; these will not pay more than
half what they ought.[139] Slaves prevent freemen from cultivating a
country. It is attended with many inconveniences.
_Lynch_ [South Carolina]. If it is debated, whether their slaves are
their property, there is an end of the confederation. Our slaves being
our property, why should they be taxed more than the land, sheep,
cattle, horses, etc.?
Freemen cannot be got to work in our Colonies; it is not in the ability
or inclination of freemen to do the work that the negroes do. Carolina
has taxed their negroes; so have other Colonies their lands.
_Dr. Franklin._ Slaves rather weaken than strengthen the State, and
there is therefore some difference between them and sheep; sheep will
never make any insurrections.
_Rutledge._ I shall be happy to get rid of the idea of slavery. The
slaves do not signify property; the old and young cannot work. The
property of some Colonies is to be taxed, in others, not. The Eastern
Colonies will become the carriers for the Southern; they will obtain
wealth for which they will not be taxed.
August 1. _Hooper._ North Carolina is a striking exception to the
general rule that was laid down yesterday, that the riches of a country
are in proportion to the numbers of inhabitants. A gentleman of three
or four hundred negroes don't raise more corn than feeds them. A
laborer can't be hired for less than twenty-four pounds a year in
Massachusetts Bay. The net profit of a negro is not more than five
or six pounds per annum. I wish to see the day that slaves are not
necessary. Whites and negroes cannot work together. Negroes are goods
and chattels are property. A negro works under the impulse of fear, has
no care of his master's interest.[140]
_The Consideration of the Seventeenth Article resumed_
Article 17. _Dr. Franklin_ moves that votes should be in proportion to
numbers. Mr. _Middleton_ moves that the vote should be according to
what they pay.
_Sherman_ thinks we ought not to vote according to numbers. We are
representatives of States, not individuals. States of Holland. The
consent of every one is necessary. Three Colonies would govern the
whole, but would not have a majority of strength to carry those votes
into execution. =The vote should be taken two ways; call the Colonies,
and call the individuals, and have a majority of both=.[141]
_Dr. Rush._ Abbé Raynal has attributed the ruin of the United Provinces
[Netherlands] to three causes. The principal one is, that the consent
of every State is necessary; the other, that the members are obliged
to consult their constituents upon all occasions. We lose an equal
representation; we represent the people. It will tend to keep up
colonial distinctions. We are now a new nation. ... If we vote by
numbers, liberty will be always safe. Massachusetts is contiguous to
two small Colonies, Rhode Island and New Hampshire; Pennsylvania is
near New Jersey and Delaware; Virginia is between Maryland and North
Carolina. ... Montesquieu pronounces the confederation of Lycia the best
that ever was made; the cities had different weights in the
scale. ... I would not have it understood that I am pleading the cause
of Pennsylvania; when I entered that door, I considered myself a
citizen of America.
* * * * *
_G. Hopkins_ [Rhode Island]. A momentous question; many difficulties on
each side; four larger, five lesser, four stand indifferent. Virginia,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, make more than half the people.
... It can't be expected that nine Colonies will give way to be
governed by four. The safety of the whole depends upon the distinctions
of Colonies.
_Dr. Franklin._ I hear many ingenious arguments to persuade us that an
unequal representation is a very good thing. If we had been born and
bred under an unequal representation, we might bear it; but to set out
with an unequal representation is unreasonable. It is said the great
Colonies will swallow up the less. Scotland said the same thing at the
union.
* * * * *
August 2. "Limiting the bounds of States, which by charter, &c. extend
to the South Sea."
_Sherman_ thinks the bounds ought to be settled. A majority of
States have no claim to the South Sea. Moves this amendment to be
substituted in place of this clause, and also instead of the fifteenth
article;--"No lands to be separated from any State, which are already
settled, or become private property."
_Chase_ [Maryland] denies that any Colony has a right to go to the
South Sea.
_Harrison_ [Virginia]. How came Maryland by its land, but by its
charter? By its charter, Virginia owns to the South Sea. Gentlemen
shall not pare away the Colony of Virginia. Rhode Island has more
generosity than to wish the Massachusetts pared away. Delaware does not
wish to pare away Pennsylvania.
_Huntington._ Admit there is danger from Virginia, does it follow that
Congress has a right to limit her bounds? The consequence is, not to
enter into confederation....
_Stone_ [Maryland] ... Is it meant that Virginia shall sell these lands
for their own emolument? All the Colonies have defended these lands
against the King of Britain, and at the expense of all. Does Virginia
intend to establish quit rents?...
_Jefferson._ I protest against the right of Congress to decide upon the
right of Virginia. Virginia has released all claims to the land settled
by Maryland, &c.
[This clause, as to limiting the western claims, was stricken
out in committee. The subsequent history of the struggle is well
known, terminating in the acts of cession of claims to the western
territory. For details, cf. _American History and Government_, ##
179-180.
Jefferson's Notes on this same debate (_Journals of Congress_, VI,
1104,--from a MS. of Jefferson's) contain the following additional
item: "_John Adams_ advocated voting in proportion to numbers. He
said that we stand here as representatives of the people; that in
some States the people are many, in others they are few ... that
the individuality of the colonies is a mere sound. ... =_It has
been said we are independent individuals making a bargain together:
the question is not what we are now, but what we ought to be when
our bargain shall be made._= The Confederacy IS TO MAKE US ONE
individual only; it is to form us, like separate parcels of metal,
into one common mass. ..."[142]]
147. Articles of Confederation.
November 15, 1777
March 2, 1781
Text from _Revised Statutes_ of 1878. For history, cf. _American
History and Government_, ## 179, 186-188 ff. The editor has used
black-faced type to indicate a few passages especially important
for study.
The Articles were adopted by Congress, and recommended to the
States, November 15, 1777. The delegates from the several States
signed as follows: New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island
and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, and South Carolina, July 9, 1778; North Carolina, July
21, 1778; Georgia, July 24, 1778; New Jersey, Nov. 26, 1778;
Delaware, May 5, 1779; Maryland, March 1, 1781. Congress met under
the Articles, March 2, 1781.
_To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Delegates
of the States affixed to our Names send greeting._
Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congress
assembled did on the fifteenth day of November in the year of our
Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-seven, and in the Second
Year of the Independence of America, agree to certain 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 in the Words
following, viz.
_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._
ARTICLE I.--The stile of this Confederacy shall be, "The United States
of America."
=_Art. 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._=
Art. III.--The said States hereby severally enter into a =_firm
league of friendship with each other_=, for their common defence, 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 pretence whatever.
Art. IV.--The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and
intercourse among the people of the 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 have free ingress and egress 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 offence.=
=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.=
ARTICLE V.--For the more convenient management of the general interest
of the United States, delegates shall be annually appointed =in such
manner as the legislature 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 by 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 and
imprisonments, during the time of their going to and from, and
attendance on Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the
peace.=
=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 of
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 defence 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 judgment of the United States, in
Congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts
necessary for the defence of such State; but every State shall always
keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed
and accoutred, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use in
public stores a due number of field-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.
ART. VII.--When land forces are raised by any State for the common
defence, 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 States which first made the
appointment.
ART. VIII.--All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be
incurred for the common defence or federal 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 to 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.
ARTICLE IX.[143]--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 cause whatever; which authority shall always
be exercised in the manner following. [A long passage as to method of
constituting commissioners to decide such contests.]
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 standard 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 and regulating post-offices from one State
to another, throughout all the United States, and exacting such
postage on the papers passing thro' 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.
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 manageing the general affairs of the United States
under their direction--to appoint one of their number 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 clothe, arm, and equip them in
a soldier-like manner, at the expense of the United States; and the
officers and men so clothed, 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 than its quota,
and that any other State should raise a greater number of men than the
quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, clothed,
armed, and equipped in the same manner as the quota of such State,
unless the Legislature of such State shall judge that such extra number
cannot be safely spared out of the same, in which case they shall
raise, officer, clothe, arm, and equip as many of such extra number as
they judge can be safely spared, and the officers and men so clothed,
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 and 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 defence
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 a
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 judgment 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 delegate; and the
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 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 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 is requisite.
ARTICLE XI.--Canada acceding to this confederation, and joining 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.
ARTICLE XII.--All bills of credit emitted, monies borrowed and
debts contracted by, or under the authority of Congress, before
the assembling of the United States, in pursuance of the present
confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge against the
United States, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said United
States, and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged.
=Article XIII.--Every State shall abide by the determinations 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.=
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.
[The signatures follow. Cf. introduction, on p. 475, for the dates.]
FOOTNOTES:
[138] The draft then read: "No purchases of lands hereafter to be made
of the Indians, by Congress or private persons, before the limits of
the Colonies are ascertained, to be valid." The purpose was to prevent
Virginia and other large States from selling their western lands for
their private profit. This was part of the "Small-State" plan, and was
not adopted.
[139] The plan then was that the colonies should contribute money in
proportion to their white population. This was afterward amended. See
_Articles_.
[140] Mr. Chase's amendment (to count slaves in apportioning
representatives in Congress) was lost. Seven States, New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania voted against it. Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and
South Carolina voted for it. Georgia was divided.
[141] A suggestion almost of a two-house Congress, similar to the
"Connecticut Compromise" adopted for our present Constitution.
[142] Did Adams then think that, _before_ the new Articles should have
been accepted, the states were constitutionally one nation or thirteen?
Cf. _American History and Government_, # 187 and notes.
[143] Summarize briefly the enumeration of powers in this Article.
XXV. THE NATIONAL DOMAIN
148. Desire for Statehood; Self-confidence of the West
Early in 1784, North Carolina ceded her western territory
(afterward Tennessee) to Congress, giving that body two years in
which to accept. The Westerners, already bitterly dissatisfied, now
complained loudly that the mother State had cast them off; they
would not wait two years, in anarchy, for possible action by the
dilatory Congress; they would take their fate at once into their
own hands. Accordingly, the three counties of eastern Tennessee
(the outgrowth of the Watauga settlement, numbering now some 10,000
souls) established themselves for a time as the State of Frankland
("Land of the Freemen").
The militia had been organized by territorial units, each "company"
from one group of hamlets, or "stations." Each "company" now
chose delegates to a central convention. This "preliminary"
convention recommended the people to choose another "constitutional
convention,"[144] with full powers to set up a government. August
23, 1784, this second convention, composed of forty delegates with
John Sevier as president, resolved on immediate statehood, and put
forth an interesting address to justify that action. The following
passage from that address illustrates the wild hopes of the West
as to immediate development. (Cf. also _American History and
Government_, ## 173-175.)
"If we should be so happy as to have a separate government, vast
numbers from different quarters, with a little encouragement from the
public, would fill up our frontier; which would strengthen us, improve
agriculture, perfect manufactures, encourage literature and everything
truly laudable. The seat of government being among ourselves would
evidently tend, not only to keep a circulating medium in gold and
silver among us,[145] but would draw it from many individuals living in
other States, who claim large quantities of land that would lie within
the bounds of the new State."
[A constitution was adopted by yet a third convention, and
government instituted under it. North Carolina, however, repealed
her cession before Congress had accepted it, and reasserted her
authority over "Frankland," not without long and bitter conflict.]
149. Organization by Congress
_a. A Plan for a Temporary Government of the Western Territory. April
23, 1784_
_Journals of Congress_ (1801 edition), IX, 109-110.
This act is usually known as Jefferson's Territorial Ordinance of
1784. For history, cf. _American History and Government_, # 181. It
is given here mainly for comparison with the Ordinance of 1787 (No.
149_b_), and, _by most students, it can be read to best advantage
after a study of that document_.
"Resolved that so much of the territory ceded or to be ceded by
individual states to the United States [the rest of this paragraph
provides for division into two tiers of states, bounded by alternate
parallels of latitude, with some rather obscure provisions for
fragmentary pieces of territory on the north and east, cf. _American
History and Government_, # 181.]
"That the settlers on any territory so purchased, and offered for
sale, shall, either on their own petition or order of Congress,
receive authority from them, with appointments of time and place, for
their free males of full age within the limits of their state to meet
together, for the purpose of establishing a temporary government, to
adopt the constitution and laws of any one of the original states; so
that such laws nevertheless shall be subject to alteration by their
ordinary legislature; and to erect, subject to a like alteration,
counties, townships, or other divisions, for the election of members
for their legislature.
"That when any such state shall have acquired 20,000 free inhabitants,
on giving due proof thereof to Congress, they shall receive from them
authority, with appointments of time and place, to call a convention of
representatives to establish a permanent constitution and government
for themselves. Provided that both the temporary and permanent
governments be established on these principles as their basis:
"1st. That they shall for ever remain a part of this confederacy of the
United States of America.
"2d. That they shall be subject to the articles of confederation in all
those cases in which the original states shall be so subject, and to
all the acts and ordinances of the United States in Congress assembled,
conformable thereto.
"3d. That they in no case shall interfere with the primary disposal
of the soil by the United States in Congress assembled, nor with the
ordinances and regulations which Congress may find necessary, for
securing the title in such soil to the _bona fide_ purchasers.
"4th. That they shall be subject to pay a part of the federal debts
contracted or to be contracted, to be apportioned on them by Congress,
according to the same common rule and measure by which apportionments
thereof shall be made on the other states.
"5th. That no tax shall be imposed on lands, the property of the United
States.
"6th. That their respective governments shall be republican.
"7th. That the lands of non-resident proprietors shall, in no case, be
taxed higher than those of residents within any new state, before the
admission thereof to a vote by its delegates in Congress.
"That whensoever any of the said states shall have, of free
inhabitants, as many as shall then be in any one the least numerous
of the thirteen original states, such state shall be admitted by its
delegates into the Congress of the United States, on an equal footing
with the said original states; provided the consent of so many states
in Congress is first obtained as may at the time be competent to such
admission. (And in order to adapt the said articles of confederation
to the state of Congress when its numbers shall be thus increased,
it shall be proposed to the legislatures of the states, originally
parties thereto, to require the assent of two-thirds of the United
States in Congress assembled, in all those cases wherein by the said
articles, the assent of nine states is now required, which being agreed
to by them, shall be binding on the new states.) Until such admission
by their delegates into Congress, any of the said states after the
establishment of their temporary government shall have authority to
keep a member in Congress, with a right of debating, but not of voting.
"That measures not inconsistent with the principles of the
confederation, and necessary for the preservation of peace and good
order among the settlers in any of the said new States, until they
shall assume a temporary government as aforesaid, may from time to
time, be taken by the United States in Congress assembled.[146]
"That the preceding articles shall be formed into a charter of
compact ... [provision for promulgation] and shall stand as fundamental
constitutions between the thirteen original States and each of the
several States now newly described, unalterable ... but by the
joint consent of the United States in Congress assembled and of the
particular State within which such alteration is proposed to be made."
_b. The Northwest Ordinance (July 13, 1787)_
_Journals of Congress_ (1801 edition), XII, 58 ff.
For history of this document, cf. _American History and
Government_, # 182. The documents relating to the _acquisition_ of
a "Public Domain" are quoted so extensively in that work that they
are omitted in this collection. Cf., however, No. 146 above for
discussions in Congress.
_An Ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States
Northwest of the River Ohio_
Be it ordained by the United States in Congress Assembled that the
said territory for the purposes of temporary government be one
district, subject however to be divided into two districts as future
circumstances may in the opinion of Congress make it expedient.
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, that the estates both of
resident and non resident proprietors in the said territory dying
intestate shall descend to and be distributed among their children and
the descendants of a deceased child in equal parts; the descendants
of a deceased child or grandchild to take the share of their deceased
parent in equal parts among them; and where there shall be no children
or descendants then in equal parts to the next of kin in equal degree;
and among collaterals the children of a deceased brother or sister of
the intestate shall have in equal parts among them their deceased
parent's share and there shall in no case be a distinction between
kindred of the whole and half blood; saving in all cases to the widow
of the intestate her third part of the real estate for life, and one
third part of the personal estate: and this law relative to descents
and dower shall remain in full force until altered by the legislature
of the district. And until the governor and judges shall adopt laws as
herein after mentioned, estates in the said territory may be devised or
bequeathed by wills in writing signed and sealed by him or her in whom
the estate may be, being of full age, and attested by three witnesses,
and real estates may be conveyed by lease and release or bargain and
sale, signed, sealed and delivered by the person being of full age
in whom the estate may be, and attested by two witnesses, provided
such wills be duly proved and such conveyances be acknowledged or the
execution there of duly proved, and be recorded within one year after
proper magistrates, courts and registers shall be appointed for that
purpose; and personal property may be transferred by delivery saving
however to the French and Canadian inhabitants and other settlers of
the Kaskaskies, Saint Vincents and the neighbouring villages, who have
hereto fore professed themselves citizens of Virginia, their laws and
customs now in force among them, relative to the descent and conveyance
of property.
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, that there shall be
appointed, from time to time, by Congress, a governor, whose commission
shall continue in force for the term of three years, unless sooner
revoked by Congress; he shall reside in the district, and have a
freehold estate therein in 1000 acres of land, while in the exercise of
his office.
There shall be appointed, from time to time, by Congress, a secretary,
whose commission shall continue in force for four years unless sooner
revoked; he shall reside in the district, and have a freehold estate
therein in 500 acres of land, while in the exercise of his office;
it shall be his duty to keep and preserve the acts and laws passed
by the legislature, and the public records of the district, and the
proceedings of the governor in his Executive department; and transmit
authentic copies of such acts and proceedings, every six months, to the
Secretary of Congress: There shall also be appointed a court to consist
of three judges, any two of whom to form a court, who shall have a
common law jurisdiction, and reside in the district, and have each
therein a freehold estate in 500 acres of land while in the exercise
of their offices; and their commissions shall continue in force during
good behavior.
The governor and judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt and
publish in the district such laws of the original States, criminal and
civil, as may be necessary and best suited to the circumstances of the
district, and report them to Congress from time to time: which laws
shall be in force in the district until the organization of the General
Assembly therein, unless disapproved of by Congress; but, afterwards,
the legislature shall have authority to alter them as they shall think
fit.
The governor, for the time being, shall be commander-in-chief of the
militia, appoint and commission all officers in the same below the
rank of general officers; all general officers shall be appointed and
commissioned by Congress.
Previous to the organization of the General Assembly, the governor
shall appoint such magistrates and other civil officers, in each county
or township, as he shall find necessary for the preservation of the
peace and good order in the same. After the General Assembly shall be
organized, the powers and duties of the magistrates and other civil
officers shall be regulated and defined by the said Assembly; but
all ... civil officers not herein otherwise directed shall during the
continuance of this temporary government be appointed by the governor.
For the prevention of crimes and injuries the laws to be adopted
or made shall have force in all parts of the district; and for the
execution of process criminal and civil, the governor shall make
proper divisions thereof, and he shall proceed from time to time as
circumstances may require to lay out the parts of the District in
which the Indian titles shall have been extinguished into counties and
townships subject however to such alterations as may thereafter be made
by the legislature.
So soon as there shall be five thousand free male inhabitants of full
age in the district, upon giving proof thereof to the governor, they
shall receive authority with time and place to elect representatives
from their counties or townships to represent them in the general
Assembly, provided that for every five hundred free male inhabitants
there shall be one representative; and so on progressively with the
number of free male inhabitants shall the right of representation
encrease until the number of representatives shall amount to twenty
five, after which the number and proportion of representatives shall
be regulated by the legislature; provided that no person be eligible
or qualified to act as a representative unless he shall have been a
citizen of one of the United States three years and be a resident in
the district or unless he shall have resided in the district three
years, and in either case shall likewise hold in his own right in fee
simple two hundred acres of land within the same; provided also that a
freehold in fifty acres of land in the district having been a citizen
of one of the states and being resident in the district, or the like
freehold and two years residence in the district shall be necessary to
qualify a man as an elector of a representative.
The representatives thus elected shall serve for the term of two years,
and in case of the death of a representative or removal from office,
the governor shall issue a writ to the county or township for which he
was a member, to elect another in his stead to serve for the residue of
the term.
The general Assembly or legislature shall consist of the governor,
legislative council and a house of representatives. The legislative
council shall consist of five members to continue in Office five years
unless sooner removed by Congress, any three of whom to be a quorum
and the members of the council shall be nominated and appointed in
the following manner, to wit: As soon as representatives shall be
elected, the governor shall appoint a time and place for them to meet
together; and, when met, they shall nominate ten persons, residents in
the district, and each possessed of a freehold in 500 acres of land,
and return their names to Congress; five of whom Congress shall appoint
and commission to serve as aforesaid; and, whenever a vacancy shall
happen in the council, by death or removal from office, the house of
representatives shall nominate two persons, qualified as aforesaid, for
each vacancy, and return their names to Congress; one of whom Congress
shall appoint and commission for the residue of the term. And every
five years, four months at least before the expiration of the time of
service of the members of council, the said house shall nominate ten
persons, qualified as aforesaid, and return their names to Congress;
five of whom Congress shall appoint and commission to serve as members
of the council five years, unless sooner removed. And the governor,
legislative council, and house of representatives, shall have authority
to make laws in all cases, for the good government of the district, not
repugnant to the principles and articles in this ordinance established
and declared. And all bills, having passed by a majority in the house,
and by a majority in the council, shall be referred to the governor for
his assent; but no bill, or legislative act whatever, shall be of any
force without his assent. The governor shall have power to convene,
prorogue, and dissolve the General Assembly, when, in his opinion, it
shall be expedient.
The governor, judges, legislative council, secretary, and such other
officers as Congress shall appoint in the district, shall take an oath
or affirmation of fidelity and of office; the governor before the
President of Congress, and all other officers before the governor. As
soon as a legislature shall be formed in the district, the council and
house assembled in one room, shall have authority, by joint ballot, to
elect a delegate to Congress, who shall have a seat in Congress, with a
right of debating but not of voting during this temporary government.
_And, for extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious
liberty, which form the basis whereon these republics, their laws and
constitutions are erected; to fix and establish those principles as
the basis of all laws, constitutions, and governments, which forever
hereafter shall be formed in the said territory: to provide also for
the establishment of States, and permanent Government therein, and for
their admission to a Share in the federal Councils on an equal footing
with the original States, at as early periods as maybe consistent with
the general interest--_
It is hereby Ordained and declared by the authority aforesaid, That the
following Articles shall be considered as Articles of compact between
the Original States and the People and States in the said territory,
and forever remain unalterable, unless by common consent, _to wit_,
Article the First. No Person demeaning himself in a peaceable and
orderly manner shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship
or religious sentiments in the said territory--
Article the Second. The Inhabitants of the said territory shall always
be entitled to the benefits of the writ of Habeas Corpus, and of the
trial by jury; of a proportionate representation of the people in
the legislature, and of judicial proceedings according to the course
of the common law; all Persons shall be bailable unless for capital
offences, where the proof shall be evident, or the presumption great;
all fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishments shall
be inflicted; no man shall be deprived of his liberty or property but
by the judgment of his Peers, or the law of the land; and should the
Public exigencies make it necessary for the common preservation to
take any person's property, or to demand his particular Services, full
compensation shall be made for the same,--and in the just preservation
of rights and property it is understood and declared, that no law
ought ever to be made, or have force in the said territory, that shall
in any manner whatever interfere with or affect private Contracts or
engagements, bona fide and without fraud previously formed.
Article the Third. Religion, Morality and knowledge being necessary to
good Government and the happiness of mankind, Schools and the means
of education shall forever be encouraged. The utmost good faith shall
always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and property shall
never be taken from them without their consent; and in their property,
rights and liberty, they never shall be invaded or disturbed, unless
in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress; but laws founded in
justice and humanity shall from time to time be made, for preventing
wrongs being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with
them--
Article the Fourth. The said Territory, and the States which may be
formed therein, shall forever remain a part of this Confederacy ...
subject to the Articles of Confederation, and to such alterations
therein as shall be constitutionally made; and to all the acts and
ordinances of the United States in Congress assembled, conformable
thereto. The inhabitants and settlers in the said territory shall
be subject to pay a part of the federal debts contracted or to be
contracted, and a proportional part of the expenses of government, to
be apportioned on them by Congress according to the same common rule
and measure by which apportionments thereof shall be made on the other
States; and the taxes, for paying their proportion, shall be laid
and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the
district or districts, or new States, as in the original States within
the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled. The
legislatures of those districts or new States shall never interfere
with the primary disposal of the soil by the United States in Congress
assembled, nor with any regulations Congress may find necessary for
securing the title in such soil to the _bona fide_ purchasers. No tax
shall be imposed on lands the property of the United States; and, in no
case, shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than residents.
The navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and
the carrying places between the same, shall be common highways, and
forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said territory as to
the citizens of the United States, and those of any other States that
may be admitted into the Confederacy, without any tax, impost, or duty,
therefor.
Article the Fifth. There shall be formed in the said territory, not
less than three nor more than five States; and the boundaries of
the States, as soon as Virginia shall alter her act of cession, and
consent to the same, shall become fixed and established as follows,
to wit: The Western State in the said territory, shall be bounded by
the Mississippi, the Ohio, and Wabash rivers; a direct line drawn from
the Wabash and Post St. Vincent's, due North, to the territorial line
between the United States and Canada; and, by the said territorial
line, to the Lake of the Woods and Mississippi. The middle State shall
be bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash from Post Vincent's,
to the Ohio; by the Ohio, by a direct line, drawn due North from the
mouth of the Great Miami, to the said territorial line, and by the
said territorial line. The Eastern State shall be bounded by the last
mentioned direct line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the said territorial
line: _Provided however_, and it is further understood and declared,
that the boundaries of these three States shall be subject so far to
be altered, that, if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they
shall have authority to form one or two States in that part of the
said territory which lies North of an East and West line drawn through
the Southerly bend or extreme of lake Michigan. And, whenever any of
the said States shall have 60,000 free inhabitants therein, such State
shall be admitted, by its delegates, into the Congress of the United
States, on an equal footing with the original States in all respects
whatever, and shall be at liberty to form a permanent constitution and
State government: _Provided_, the constitution and government, so to
be formed, shall be republican, and in conformity to the principles
contained in these articles; and, so far as it can be consistent with
the general interest of the confederacy, such admission shall be
allowed at an earlier period, and when there may be a less number of
free inhabitants in the State than 60,000.
_Article the Sixth. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of
crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted: Provided,
always, That any person escaping into the same, from whom labor or
service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original States, such
fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming
his or her labor or service as aforesaid._
_Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid_, That the resolutions of
the 23d of April, 1784, relative to the subject of this ordinance, be,
and the same are hereby, repealed and declared null and void.[147]
Done by the United States, in Congress assembled, the 13th day of
July, in the year of our Lord 1787, and of their sovereignty and
independence the twelfth.
[The great Sixth Article has rendered this Ordinance immortal. This
anti-slavery provision, however, has been spoken of sometimes in
terms more rhetorical than exact. Senator Hoar, in a centennial
memorial oration at Marietta, in 1888, said: "Here was the first
human government under which absolute civil and religious liberty
has always prevailed. ... Here no slave was ever born, or dwelt."
The student may compare _American History and Government_, # 333,
close. But Daniel Webster was the historian rather than merely
the orator when he said: "I doubt whether one single law of any
lawgiver, ancient or modern, has produced effects of more distinct,
marked, and lasting character, than the Ordinance of 1787."
August 7, 1789, the First Congress under the Constitution passed a
_Confirmatory Act_, reenacting the Northwest Ordinance, with the
provision that the appointments therein referred to Congress should
be made by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate.]
FOOTNOTES:
[144] These quoted phrases are the modern terms, of course. The
Franklanders called both meetings merely conventions.
[145] This was a matter of supreme moment. The first legislature of
the new State found it necessary to fix a "currency in kind," as
legal-tender, in which all business transactions should be carried
on, and all government salaries paid. A pound of sugar was to pass
for one shilling; a fox or raccoon skin for two shillings; a gallon
of peach brandy for three shillings; and an otter or a deer skin for
six shillings. Easterners, even Benjamin Franklin, indulged in much
laughter at this "money which could not be counterfeited," forgetting
how their own fathers had used similar currency.
[146] This paragraph was added by amendment (proposed by Mr. Gerry) at
the last moment. A more stringent proposition was lost,--viz.: "That
_until_ such time as the settlers shall have adopted the constitution
and laws of some one of the original states ... the settlers shall be
ruled by magistrates to be appointed by the United States in Congress
assembled, and under such laws and regulations as the United States, in
Congress assembled, shall direct."
[147] For this earlier ordinance, cf. No. 149_a_.
XXVI. DRIFTING TOWARD ANARCHY
150. Danger (or Hope) of a Military Dictator (1783)
_Gouverneur Morris to John Jay_
_Life and Works of Morris_ (Sparks' edition), I, 249. If this
letter is taken in conjunction with the army plots, it would seem
that Morris was not averse to a military revolution as a step
toward aristocratic rule.
PHILADELPHIA, January 1, 1783.
... The army have swords in their hands. _You know enough of the
history of mankind to know much more than I have said_,--and possibly
much more than they themselves yet think of. I will add, however, that
_I am glad_ to see things in this present train. Depend on it; good
will arise from the _situation to which we are hastening_. ... Although
I think it probable that much of convulsion will ensue, yet it must
terminate in giving to government that power without which government
is but a name.
151. Shays' Rebellion
_a. A temperate statement of real grievances leading to the "Rebellion"_
Minot's _History of the Insurrection in Massachusetts_, pages 34-37.
The following "schedule of grievances" was adopted by a mass
convention of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, in 1786. For the
general narrative, cf. _American History and Government_, # 188-192.
At a meeting of the delegates from _fifty_ towns in the county
of Hampshire, in convention held at Hatfield, in said county, on
Tuesday, the 22d day of August instant [1786], and continued by
adjournments until the twenty fifth, etc. _Voted, that this meeting is
constitutional._
The convention from a thorough conviction of great uneasiness,
subsisting among the people of this county and Commonwealth, then
went into an inquiry for the cause; and, upon mature consideration,
deliberation, and debate, were of opinion, _that many grievances and
unnecessary burdens now lying upon the people, are the source of that
discontent so evidently discoverable throughout this Commonwealth_.
Among which the following articles were voted as such, viz.
1st. _The existence of the Senate._[148]
2d. _The present mode of representation._
3d. The officers of government not being annually dependent on the
representatives of the people, in General Court assembled, for their
salaries.
4th. All the civil officers of government, not being annually elected
by the Representatives of the people, in General Court assembled.
5th. The existence of the Courts of Common Pleas, and General Sessions
of the Peace.
6th. _The Fee Table as it now stands._
7th. The present mode of appropriating the impost and excise.
8th. _The unreasonable grants made to some of the officers of
government._
9th. The supplementary aid.
10th. The present mode of paying the governmental securities.
11th. The present mode adopted for the payment and speedy collection of
the last tax.
12th. _The present mode of taxation, as it operates unequally between
the polls and estates, and between landed and mercantile interests._
13th. _The present method of practice of the attorneys at law._
14th. _The want of a sufficient medium of trade, to remedy the
mischiefs arising from the scarcity of money._
15th. The General Court sitting in the town of _Boston_.
16th. The present embarrassments on the press.
17th. The neglect of the settlement of important matters depending
between the Commonwealth and Congress, relating to monies and averages.
18th. Voted, This convention recommend to the several towns in this
county that they instruct their Representatives, to use their influence
in the next General Court, to have emitted _a bank of paper money,
subject to a depreciation; making it a tender in all payments, equal to
silver and gold_, to be issued in order to call in the Commonwealth's
securities.
19th. _Voted, That whereas several of the above articles of grievances
arise from defects in the constitution; therefore a revision of the
same ought to take place._
20th. Voted, That it be recommended by this convention to the several
towns in this county, that they petition the Governour to call the
General Court immediately together, in order that the other grievances
complained of, may, by the legislature, be redressed.
=21st. Voted, That this convention recommend it to the inhabitants of
this county, that they abstain from all mobs and unlawful assemblies,
until a constitutional method of redress can be obtained.=