Colonial Origins of the American Constitution

78. The Articles of Confederation, November 15, 1777

Origins_351-400.indd 376 2/17/12 6:50 PM The Articles ofConfederation lVover.nberi5, I777 T_Articles ofConftderation is a straightforwardextension, and 1 ;;e natural culmination, ofcolonial theoretical and institutional development. Until its adoption, even though they had declared independence, Americans were not constitutionally postcolonial. Put another way, the Declaration ofIndependence and Articles ofConftderation together composed the Americanfounding compact, andas ofr78I, the United States wasfor thefirst time aformal constitutional entity. The Declaration and Articles, however, overlappedin the attention ofthe Continental Congress, as its membersfashioned our initial nationalcompact. The version ofthe Declaration ofIndependence we read today, the one with "Unanimous" in its title, was engrossedin Augustofr176, andthe lastsignature was added in january ofI771- It then replaced the earlier version from july ofr776 that did not have "unanimous" in its title. The Articles ofConftderation, finally approved by the laststate legislature in I78I, was adopted by the Continental Congress Novemberrs, I711> aftera longdebate that began with the introduction ofthefirst draft onjuly I2, I776. The two parts ofthe first national compact were thus not separated in time butpursued simultaneously. As a substitution for only the Articles, the r789 Constitution implicitly retained the Declaration ofIndependence as thefirst halfofoursecond nationalcompact , afact that has been ratified by more than two hundredyears of our celebrating the Fourth ofjuly as our nationalfounding. This is, then, the lastpiece in the colonialdocumentary history leading to the US. Constitution. Its statusas a compactis revealedand underscored notonly by earlierAmerican conftderations butalso by a content that is in keeping with thatfound in the many other colonialcompacts reproducedin this volume. Viewed together as a nationalcompact, the Declaration andArticles create apeople, lay out their common val- Origins_351-400.indd 377 2/17/12 6:50 PM The Articles ofConfederation ues andgoals, create a government, and lay out the institutionsfor collective decision making-a!! ofthe compactual elements present from earliest colonial times. A careful reading ofthe text indicates that, like the Declaration, theArticles ofConfederation assumes both a nationalpeople anda collection ofstatepeoples, includingthe statement ofdual citizenship in Article IV that was carried over, as with mostofthe document, into the US. Constitution. Federalism, afimdamentalprinciple ofAmerican politics derivedfrom the early colonial documents and inspired by the fideral theology these colonists brought with them, is thus a consistent theme in both our national compacts. Articles ofConfederation and Perpetual Union between the states ofNewhampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhodeisland and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New-York, New-jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina and Georgia. Article 1. The Stile ofthis confederacy shall be "The United States ofAmer- . " tea. Article n. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled. Article III. The said states hereby severally enter into a firm league offriendship 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 ofthem, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretence whatever. Article rv. The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and intercourse among the people of the different states in this union, the free inhabitants of each of these states, paupers, vagabonds and fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several states; and the people ofeach state shall have free ingress and regress to and from any other state, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions and restrictions as the inhabitants thereof respectively, provided that such re377 Origins_351-400.indd 378 2/17/12 6:50 PM CON FED ERATI 0 N S striction shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property into any state, to any other state, ofwhich 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 ofthe 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...