m. Samuel Oakes Petition

m. Jer[=a] [Jeremiah] Condys Petition The Selectmens Report of Sundry things left to them Voted to Chuse 4 Representatives

The Number of Voters Were 192

_votes._ Elisha Cooke Esqr 188 } m. Thomas Cushing 190 } m. Ezekll Lewis 190 } Chose[n] Representatives m. Samll Welles 184 }

Voted To Chuse a Co[=m]ittee to Prepare Instructions for the Representatives for their Acting at the General Court at their Approching Session, And to Lay them befor the Meeting in the Afternoon--

Voted: That John Alford Esqr mesrs Henry Dering and Nathll Cunningham be the Said Committee--

On the Petition of Sundry Inhabitants about the Situatian of the Grainery

Voted That mr Moderator and the Selectmen be Joyned with the Co[=m]ittee appointed for Building the Grainery, Be desired to View the Place, And make Return of their Opinion thereof to the Meeting after Dinner this Day--

mr John Jeffers Excus'd } mr Thomas Moffat Excus'd } Chosen Assessors.

Edward Maycomb Sworn } John Spooner Sworn } Clerks of the Market. Nathanll Cobbit Sworn }

Post Meridiem.

Voted That the Grainery be Erected and Set up Rainging with the Line of the Burying place on the Co[=m]on fronting Eastward, The Said Building to be not Less then [than] forty feet distant from the [South] Corner of the Brick wall of the Burying place--

mr James Pemberton Pay[111] } mr James Watson Sworn } Assessors.

In as much as the Gramer School at the North End of the Town of which mr Peleg Wiswall is the Master is much Increaced in the Number of the Schollers, and that no Usher is alowed to assist him in his School:

Voted That there be an Additian of Forty Pounds to the Said mr Wiswalls Salary--

Samll Oakes Petition Read and Dismist--

* * * * *

In Answer to Mr. Edward Mills His Petitian. Voted That there be an Addition of Twenty Pounds to the Said Mr. Edward Mills Sallary--

Upon A Motion made by Elisha Cook Esquire That the Dividing Line between the Towns Land in the Occupation of Mr. Nathaniel Williams and His Land on the East Side in School Street is for want of due Care become Crucked, intrenching both upon the One and the Others Land, That therefore they would Direct and Imp[o]wer the Selectmen to Rectifie that line as to them Seems Just and Equitable--And Further That they would be pleased to Accomodate him with about two feet of the Front of his Land next Mr. Williams on Such Terms as the Selectmen Shall Agree for with the Said Mr. Cooke--

Read and Voted That it be left with the Selectmen to Act therein as they Judge Meet--

On the Petition of Mr. Jeramiah Condy for Addition to his Salary.

Voted that the Consideration of Said Petition be Referred for further Consideration to the Next Town Meeting, and That in the mean time Nathaniel Green John Alford Esquires and Mr. Thomas Cushing Junior are desired to Inspect the Several Wrighting Schools within this Town at Such Time as they Shall think Avisable for the year Currant, And that they do in an Espesial Manner Vizit Mr. Condys School and Report to the Town at their Meeting the Ability and Industry of the Said Mr. Condy and the Proficiency of the Schollers under His Tuition--

The Comittee this day chosen and Appointed to Prepare Instructions for the Representatives, for their Acting at the General Court at their Approching Session And to Lay [them] before the Meeting in the afternoon--Return as Follows: Viz.

To Elisha Cooke Esquire, Messrs. Thomas Cushing, Ezekiel Lewis and Samuel Welles:--

* * * * *

Gentlemen--

Your known Loyalty to His Present Majesty King George, and Sincear Atachment to the Succession in the Illustrious House of Hannover, Your Hearty Love to this Your native Country, Your Singuler Value for the Liberty and Propperty of this People, your Cheerfull and Una[ni]mous Concurrance to promote our Best Intrist, And your Approved Integrity in those Publick Stations wherein you have bin Employed, Have fixed the Eyes of this Town on and Determined their Choice of you as Propper Persons to Represent them in the Next General Assembly Wherin they Expect That you behave your Selves with your Wonted Zeal and Courage in Prossecuting those good Designes which may tend to the Peace and wellfair of these His Majestys Good Subjects, and Secure those Rights and Priviledges which by the Royal Charter we have a Just claim to, and as Englishmen do of Right appertain to us, And agreable there unto we Recomend unto you in an Especial Manner--

That you Endeavor to Maintain all our Civil Rights and Propertys against any Incrochments upon them.

That you Continue to Pay a due Regard to His Excellency Our Governor, and that you Endeavor that He may have an Honourable Support, But we desire at the Same time That you use your utmost Endeavor That the Honourable House of Representatives may not be by any means Prevailed upon or brought into the Fixing a Certain Sallary for any Certain time, But that they may Improve their usual freedom in granting their Money from time to time, as they Shall Judg the Province to be able, and in Such a manner as they Shall think most for the Benefit and advantage thereof, And if your Pay Should be diverted you may Depend on all the Justice Imaginable from this Town whom you Represent:--

JOHN ALFORD } HENRY DERING } Comittee NATHLL CUNINGHAM }

The Foregoing Return of the Committee was Presended[ted] Read Sundry times and Voted Approved.

The Report of the Selectmen upon Several Votes of the Town at their Meeting the 10th of March, 1728: were Read and Considered Viz.,

The Selectmen have Viewed the Marsh at the Bottom of the Common, and not finding any Material use that can be made of it at the present, and Considering the Present Circumstances of the Town Are of Opinion it is best to ly in the Condition it now is.

Read and the Report Accepted--....

As to the Proposals About Bennet Street--It is thought Convenient to be Paved if the Town thinke it Convenient to Raise Money for the Doing it at this Meeting.

Read and Refer'd for further consideration to the Next March Meeting....

_d. Connecticut refuses to obey a Royal Officer appointed to command her Militia against French and Indians in 1693_

_New York Colonial Documents_, IV, 71.

King William III appointed Fletcher governor of the royal province of New York, and commissioned him to command the militia also of Connecticut, the neighboring charter colony, in the war usually known as King William's War. The device was eminently wise, as a military measure; but it was stubbornly resisted by Connecticut. The historians of that colony delight to tell a legend that when the governor arrived and tried to have his commission read by his secretary to the militia (drawn up in arms to repel rather than to receive him), Captain Wadsworth drowned the reading by commanding drums to beat; three times this was repeated; and the last time Wadsworth added, "If you try again, I'll make daylight shine through you." The following document gives what is probably a more accurate statement,--but one which shows equally well that Connecticut had her way. For the general conflict of which this was one incident between crown and colonies, cf. _American History and Government_, ## 117, 118.

_Governor Fletcher of New York, to Mr. Southwell_

Connecticute in New England Octoer 30th '93.

Sir:

I have been in this Collony 20 dayes laboreing to perswade a stubborne people to theire dewty. I Publis'd their Majesties [William and Mary] Commission in theire General Court att Hartford. Assured them I had noe pretentions to their civell adminestration. But the mallitia being lodged in the Crowne ... I came with commission under the greate seale to take that ... charge. They refused all obedienc. Have sepperated not only from the Church, But Crowne of England; and allowe of noe appeale from theire Courts, nor the Lawes of England to have any force amongst them. _Some of the wiseest have saide "Wee are not permitted to vote for any members of Parliamt, and therefore [are] not lyable to theire lawes._" [Expresses military dangers due to refusal.]

I never sawe the like people. ... I could not force obedience haveing noe Company but a few servants and two friends; nor did I think it the King's service to carry on the contest to Bloude, tho they threaten to draw mine for urging my Masters right ... I have just now a letter from a sure freinde acquainting mee the mobb have a designe upon my life. I must not goe out of the way, tho' very thinly attended....

[The following November 10, Fletcher wrote from New York to the Committee on the Colonies urging that the Connecticut Charter be proceeded against under a writ of quo warranto, with a view of uniting that colony with New York. The same letter describes in detail the serious perils from French and Indians. One paragraph should be quoted: "Our hardships grow upon us. Canada ... hath received seven hundred men and stores of Warr from France this last Summer. Our Indians falter ... _These small Colonies ... are [as] much divided in theire interest and affection as Christian and Turk. ..._"]

112. Commission of a Royal Governor

_New Hampshire Provincial Papers_, VI, 908 (edited by N. Benton).

This commission, in compact form, describes the government of a royal colony just before the Revolution. The omissions (indicated by ...) are mainly tautological phrases.

George the Third, by the grace of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King....

To our Trusty and well beloved Benning Wentworth Esquire, Greeting: =Know you=, that Wee, reposing especial Trust and Confidence in the Prudence, Courage, and Loyalty of you Benning Wentworth, of our Especial grace, certain Knowledge, and meer motion, Have thought fit to constitute and appoint you ... to be our Governour and Commander-in-Chief of our Province of New Hampshire ... with all ... the authoritys hereby granted you ... during our will and Pleasure:

=And We= do hereby require ... you to ... execute all things ... that shall belong unto your said Command ... according to the several Powers ... granted ... you by this Present Commission ... or by such further powers, Instructions, and Authorities as shall at any time be granted or appointed you under our ... sign manual ... and according to such reasonable Laws and Statutes as now are in force or hereafter shall be made and agreed upon by you with the advice and consent of our Council and the Assembly of our said Province....

=And wee= do hereby give ... you full Power ... to suspend any of the members of our said Council from sitting, Voting, and assisting therein, if you shall find just cause for so doing: and if it shall at any time happen that by the Death or Departure out of our said Province, suspension of any of our said Councillors, or otherwise, there shall be a Vacancy in our said Council (any three whereof we do hereby appoint to be a Quorum), our Will and Pleasure is that you signify the same to us by the first opportunity, that we may ... appoint others in their stead; but that our affairs at that Distance may not suffer for want of a due number of Councillors, if ever it shall happen that there shall be less than seven of them residing in our said Province, =Wee do= hereby give ... unto you ... full Power ... to choose as many Persons out of the Principal Freeholders, Inhabitants thereof, as will make up the full Number of our said Council to be seven, and no more....

=And wee= do hereby give ... you full Power ... with the advice and consent of our said Council from time to time, as need shall require, to summon and call General Assemblys of the said Freeholders and Planters within your Government, in manner and form according to the usage of our Province of New Hampshire:

=Wee do= hereby Declare that the Persons so elected and qualified shall be called and Deemed the General Assembly of our said Province ... and that you ... with the consent of our said Council and Assembly, or the major part of them respectively, shall have full Power ... to make, Constitute, and ordain Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances, for the Publick Peace, Welfare, and good Government of our said Province ... and for the Benefit of us our Heirs and Successors,--which said Laws ... are not to be repugnant, but, as near as may be, agreeable to the laws ... of this our Kingdom of Great Britain.

=Provided that= all such Statutes and Ordinances, of whatever nature and Duration soever, be, within three months ... after the making thereof, transmitted unto us ... for our approbation or Disallowance [as also Duplicates of the same by the next conveyance]; and in case any or all of the said Laws ..., not before confirmed by us, shall at any time be disallowed ... and so signified by us our Heirs or Successors ... unto you ... or to the Commander-in-Chief of our said Province for the time being, then such and so many of the said Laws ... shall from thence cease, Determine, and become utterly void....

=And= to the end that nothing may be passed or done by our said Council or Assembly to the Prejudice of us, our Heirs and Successors, We will and ordain that you ... shall have ... a negative Voice in the making and Passing of all Laws and Statutes and ordinances ... =and= you shall and may ... from time to time, as you shall judge it necessary, adjourn, Prorogue, and Dissolve all General Assemblies as aforesaid....

=And We= do hereby authorize ... you to constitute ... Judges, and, in cases requisite, Commissioners of Oyer and Terminer, Justices of the Peace, and other necessary officers ... in our said Province for the better administration of Justice and putting the Laws in execution....

=And we= do hereby give ... you full Power ... where you shall see cause, or shall Judge any offenders ... fit objects for our mercy, to Pardon all such ... offenders, and to remit all ... fines and forfeitures, Treason and Willfull murder only excepted ... in which cases you shall likewise have Power, upon extraordinary occasions, to grant reprieves ... until ... our royal Pleasure may be known....

=And We= do hereby give ... unto you ..., by yourself or by your Captains ... by you to be authorized, full Power ... to Levy, arm, muster, command, and Employ all persons whatsoever residing within our said Province ... for the resisting and withstanding of all enemies, Pyrates, and rebels ... and to transport such forces to any of our Plantations in America, if necessity shall require, for the Defence of the same ... and to Execute martial Law in time of Invasion, or other times when by Law it may be executed, and to do and execute every other thing ... which to our Commander-in-Chief doth or ought of right to belong....

=And We= do hereby command all officers ... civil and military, and all other Inhabitants ... to be obedient aiding and assisting unto you, the said Benning Wentworth, in the Execution of this our Commission ... and in case of your Death, or absence out of our Province, unto such person as shall be appointed by us to be our Lieutenant Governor ... to whom we do therefore by these Presents give and grant all and singular the Powers and authorities aforesaid [and, if no Lieutenant Governor has been named, then] the Eldest Councillor, whose Name is first placed in our Instructions to you ... shall take upon him the administration of the government and Execute our said Commission ... and the several Powers therein contained.

113. Free Speech Vindicated

(_Trial of John Peter Zenger, 1735._)

Zenger, in 1738, published a "Brief Narrative of the Case and Tryall," somewhat in the form of a modern "Report," though he speaks in the first person. In 1735 the governor of New York removed the chief justice of the colony for personal reasons. Zenger, in his _Weekly Journal_, vigorously criticized this and _other despotic_ actions of the governor. He was prosecuted for criminal libel; and the new chief justice showed a determination to secure a conviction, trying to limit the jury to deciding only whether Zenger was responsible for the publication, and reserving to himself the decision whether the words were punishable. This was the custom in English courts of the day in government prosecutions.

Italics and black-faced type are as in the original.

[The Attorney General's complaint, as Zenger reports, characterized him as "a seditious person and a frequent Printer and Publisher of false news and seditious Libels, and charged specifically that he] "did falsely, seditiously, and scandalously print and publish ... a certain false, malicious, seditious, scandalous Libel ... concerning His Excellency the Governour ... [in which publication he represented a former inhabitant explaining that he had left the colony, as he doubts not others will, because, among other reasons] They ... think ... that their LIBERTIES and PROPERTIES are precarious, and that SLAVERY is likely to be intailed on them and their Posterity if some past Things be not amended ... (meaning, the past Proceedings of his Excellency the Governor ...) ... [and] WE ... SEE MENS DEEDS DESTROYED, JUDGES ARBITRARILY DISPLACED, NEW COURTS ERECTED WITHOUT CONSENT OF THE LEGISLATURE....

"_Who then [can] call any Thing his own, or enjoy any Liberty ... longer than those in the Administration ... will condescend to let them?_"

[This publication, the Attorney General charges, was] to the great disturbance of the Peace of the ... Province ... to the Great Scandal of Our said Lord the King, of His Excellency the Governor [etc]; whereupon the said Attorney General of Our said Lord the King, for Our said Lord the King, prays ... the due Process of the Law against him the said _John Peter Zenger_ ... in the Premises.

[The Report continues:]

To this Information the Defendant has pleaded _Not Guilty_, and we are ready to prove it....

Then Mr. _Hamilton_,[112] who at the Request of some of my Friends, was so kind as to come from _Philadelphia_ to assist me on the Tryal, spoke.

Mr. _Hamilton_, "May it please your Honour; I am concerned in this Cause on the Part of Mr. _Zenger_ the Defendant. The Information against my Client was sent me, a few days before I left Home, with some Instructions to let me know how far I might rely upon the Truth of those Parts of the Papers set forth in the Information, and which are said to be libellous ... I cannot think it proper for me (without doing Violence to my own Principles) to deny the Publication of a Complaint, which I think is the Right of every free-born Subject to make, when the Matters so published can be supported with Truth; and therefore I'll save Mr. Attorney the Trouble of Examining his Witnesses to that Point; and I do (for my Client) confess, that he both printed and published the two News Papers set forth in the Information, and I hope in so doing he has committed no Crime. ..."

Mr. _Attorney_, ... "The Case before the Court is, whether Mr. _Zenger_ is guilty of Libelling his Excellency the Governor of _New-York_, and indeed the whole administration of the Government? Mr. _Hamilton_ has confessed the Printing and Publishing, and I think nothing is plainer, than that the Words in the Information are =_scandalous, and tend to Sedition, and to disquiet the Minds of the People of this Province_=. And if such Papers are not Libels, I think it may be said, there can be no such Thing as a Libel."

Mr. _Hamilton_, "May it please your Honour; I cannot agree with Mr. Attorney: For tho' I freely acknowledge, that there are such Things as Libels, yet I must insist at the same Time, that what my Client is charged with, is not a Libel; and I observed just now, that Mr. Attorney in defining a Libel, made use of the Words =_scandalous, seditious, and tend to disquiet the People_=; but (whether with Design or not I will not say) he omitted the Word =_false_=."

Mr. _Attorney_, I think I did not omit the Word =_false_=: But it has been said already, that it may be a Libel, notwithstanding it may be true.

Mr. _Hamilton_, In this I must still differ with Mr. Attorney; for I depend upon it, we are to be tried upon this Information now before the Court and Jury, and to which we have pleaded =_Not Guilty_=, and by it we are charged with printing and publishing, =_a certain false, malicious, seditious and scandalous Libel_=. This Word =_false_= must have some Meaning, or else how came it there?...

Mr. _Ch. Justice_, You cannot be admitted, Mr. =_Hamilton_=, to give the Truth of a Libel in Evidence. A Libel is not to be justified; for it is nevertheless a Libel that [i.e. tho'] it is =_true_=.

Mr. _Hamilton_, I am sorry the court has so soon resolved upon that Piece of Law; I expected first to have been heard to that Point. I have not in all my Reading met with an Authority that says, we cannot be admitted to give the Truth in Evidence, upon an Information for a Libel.

Mr. _Ch. Justice_, The Law is clear, That you cannot justify a Libel....

Mr. _Hamilton_, I thank your Honour. Then, Gentlemen of the Jury, it is to you we must now appeal, for Witnesses, to the Truth of the Facts we have offered, and are denied the Liberty to prove; and let it not seem strange, that I apply my self to you in this Manner, I am warranted so to do both by Law and Reason. The Last supposes you to be summones, _out of the Neighbourhood where the Fact is alledged to be committed_; and the Reason of your being taken out of the Neighbourhood is, _because you are supposed to have the best Knowledge of the Fact that is to be tried_. And were you to find a Verdict against my Client, you must take upon you to say, the Papers referred to in the Information, and which we acknowledge we printed and published, are, _false, scandalous and seditious_; but of this I can have no Apprehension. You are Citizens of _New-York_; you are really what the Law supposes you to be, _honest and lawful Men_; and, according to my Brief, the Facts which we offer to prove were not committed in a Corner; they are notoriously known to be true; and therefore in your Justice lies our Safety. And as we are denied the Liberty of giving Evidence, to prove the Truth of what we have published, I will beg Leave to lay it down as a Standing Rule in such Cases, _That the suppressing of Evidence ought always to be taken for the strongest Evidence_; and I hope it will have that Weight with you....

... It is true in Times past it was a Crime to speak Truth, and in that terrible Court of Star-Chamber, many worthy and brave Men suffred for so doing; and yet even in that Court, and in those bad Times, a great and good Man durst say, what I hope will not be taken amiss of me to say in this Place, _to wit, the Practice of Informations for Libels is a Sword in the Hands of a wicked king and_ [of] _an arrand Coward to cut down and destroy the innocent; the one cannot, because of his high station, and the other dares not, because of his Want of Courage, revenge himself in another Manner._

Mr. _Attorney_, Pray Mr. _Hamilton_, have a Care what you say, don't go too far neither, I don't like those Liberties.

Mr. _Hamilton_, Sure, Mr. Attorney, you won't make any Applications; all Men agree that we are governed by the best of Kings, and I cannot see the Meaning of Mr. Attorney's Caution. ... May it please Your Honour, I was saying, That notwithstanding all the Duty and Reverence claimed by Mr. Attorney to Men in Authority, they are not exempt from observing the Rules of common Justice, either in their private or publick Capacities; the Laws of our Mother Country know no Exception....

I hope to be pardon'd, Sir, for my Zeal upon this Occasion: It is an old and wise Caution, _That when our Neighbour's House is on Fire, We ought to take Care of our own_. For tho', blessed be God, I live in a Government where Liberty is well understood, and freely enjoy'd; yet Experience has shewn us all (I'm sure it has to me) that a bad Precedent in one Government, is soon set up for an Authority in another; and therefore I cannot but think it mine, and every Honest Man's Duty, that (while we pay all due Obedience to Men in Authority) we ought at the same Time to be upon our Guard against Power [i.e., arbitrary power], wherever we apprehend that it may effect Ourselves or our Fellow-Subjects.

I am truly very unequal to such an Undertaking on many Accounts. And you see I labour under the Weight of many Years, and am born down with great Infirmities of Body; yet Old and Weak as I am, I should think it my Duty, if required, to go to the utmost Part of the land, where my Service cou'd be of any Use in assisting to quench the flame of Prosecutions upon Informations, set on Foot by the Government, to deprive a People of the Right of Remonstrating (and complaining too) of the arbitrary Attempts of Men in Power. Men who injure and oppress the People under their Administration provoke them to cry out and complain; and then make that very Complaint the foundation for new Oppressions and Prosecutions. ... But to conclude; the Question before the Court and you, Gentlemen of the Jury, is not of small nor private Concern, it is not the Cause of a poor Printer, nor of _New-York_ alone, which you are now trying; No! It may in its Consequence, affect every Freeman that lives under a British Government on the Main of _America_. It is the best Cause. It is the Cause of Liberty; and I make no Doubt but your upright Conduct, this Day, will not only entitle you to the Love and Esteem of your Fellow-Citizens; but every Man, who prefers Freedom to a Life of Slavery, will bless and honour You, as Men who have baffled the Attempt of Tyranny; and by an impartial and uncorrupt Verdict, have laid a noble Foundation for Securing to ourselves, our Posterity, and our Neighbours, That to which Nature and the Laws of our Country have given us a Right,--the Liberty--both of exposing and opposing arbitrary Power (in these Parts of the World, at least) by speaking and writing Truth....

Mr. _Ch. Just._ Gentlemen of the Jury. The great pains Mr. _Hamilton_ has taken, to shew how little Regard Juries are to Pay to the Opinion of the Judges; and his insisting so much upon the Conduct of some Judges in Tryals of this kind; is done, no doubt, with a Design that you should take but very little Notice of what I may say upon this Occasion. I shall therefore only observe to you that, as the Facts or Words in the Information are confessed: The only Thing that can come in Question before you is, Whether the Words, as set forth in the Information, make a Libel. And that is a Matter of Law, no doubt, and which you may leave to the Court. But I shall trouble you no further with any Thing more of my own, but read to you the Words of a learned and upright Judge in a Case of the like Nature.

_To say that corrupt Officers are appointed to administer Affairs, is certainly a Reflection on the Government. If People should not be called to account for possessing the People with an ill Opinion of the Government, no Government can subsist. For it is necessary for all Governments that the People should have a good Opinion of it. ..._

[Zenger adds]

The Jury withdrew, and in a small Time returned, and being asked by the Clerk, Whether they were agreed of their Verdict, and whether _John Peter Zenger_ was guilty of Printing and Publishing the Libels in the Information mentioned? They answered by _Thomas Hunt_, their Foreman, _Not Guilty_. Upon which there were three Huzzas in the Hall which was crowded with People, and the next Day I was discharged from my Imprisonment.

114. Franklin's "Albany Plan," July 10, 1754[113]

On the eve of the French and Indian War, in June 19, 1754, there met at Albany, on the call of the Lords of Trade, a colonial congress to agree upon measures of defense. Seven colonies were represented,--New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland,--none south of the Potomac. Massachusetts had authorized her commissioners to "enter into articles of union and confederation" with the other colonies "as well in time of peace as of war." On the sixth day of the session, the Congress voted unanimously that a union of all the colonies was "absolutely necessary for their security." A committee, representing each of the colonies present, was created to consider various plans, and, after almost daily discussions, a general plan was accepted on July 9. Franklin was appointed to draft the detailed plan,--and, the next day, a form submitted by him was adopted. Franklin afterward said of the result: "the Fate of this Plan was singular ... The Crown disapproved it, as having too much Weight in the Democratic Part of the Constitution; and every Assembly, as having allowed too much to Prerogative. So it was totally rejected."

The text of a number of other plans for colonial federation, between 1696 and 1754, are collected in No. 14 of the _American History Leaflets_.

_a. Motives_

The following extract is part of the "introduction" to the Plan afterward drawn up by Franklin and printed in his _Works_ (Smyth edition, III, 203-204).

The commissioners from a number of the northern colonies, being met at Albany, and considering the difficulties that have always attended the most necessary general measures for the common defence, or for the annoyance of the enemy, when they were to be carried through the several particular Assemblies of all the colonies; some Assemblies being before at variance with their governors or councils, and the several branches of the government not on terms of doing business with each other: others taking the opportunity, when their concurrence is wanted, to push for favorite laws, powers, or points, that they think could not at other times be obtained, and so creating disputes and quarrels; one Assembly waiting to see what another will do, being afraid of doing more than its share, or desirous of doing less, or refusing to do anything because its country is not at present so much exposed as others, or because another will reap more immediate advantage; from one or other of which causes, the Assemblies of six out of seven colonies applied to, had granted no assistance to Virginia when lately invaded by the French, though purposely convened, and the importance of the occasion earnestly urged upon them;--considering moreover, that one principal encouragement to the French, in invading and insulting the British American dominions, was their knowledge of our disunited state, and of our weakness arising from such want of union; and that from hence different colonies were, at different times, extremely harassed, and put to great expense both of blood and treasure, who would have remained in peace, if the enemy had had cause to fear the drawing on themselves the resentment and power of the whole;--the said commissioners, considering also the present encroachments of the French, and the mischievous consequences that may be expected from them, if not opposed with our [united] force, came to an unanimous resolution; _That a union of the colonies is absolutely necessary for their preservation_.

_b. The Plan_

_Broadhead's Documents relative to the Colonial History of New York_, VI, 589-591.

_Plan of a proposed Union of the several Colonies of Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jerseys, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina,[114] for their mutual defence and security, and for extending the British Settlements in North America._

That humble application be made for an Act of the Parliament of Great Brittain, by virtue of which, one General Government may be formed in America, including all the said Colonies, within and under which Government each Colony may retain its present Constitution, except in the particulars wherein a [_change_] may be directed by the said Act, as hereafter follows.

That the said General Government be administered by a president General, to be appointed and supported by the Crown, and a grand Council _to be chosen by the representatives of the people of the severall Colonies_, [_met_] in their respective Assemblies.[115]

[Provision for election of first grand council, of forty-eight members,--Massachusetts and Virginia to have _seven_ each, Pennsylvania _six_, Connecticut _five_, New York, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina each _four_, New Jersey _three_, New Hampshire and Rhode Island each _two_.]

Who shall meet for the present time at the City of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, being called by the President General as soon as conveniently may be after his appointment.

That there shall be a New Election of the Members of the Grand Council every three years, and on the death or resignation of any Member, his place should be supplyed by a new choice at the next sitting of the Assembly of the Colony he represented.

That after the first three years, when the proportion of money arising out of each Colony to the General Treasury can be known, the number of Members to be chosen, for each Colony shall from time to time in all ensuing Elections be regulated by that proportion (yet so as that the Number to be chosen by any one province be not more than seven nor less than two).

That the Grand Council shall meet once in every year, and oftener if occasion require, at such time and place as they shall adjourn to at the last preceding meeting, or as they shall be called to meet at by the President General, on any emergency, he having first obtained in writing the consent of seven of the Members to such call, and sent due and timely notice to the whole.

That the Grand Council have power to chuse their speaker, and =_shall neither be dissolved prorogued, nor continue sitting longer than six weeks at one time without their own consent,_[116] _or the special command of the Crown_=.

That the Members of the Grand Council shal be allowed for their service ten shillings sterling per diem, during their Sessions or [_and_] Journey to and from the place of Meeting; twenty miles to be reckoned a days Journey.

=_That the Assent of the President General be requisite to all Acts of the Grand Council_=, and that it be his Office and duty to cause them to be carried into execution.

That the President General with the advice of the Grand Council, hold or direct all Indian Treaties in which the general interest of the Colonys may be concerned; and make peace or declare War with Indian Nations. That they make such Laws as they judge necessary for the regulating all Indian Trade. That they make all purchases from Indians for the Crown, of lands not [now] within the bounds of particular Colonies, or that shall not be within their bounds when some of them are reduced to more convenient dimensions. That they make new settlements on such purchases by granting Lands, [in the King's name] reserving a Quit rent to the Crown, for the use of the General Treasury.

That they make Laws for regulating and governing such new settlements, till the Crown shall think fit to form them into particular Governments.

That they raise and pay Soldiers, and build Forts for the defence of any of the Colonies, and equip vessels of Force to guard the Coasts and protect the Trade on the Ocean, Lakes, or great Rivers; but they shall not impress men in any Colonies without the consent of its Legislature. That for these purposes they have power to make Laws and lay and Levy such general duties, imposts or taxes, as to them shall appear most equal and just, considering the ability and other circumstances of the Inhabitants in the several Colonies, and such as may be collected with the least inconvenience to the people, rather discouraging luxury, than loading Industry with unnecessary burthens.--That they might appoint a General Treasurer and a particular Treasurer in each Government when necessary, and from time to time may order the sums in the Treasuries of each Government, into the General Treasury, or draw on them for special payments as they find most convenient; yet no money to issue but by joint orders of the President General and Grand Council, except where sums have been appropriated to particular purposes, and the President General is previously impowered by an Act to draw for such sums.

That the General accounts shall be yearly settled and reported to the several Assemblies.

That a Quorum of the Grand Council impowered to act with the President General, do consist of twenty five Members, among whom there shall be one or more from a majority of the Colonies. That the laws made by them for the purposes aforesaid, shall not be repugnant, but as near as may be agreeable to the Laws of England, and shall be transmitted to the King in Council for approbation, as soon as may be after their passing, and if not disapproved within three years after presentation to remain in Force.

That in case of the death of the President General, the Speaker of the Grand Council for the time being shall succeed, and be vested with the same powers and authority, to continue until the King's pleasure be known.

[Commissions, military and civil, for officers acting under this constitution, to be issued jointly by President-General and Grand Council.]--That the particular, Military as well as Civil establishments in each Colony remain in their present State this General constitution notwithstanding. And that on sudden emergencies any Colony may defend itself, and lay the accounts of expence, thence arisen, before the President General and Grand Council, who may allow and order payment of the same if judged reasonable.

[In 1789 Franklin wrote, with good reason, that the adoption of the Albany Plan would have probably delayed the separation of the colonies from England, "perhaps during another century." There would have been a central legislature to vote supplies and prepare defense against Indians and French, and the British reasons for the Stamp Act would not have existed.]

FOOTNOTES:

[91] The first part of this act is copied almost word for word from an act of the Long Parliament in 1651. That act, however, was not enforced. It applied only to shipping. The Act of 1660 added the "enumerating" clause (XVIII).

[92] Question having arisen in regard to the definition of English-built ships and English mariners, these terms were defined in section V of the Act of 1662 (14 Car. II, c. 11). The portion of the section relating to mariners follows: "And whereas it is required by the said Act that in sundry cases the Master and three fourths of the Mariners are to be English, it is to be understood that any of His Majesties Subjects of England, Ireland, _and His Plantations_ are to bee accounted English, and no others. ..."--_Statutes of the Realm_, V, 395.

[93] The sugar from the English colonies also paid duties on admission into English ports (lower than these here prescribed for _foreign_ sugars); but such duties were to be rebated, according to this section IX, upon reëxportation.

[94] The name "New England" still applied to all English America north of Delaware Bay.

[95] This was the first charter provision for appeal from a colonial court to England. The question had arisen just before in connection with the New England colonies. Cf. _American History and Government_, # 99.

[96] This was the first provision for a direct English veto upon colonial laws.

[97] All italics are by the editor. The Pennsylvania charter distinctly recognized the right of Parliament to tax the colonists. These clauses, with those regarding appeals and the royal veto, were added to Penn's draft by the King's Attorney-General.

[98] This grant was also in the "Laws Agreed upon in England," XXXV.

[99] That act decreed that, in order to vote, a man must own "fifty acres of land, ... twelve acres thereof, or more, cleared and improved; or be otherwise worth fifty pounds lawful money" above all indebtedness.

[100] By the law of England, the property of a suicide, like that of a man convicted of a felony, escheated to the crown. The other half of this same paragraph abolished another ancient legal cruelty.

[101] This provision (adopted also from the "Laws Agreed upon in England") is the first attempt in a constitution to establish _a regular method of amendment_. The attempt to exclude a portion of the document from amendment, so common for long afterward, begins here also (next paragraph).

[102] Five years later came an Indian uprising in which at least 300 colonists lost their lives.

[103] As governor of Virginia, Berkeley is disposed to side with the colony against the English policy. Cf. 19, note, below.

[104] Even as negroes were packed, the slaver of that time rarely carried a hundred slaves.

[105] Italicized by the editor. Cf. 11, above, and the note.

[106] This is a gross overstatement on Berkeley's part. Cf. _American History and Government_, # 96. It is notable, however, that even a courtier, like Berkeley, as a colonial governor, takes the point of view of his province against English policy. Cf. _ib._, # 118.

[107] Then why no Virginia ships _before_ 1660?

[108] Cf. No. 35, above.

[109] Queen Anne.

[110] A reference to the expulsion of James II.

[111] Paid a fine for refusing to serve.

[112] James Hamilton, an aged Pennsylvania lawyer.

[113] The "New Style" chronology was adopted by England in 1752.

[114] Georgia was not included. Franklin seems originally to have contemplated a union of the northern colonies only.

[115] In Franklin's comments upon the sections of this plan (_Works_, Smyth edition, III, 208 ff.), he adds to this section: " ... it being proposed by the gentlemen of the Council of New York ... to alter the plan in this particular, and _to give the governors and council_ of the several provinces a share in the choice of the grand council [or at least a veto upon the selections], it was said,....

"That it is essential to English liberty, that the subject should not be taxed but by his own consent, or the consent of his elected representatives.

"That taxes to be laid and levied by this proposed constitution will be proposed and agreed to by the representatives of the people, if the plan in this particular be preserved.

"But if the proposed alteration should take place, it seemed as if matters may be so managed as that the crown shall finally have the appointment, not only of the president-general, but of a majority of the grand Council....

"And so the people in all the colonies would in effect be taxed by their governors.

[Some three pages more of like argument.]

"Upon the whole the commissioners were of opinion that the choice was most properly placed in the representatives of the people."

[116] Franklin's comment was (see note above): "Governors have sometimes wantonly exercised the power of ... continuing the sessions of Assemblies, merely to harass the members and compel a compliance; and sometimes dissolve them on slight disgusts." This provision may have been suggested to Franklin by the fact that in his own colony the legislative sittings were independent of the governor's will (No. 103, _b_, above).

XX. HARSH PHASES OF COLONIAL SOCIETY[117]

115. Legal Punishment in Virginia, 1662-1748

Hening's _Statutes_, II, 75. The following statute was enacted in March, 1662. It was reënacted, in similar words, in 1705 and in 1748 (_ib._ 367-368 and 507-508), and was in force at the opening of the Revolution.

Whereas many offences are punishable by the laws of England and of this country with corporall punishments, for executeing whereof noe such provision hath been made as the said laws doe require; _Be it therefore enacted_, that, in every county, the court cause to be sett up a pillory, a pair of stocks, and a whipping post, neere the courthouse, and a ducking-stoole in such a place as they shall think convenient ... And the courts not causeing the said pillory and whipping post, stocks and ducking stoole to be erected within six months, after the date of this act shall be fined five thousand pounds of tobacco to the use of the publique.

116. White Servants in 1774

William Eddes, _Letters from America_.

These _Letters_, written in 1774, were printed in London in 1792. Eddes was a customs official at Annapolis.

PERSONS in a state of servitude are under four distinct denominations: negroes, who are the entire property of their respective owners: convicts, who are transported from the mother country for a limited term: indented servants, who are engaged for five years previous to their leaving England; and free-willers, who are supposed, from their situation, to possess superior advantages....

Persons convicted of felony, and in consequence transported to this continent, if they are able to pay the expense of passage, are free to pursue their fortune agreeably to their inclinations or abilities. Few, however, have means to avail themselves of this advantage. These unhappy beings are, generally, consigned to an agent, who classes them suitably to their real or supposed qualifications; advertises them for sale, and disposes of them, for seven years, to planters, to mechanics, and to such as choose to retain them for domestic service.

* * * * *

The generality of the inhabitants in this province are very little acquainted with those fallacious pretences, by which numbers are continually induced to embark for this continent. On the contrary, they too generally conceive an opinion that the difference is merely nominal between the indented servant and the convicted felon: nor will they readily believe that people, who had the least experience in life, and whose characters were unexceptionable, would abandon their friends and families, and their ancient connexions, for a servile situation, in a remote appendage to the British Empire. From this persuasion they rather consider the convict as the more profitable servant, his term being for seven, the latter only for five years; and, I am sorry to observe, that there are but few instances wherein they experience different treatment. Negroes being a property for life, the death of slaves, in the prime of youth or strength, is a material loss to the proprietor; they are, therefore, almost in every instance, under more comfortable circumstances than the miserable European, over whom the rigid planter exercises an inflexible severity. They [white servants] are strained to the utmost to perform their allotted labour....

The situation of the free-willer is, in almost every instance more to be lamented than either that of the convict or the indented servant; the deception which is practised on those of this description being attended with circumstances of greater duplicity and cruelty. ... They are told, that their services will be eagerly solicited, in proportion to their abilities; that their reward will be adequate to the hazard they encounter by courting fortune in a distant region; and that the parties with whom they engage will readily advance the sum agreed on for their passage; which, being averaged at about nine pounds sterling, they will speedily be enabled to repay, and to enjoy, in a state of liberty, a comparative situation of ease and affluence. ... It is, therefore, an article of agreement with these deluded victims, that if they are not successful in obtaining situations, on their own terms, within a certain number of days after their arrival in the country, they are then to be sold, in order to defray the charges of passage....

117. Runaway Servants and Apprentices

From "Newspaper Extracts," 1770-1771, in _New Jersey Archives_, First Series, XXVII. The editor of this volume is responsible for the italics.

Trenton Goal, December 28, 1769.

This is to give notice, there was committed to my custody, by William Clayton, Esq., as a runaway apprentice on the 24th day of October last, THOMAS SANDAMAN. This is to inform his master or sheriff that he run away from, that they come and pay charges and take him away, _or he will be sold_ to pay cost and charges, on Saturday the 20th day of January, 1770, by me

PETER HANKINSON, _Goaler_.

--_The Pennsylvania Journal, No. 1413, January 4, 1770._

THREE POUNDS REWARD

Run-away on Friday the 12th Inst. from the Subscriber at Hunterdon County, in New-Jersey, an Apprentice, named DAVID COX, about Twenty Years of Age, a Carpenter and Joiner by Trade, but its likely he may pass for a Mill-Wright, as he has two Brothers of that Trade, that works near Albany. He is about 5 Feet 10 Inches high, large boned, knock kneed, of a dark Complexion, down Look, black Eyes, black Hair, and wears it tied. Had on when he went away, a grey coloured Coat and Jacket, pretty much worn, with Horn Buttons on them, new Leather Breeches, with black Horn Buttons, Russia Shirt, black Yarn Stockings, new Shoes, also a rusty Castor Hat, wears it cocked: It is also suspected he has stole his Indentures, and will very likely show them for a Pass, as he is near of Age. Whoever apprehends said Apprentice, and secures him in any Goal, so that his Master may have Notice thereof, shall have the above Reward, paid by me.

JAMES TAYLOR.

N. B. Perhaps he may change his Cloaths, that he may not be discovered.

--_The N. Y. Gazette, or Weekly Post Boy, No. 1412, January 22, 1770._

New Jersey, November 24, 1769.

Run-away the 22d September, from the Subscriber, living in Monmouth County, in the Township of Shrewsbury, in the Province of East New-Jersey; an indented Servant Man, named Walter Clark, _born in the Jerseys_, about Twenty-four Years of Age, a Black-Smith by trade, and understands farming Business; he is about six Feet high, has black curled Hair, and keeps his Mouth much open: He took several Suits of Apparel with him, all of a brownish Colour, some Broad Cloth, and some thin Stuff; also one striped double-breasted Jacket. Whoever takes up the above said Servant and delivers him to me the Subscriber, shall have Three Pounds Reward, and reasonable Charges paid, by me.

BENJAMIN JACKSON.

--_The N. Y. Journal or General Advertiser, No. 1412, January 25, 1770._

Run away from the subscriber, living near Morris-Town, in New-Jersey, on Christmas-day last, a servant man, named Thomas Clay, a Cooper by trade, _near 50 years of age_, about 5 feet 10 inches high, brown curled hair, will drink to excess, and then is noisy, likes to sing songs; had on, when he went away, a blue great coat, and jacket of the same, leather breeches, and felt hat. Whoever takes up and secures said servant, so that his master may have him again, shall have Three Pounds Reward, and reasonable charges, paid by

DANIEL GERARD, junior.

--_Pennsylvania Gazette, No. 2146, February 8, 1770_.

BURLINGTON, December 3, 1770.

This Day was committed to the Goal of this City, a certain Thomas Gearn, _upon suspicion of being a runaway Servant_; he says that he belongs to William Withers, living in Cecil County, Maryland, and that he left his said Master about 14 or 15 Weeks ago. Said Servant is about 20 Years of Age, and says when he left his Master he had _an Iron Collar on his Neck_, but soon got it off. Whoever owns the said Thomas Gearn, is desired to come or send; pay Charges immediately, and take him away.

--EPHRAIM PHILLIPS, _Goaler_.

GLOUCESTER COUNTY GOAL, September 12, 1771.

Taken up _on suspicion_, as a runaway servant and now confined here, a young man about 5 feet 6 inches high, marked with the small-pox, has on a blue coat, homespun shirt, and check trousers, says his name is Hugh M'Cage, and that he belongs to one William or John Miller, living near Lancaster. His master, if any he has, is desired to fetch him away, _and pay charges_; otherwise he will be _sold out_ in 3 weeks from the date hereof.

RICHARD JOHNSON, _Goaler_.

--_Pennsylvania Gazette_, Sept. 12, 1771.

[These advertisements all relate to _White_ men. Like entries continue through the early Revolutionary days, often in the same column with flaming expressions of the spirit of political liberty, in a manner somewhat amazing to a modern reader. This one volume of newspaper extracts for the years 1770-1771, has _seventy-seven_ such advertisements of run-away White servants for New Jersey alone,--many times as many as there were for runaway Negroes.]

FOOTNOTES:

[117] Cf. _American History and Government_, ## 120-124.

D. THE REVOLUTION

XXI. PRELIMINARY PERIOD--TO 1774

On the history and subdivisions of this period, cf. _American History and Government_, ## 126-144. Many documents which might be expected for the Revolution are omitted in this volume because of the short quotations from them in _American History and Government_.

118. Sugar Act of 1764

Pickering's _Statutes at Large_, XXVI, 33-52 (4 Geo. III, c. 15). On the bearing of this and the Stamp Act (following) upon the Revolution, cf. _American History and Government_, ## 131, 132.

_An act for granting certain duties in the_ British _colonies and plantations in_ America; _for continuing, amending, and making perpetual, an act passed in the sixth year of the reign of his late Majesty King_ George _the Second_, (_intituled_, An act for the better securing and encouraging the trade of his Majesty's sugar colonies in _America_;) _for applying the produce of such duties, and of the duties to arise by virtue of the said act, towards defraying the expences of defending, protecting, and securing the said colonies and plantations; ... and for altering and disallowing several drawbacks on exports from this kingdom, and more effectually preventing the clandestine conveyance of goods to and from the said colonies and plantations, and improving and securing the trade between the same and Great Britain._

WHEREAS _it is expedient that new provisions and regulations should be established for improving the revenue of this Kingdom, and for extending and securing the navigation and commerce between_ Great Britain _and your Majesty's dominions in_ America, _which, by the peace, have been so happily enlarged: and whereas it is just and necessary, that a revenue be raised, in your Majesty's said dominions in_ America, _for defraying the expences of defending, protecting, and securing the same_ ... be it enacted ..., That from and after [September 29, 1764], there shall be raised, levied, collected, and paid, unto his Majesty ..., for and upon all white or clayed sugars of the produce or manufacture of any colony or plantation in _America_, not under the dominion of his Majesty ...; for and upon indico, and coffee of foreign produce or manufacture; for and upon all wines (except _French_ wine;) for and upon all wrought silks, bengals, and stuffs, mixed with silk or herba, of the manufacture of _Persia_, _China_, or _East India_, and all callico painted, died, printed, or stained there; and for and upon all foreign linen cloth called _Cambrick_ and _French_ Lawns, which shall be imported or brought into any colony or plantation in _America_ ... under the dominion of his Majesty ..., the several rates and duties following; that is to say,

For every hundred weight avoirdupois of such foreign white or clayed sugars, one pound two shillings, over and above all other duties imposed by any former act of parliament....

For every hundred weight avoirdupois of such foreign coffee, which shall be imported from any place except _Great Britain_, two pounds, nineteen shillings, and nine pence.

For every ton of wine of the growth of the _Madeiras_, or of any other island or place from whence such wine may be lawfully imported ..., the sum of seven pounds.

For every ton of _Portugal_, _Spanish_, or any other wine (except _French_ wine) imported from _Great Britian_, the sum of ten shillings.

For every pound weight avoirdupois of wrought silks, bengals, and stuffs, mixed with silk or herba, of the manufacture of _Persia_, _China_, or _East India_, imported from _Great Britain_, two shillings.

For every piece of callico painted, dyed, printed, or stained, in _Persia_, _China_, or _East India_, imported from _Great Britain_, two shillings and six pence.

For every piece of foreign linen cloth, called _Cambrick_, imported from _Great Britain_, three shillings....

II. And it is hereby further enacted ... That from and after [September 29, 1764] there shall also be raised, levied, collected, and paid, unto his Majesty ..., for and upon all coffee and pimento of the growth and produce of any _British_ colony or plantation in _America_, which shall be there laden on board any _British_ ship or vessel, to be carried out from thence or any other place whatsoever, except _Great Britain_, the several rates and duties following; that is to say,

III. For every hundred weight avoirdupois of such _British_ coffee, seven shillings.

For every pound weight avoirdupois of such _British_ pimento, one half penny....

[IV, V, VI. The Sugar Act of 1733 (No. 100_c_) to continue in force perpetually with a decrease of one half in the rate upon imports from British colonies.]

* * * * *

XI. And it is further enacted ... That all the monies which ... shall arise by the several rates ... herein ... granted ... shall be paid into the receipt of his Majesty's Exchequer, =and shall be entered separate and apart from all other monies paid or payable to his Majesty ...: and shall be there reserved, to be, from time to time, disposed of by parliament, towards defraying the necessary expences of defending, protecting, and securing, the _British_ colonies and plantations in _America_=.

* * * * *

XVIII. And be it further enacted ..., That from and after ... [September 29, 1764] ..., no rum or spirits of the produce or manufacture of any of the colonies or plantations in _America_, not in the possession or under the dominion of his Majesty ..., shall be imported or brought into any of the colonies or plantations in _America_ which now are, or hereafter may be, in the possession or under the dominion of his Majesty ... upon forfeiture of all such ruin or spirits, together with the ship or vessel in which the same shall be imported, with the tackle, apparel, and furniture thereof; to be seized by any officer or officers of his Majesty's customs, and prosecuted in such manner and form as herein is after expressed; any law, custom, or usage, to the contrary notwithstanding.

* * * * *

XXVII. And it is hereby further enacted ..., That from and after ... [September 29, 1764] ..., all coffee, pimento, cocoa nuts, whale fins, raw silk, hides, and skins, pot and pearl ashes, of the growth, production, or manufacture, of any _British_ colony or plantation in _America_, shall be imported directly from thence into this kingdom, or some other _British_ colony or plantation.

[XXVIII Adds iron and lumber of all sorts to the "enumerated" list of articles to be exported by the colonies only to Great Britain.]

[Most of the omitted sections of this long act have to do with providing a costly but efficient machinery of bonds, inspectors, etc., to enforce the navigation laws. The stringent section, XXXV, designed to prevent any trade whatever with the French West Indies is added.]

XXXV. And, in order to prevent any illicit trade or commerce between his Majesty's subjects in _America_, and the subjects of the crown of France in the islands of _Saint Pierre_ and _Miquelon_, it is hereby further enacted ..., That from and after [September 29, 1764], if any _British_ ship or vessel _shall be found standing into, or coming out from, either of those islands, or hovering or at anchor within two leagues of the coasts thereof_, or shall be discovered to have taken any goods or merchandizes on board at either of them, or to have been there for that purpose; such ship or vessel, and all the goods so taken on board there, shall be forfeited and lost, and shall and may be seized and prosecuted by any officer of his Majesty's customs; and the master or other person having the charge of such ship or vessel, and every person concerned in taking any such goods on board, shall forfeit treble the value thereof.

119. Stamp Act

March 22, 1765

Pickering's _Statutes at Large_, XXVI, 179-204 (5 Geo. III, c. 12).

_An act for granting and applying certain stamp duties, and other duties, in the_ British _colonies and plantations in_ America, _towards further defraying the expences of defending, protecting, and securing the same; ..._

_WHEREAS ... it is just and necessary, that provision be made for raising a further revenue within your Majesty's dominions in_ America, _towards defraying the ... expences_ [of the colonies] ... be it enacted ..., That from and after the first day of _November_, one thousand seven hundred and sixty five, there shall be raised, levied, collected, and paid unto his Majesty, his heirs, and successors, throughout the colonies and plantations in _America_....

For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be ingrossed, written or printed, any declaration, plea, replication, rejoinder, demurrer, or other pleading, or any copy thereof, in any court of law within the _British_ colonies and plantations in _America_, a stamp duty of three pence.

[Fifty-five paragraphs follow, each imposing a duty (varying from a penny to several pounds) for different legal or governmental papers, or upon the sale of certain articles, or upon pamphlets, with many pages of provisions for the enforcement of the law.]

LIV. And be it further enacted ..., That all the monies which shall arise by the several rates and duties hereby granted (except the necessary charges of raising, collecting, recovering, answering, paying, and accounting for the same, and the necessary charges from time to time incurred in relation to this act, and the execution thereof) shall be paid into the receipt of his Majesty's exchequer, and shall be entered separate and apart from all other monies, and shall be there reserved to be from time to time disposed of by parliament, =_towards further defraying the necessary expences of defending, protecting, and securing, the said colonies and plantations_=.

* * * * *

120. Reception of the Stamp Act in America

_a. Patrick Henry's Resolutions, May 27, 1765_

_Journals of the Virginia House of Burgesses, 1761-1765_, lxvi-lxvii.

The text below gives the resolutions as approved in committee of the whole, May 27. The last two failed to pass the House, May 28; and May 29 the last of the others was expunged from the record. The full text was published by newspapers, however, and it was generally supposed that Virginia had approved them all as here given.

_Whereas_, The Honorable House of Commons, in _England_, have of late drawn into question how far the General Assembly of this colony hath power to enact laws for laying of taxes and imposing duties payable by the people of this, his Majesty's most ancient colony; for settling and ascertaining the same to all future times, the House of Burgesses of this present General Assembly have come to the following resolves.

_Resolved_, That the first adventurers, settlers of this his Majesty's colony and dominion of _Virginia_, brought with them and transmitted to their posterity, and all other his Majesty's subjects, since inhabiting in this his Majesty's colony, all the privileges and immunities that have at any time been held, enjoyed, and possessed by the people of _Great Britain_.

_Resolved_, That by two royal charters, granted by King _James_ the First, the colony aforesaid are declared and entitled to all privileges, and immunities of natural born subjects, to all intents and purposes as if they had been abiding an born within the realm of _England_.

_Resolved_, That his Majesty's liege people of this ancient colony have enjoyed the right of being thus governed by their own Assembly in the article of taxes and internal police, and that the same have never been forfeited, or any other way yielded up, but have been constantly recognized by the King and people of _Great Britain_.

_Resolved_, Therefore, that the General Assembly of this colony, together with his Majesty or his substitutes, have, in their representative capacity, the only exclusive right and power to lay taxes and imposts upon the inhabitants of this colony; and that every attempt to vest such power in any other person or persons whatever than the General Assembly aforesaid, is illegal, unconstitutional, and unjust, and has a manifest tendency to destroy _British_ as well as _American_ liberty.

_Resolved_, That his Majesty's liege people, the inhabitants of this colony, are not bound to yield obedience to any law or ordinance whatever, designed to impose any taxation whatsoever upon them, other than the laws or ordinances of the General Assembly aforesaid.

_Resolved_, That any person who shall, by speaking or writing, assert or maintain that any person or persons, other than the General Assembly of this colony, have any right or power to impose or lay any taxation on the people here, shall be deemed an enemy to his Majesty's colony.

[The sixth and seventh resolutions point to _forcible resistance_, not merely to _protest_. This is the peculiarity which marks off this document from many others of the time. A few months later, that tone was common. Cf. _b_, below.]

_b. An Association against the Stamp Act in a Virginia County, 1766_

_Journals of the House of Burgesses_, 1761-1765, lxxii. These Resolutions were drawn by Richard Henry Lee.

[County] resolutions passed at _Leedstown_, on the 27th day of February 1766:

... We, who subscribe this paper, have associated, and do bind ourselves to each other, to God, and to our country, by the firmest ties that religion and virtue can frame, most sacredly and punctually to stand by, and with our lives and fortunes, to support, maintain, and defend each other in the observance and execution of these following articles....

* * * * *

_Thirdly._ As the Stamp Act does absolutely direct the property of the people to be taken from them without their consent expressed by their representatives, and as in many cases it deprives the _British American_ subject of his right to trial by jury; we do determine, at every hazard, and, paying no regard to danger or to death, we will exert every faculty, to prevent the execution of the said Stamp Act in any instance whatsoever within this Colony. And every abandoned wretch, who shall be so lost to virtue and public good, as wickedly to contribute to the introduction or fixture of the Stamp Act in this Colony, by using stampt paper, or by any other means, we will, with the utmost expedition, convince all such profligates that immediate danger shall attend their prostitute purpose.

_Fourthly._ That the last article may most surely and effectually be executed, we engage to each other, that whenever it shall be known to any of this association, that any person is so conducting himself as to favor the introduction of the Stamp Act, that immediate notice shall be given to as many of the association as possible; and that every individual so informed, shall, with expedition, repair to a place of meeting to be appointed as near the scene of action as may be....

_Sixthly._ If any attempt shall be made on the liberty or property of any associator for any action or thing to be done in consequence of this engagement, we do most solemnly bind ourselves by the sacred engagements above entered into, at the utmost risk of our lives and fortunes, to restore such associate to his liberty, and to protect him in the enjoyment of his property....

[One hundred and fifteen names are signed,--among them, a Washington and six Lees.]

_c. Resignation of Stamp Distributor in Virginia, 1765 (Letter of the Governor to the Lords of Trade)_

_Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1762-1765_, lxviii-lxxi.

WILLIAMSBURG Nov. 3d 1765. MY LORDS,

The present unhappy state of this Colony, will, to my great concern, oblige me to trouble Your Lordships with a long and very disagreeable letter. We were for some time in almost daily expectations of the arrival of Colonel Mercer with the Stamps for the use of this Colony, and rumours were industriously thrown out that at the time of the General Court parties would come down from most parts of the country to seize on and destroy all Stamped Papers....

Very unluckily, Colonel Mercer arrived at the time this town was the fullest of Strangers. On Wednesday the 30th October he came up to town. I then thought proper to go to the Coffee house ... that I might be an eye witness of what did really pass, and not receive it by relation from others. The mercantile people were all assembled as usual. The first word I heard was "One and all"; upon which, as at a word agreed on before between themselves, they all quitted the place to find Colonel Mercer at his Father's lodgings where it was known he was. This concourse of people I should call a mob, did I not know that _it was chiefly if not altogether composed of gentlemen of property_ in the Colony, some of them at the head of their respective Counties, _and the merchants of the country_, whether English, Scotch or Virginian; for few absented themselves. They met Colonel Mercer on the way, just at the Capitol: there they stopped and demanded of him an answer whether he would resign or act in this office as Distributor of the Stamps. He said it was an affair of great moment to him; he must consult his friends; and promised to give them an answer at 10 o'clock on Friday morning at that place. This did not satisfy them; and they followed him to the Coffee house, in the porch of which I had seated myself with many of the Council and the Speaker, who had posted himself between the crowd and myself. We all received him with the greatest marks of welcome; with which, if one may be allowed to judge by their countenances, they [the "mob"] were not well pleased, tho' they remained quiet and were silent. Now and then a voice was heard from the crowd that Friday was too late; the Act would take place, they would have an answer tomorrow. Several messages were brought to Mr. Mercer by the leading men of the crowd, to whom he constantly answered he had already given an answer and he would have no other extorted from him. After some little time a cry was heard, "let us rush in." Upon this we that were at the top of the [steps], knowing the advantage our situation gave us to repell those who should attempt to mount them, advanced to the edge of the Steps, of which number I was one. I immediately heard a cry, "See the Governor, take care of him." Those who before were pushing up the steps, immediately fell back, and left a small space between me and them. If your Lordships will not accuse me of vanity I would say that I believe this to be partly owing to the respect they bore to my character and partly to the love they bore to my person. After much entreaty of some of his friends, Mr. Mercer was, against his own inclination, prevailed upon to promise them an answer at the Capitol the next evening at five. The crowd did not yet disperse; it was growing dark, and I did not think it safe to have to leave Mr. Mercer behind me, so I again advanced to the edge of the steps and said aloud I believed no man there would do me any hurt, and turned to Mr. Mercer and told him if he would walk with me through the people I believed I could conduct him safe to my house; and we accordingly walked side by side through the thickest of the people, who did not molest us, tho' there was some little murmurs. By me thus taking him under my protection, I believe I saved him from being insulted at least. When we got home we had much discourse on the subject. ... He left me that night in a state of uncertainty what part he should act.

Accordingly Mr. Mercer appeared at the Capitol at 5, as he had promised. The number of people assembled there was much increased, by messengers having been sent into the neighborhood for that purpose. Colonel Mercer then read to them the answer which is printed in the Supplement of the Gazette, of which I enclose your Lordships a copy, to which I beg leave to refer.[118]...

[Mercer offered to resign his commission to the governor--who refused to accept the resignation.] If I accepted the resignation, I must appoint another, and I was well convinced I could not find one to accept of it, in those circumstances, which would render the office cheap. Besides if I left Mr. Mercer in possession of the place he would be always ready to distribute the Stamped papers, whenever peoples eyes should be opened and they should come to their senses, so as to receive them....

FRANCIS FAUQUIER.

Colonel Mercer has informed me that he proposes to apply to the Commanders of His Majesty's ships of War, to take the Stamped Papers on board their ships for His Majesty's, service: it being the place of the greatest if not the only security for them: for I am convinced, as well as himself, that it would be extremely dangerous to attempt to land them during the present fermented state of the Colony. If these Gentlemen should refuse to take charge of them, and Mr. Mercer should apply to me, I will do my duty to His Majesty and save them from being destroyed, to the best of my power, tho' I can by no means answer for the success of my endeavors....

I am with the greatest respect and esteem, my Lords Your Lordships most obedient and devoted Servant.

FRANCIS FAUQUIER.

_d. Terrorizing the Respecters of the Law in New Jersey_

_The New York Gazette or Weekly Post Boy_, February 27, 1766; reproduced in _New Jersey Archives_, First Series, XXV, 38.

A large Gallows was erected in Elizabeth-Town last Week, with a Rope ready fixed thereto; and the Inhabitants there vow and declare that the first Person that either distributes and [or] takes out [_i.e._, uses] Stamped Paper, shall be hung thereon without Judge or Jury.

121. Origin of the Virginia Non-importation Agreement

_a. Protest of the Burgesses against the Proposal of the English Government to send Americans, accused of Treason, to England for Trial._

_Journals of the House of Burgesses_, 1766-1769, 212-218.

Tuesday, the 16th of May. 9 Geo. III. 1769.

* * * * *

... The Order of the Day being read, for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House, to consider of the present State of the Colony;

_Ordered_, That ... one other Statute made in the Thirty-fifth Year of the same King's Reign [Henry VIII], entituled, _An Act for the Trial of Treasons committed out of the King's Dominions_, be referred to the said Committee.

Then the House resolved itself into the said Committee.

Mr. _Speaker_ left the Chair.

Mr. _Blair_ took the Chair of the Committee.

Mr. _Speaker_ resumed the Chair.

Mr. _Blair_ reported, from the Committee, that they had come to several Resolutions; which he read in his Place, and afterwards delivered in at the Clerk's Table, where the same were read, and are as followeth, _viz._

[Resolutions I and II repeat familiar clauses as to right of taxation only by the Virginia Assembly, and as to right of petition for redress of grievances.]

[III] _Resolved_, That it is the Opinion of this committee, that all Trials for Treason, Misprison of Treason, or for any Felony or Crime whatsoever, committed and done in this his Majesty's said Colony and Dominion, by any Person or Persons residing therein, ought of Right to be had, and conducted in and before his Majesty's Courts, held within the said Colony, according to the fixed and known Course of Proceeding; and that the seizing any Person or Persons, residing in this Colony, suspected of any Crime whatsoever, committed therein, and sending such Person, or Persons, to Places beyond the Sea, to be tried, is highly Derogatory of the Rights of _British_ Subjects; as thereby the inestimable Privilege of being tried by a _Jury from a Vicinage_ as well as the Liberty of summoning and producing Witnesses on such Trial, will be taken away from the Party accused....

[A fourth resolution declared the purpose of memorializing King George upon the matter of the third resolution.]

The said _Resolutions_ being severally read a second Time;

_Resolved, Nemine Contradicente,_

That this House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolutions.

* * * * *

_Resolved_, That this House will, To-morrow, resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House, to consider further of the present State of the Colony.

=_Ordered_, That the Speaker of this House do transmit without Delay, to the Speakers of the several Houses of Assembly, on this Continent, a Copy of the Resolutions now agreed to by this House, requesting their Concurrence therein.=

_Ordered_, That a Committee be appointed to draw up an Address, to be presented to his Majesty, upon the fourth Resolution of the Committee of the whole House, this Day reported, and agreed to by the House.

* * * * *

Wednesday, the 17th of May. 9 Geo. III. 1769.

* * * * *

_Ordered_, That the Resolutions of the Committee of the whole House, Yesterday reported to the House, and by them agreed to, be printed in the _Virginia Gazette_.

* * * * *

[Mr. _Blair_, previously appointed to draft an address to the King, read the address, as follows.]

When we consider, that by the established Laws and Constitution of this Colony, the most ample Provision is made for apprehending and punishing all those who shall dare to engage in any treasonable Practices against your Majesty, or disturb the Tranquility of Government, we cannot, without Horror, think of the new, unusual, and permit us, with all Humility, to add, unconstitutional and illegal Mode, recommended to your Majesty, of seizing and carrying beyond the Sea, the Inhabitants of America, suspected of any Crime; and of trying such Persons in any other Manner than by the ancient and long established Course of Proceeding: For how truly deplorable must be the Case of a wretched American, who, having incurred the Displeasure of any one in Power, is dragged from his native Home, and his dearest domestick Connections, thrown into Prison, not to await his Trial before a Court, Jury, or Judges, from a Knowledge of whom he is encouraged to hope for speedy Justice; but to exchange his Imprisonment in his own Country, for Fetters amongst Strangers? Conveyed to a distant Land, where no Friend, no Relation, will alleviate his Distresses, or minister to his Necessities; and where no Witness can be found to testify his Innocence; shunned by the reputable and honest, and consigned to the Society and Converse of the wretched and the abandoned; he can only pray that he may soon end his Misery with his Life....

The said _Address_ being read a second Time;

_Resolved, Nemine Contradicente_,

That the House doth agree with the Committee, in the said Address, to be presented to his Majesty.

_Ordered_, That Mr. _Speaker_ do transmit the said Address to the Agent for this Colony, with Directions to cause the same to be presented to his Most Excellent Majesty; and afterwards to be printed and published in the _English_ Papers.

* * * * *

A Message from the Governor, by Mr. _Walthoe_:

"Mr. Speaker, the Governor commands the immediate Attendance of your House in the Council Chamber."

Accordingly, Mr. _Speaker_, with the House, went up to attend the Governor in the Council Chamber; where his Excellency was pleased to say to them:

"Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the House of Burgesses, I have heard of your Resolves and augur ill of their Effect: You have made it my Duty to dissolve you; and you are dissolved accordingly."

_b. Association of the Ex-Burgesses, May 18, 1769_

_Journals of House of Burgesses, 1766-1769_, xxxix ff.

"The late representatives of the people" then judging it necessary that some action should be taken to relieve their "distressed situation, and for preserving the true and essential interests of the Colony, resolved upon a meeting" and at once repaired to the house of Mr. _Anthony Hay_, when it was proposed that such matters as demanded attention might be considered. This body, according to adjournment, met next day and continued its session. The minutes of both meetings, not being included in the regular Journals of the House of Burgesses, were ordered by the Burgesses to be printed, as follows.

Williamsburg Wednesday, the 17th May. 1769.

About 12 o'Clock his Excellency the Governor was pleased, by his Messenger, to command the Attendance of the House of Burgesses in the Council Chamber, whereupon, in Obedience to his Lordship's Command, the House, with their Speaker, immediately waited upon his Excellency, when he thought fit to dissolve the General Assembly.

The late Representatives of the People then judging it necessary that some Measures should be taken in their distressed Situation, for preserving the true and essential Interests of the Colony, resolved upon a Meeting for that very salutary Purpose, and therefore, immediately, with the greatest Order and Decorum, repaired to the House of Mr. Anthony Hay in this City, where being assembled, it was first proposed, for the more decent and regular Discussion of such Matters as might be taken into Consideration, that a Moderator should be appointed, and, on the Question being put, Peyton Randolph, Esq; _late Speaker of the House of Burgesses_, was unanimously elected.

The true state of the Colony, being then opened and fully explained, and it being proposed that a regular Association should be formed, a Committee was appointed to prepare the necessary and most proper Regulations for that Purpose, and they were ordered to make their Report to the General Meeting the next Day at 10 o'clock.

Thursday. May 18.

At a farther Meeting, according to Adjournment, the Committee appointed Yesterday, made their Report, which being read, seriously considered and approved, was signed by a great Number of the Principal Gentlemen of the Colony then present, and is as follows:

We his Majesty's most dutiful Subjects, the late Representatives of all the Freeholders of the Colony of Virginia, avowing our inviolable and unshaken Fidelity and Loyalty to our most gracious Sovereign, our Affection for all our Fellow Subjects of Great Britain protesting against every Act or Thing which may have the most distant Tendancy to interrupt, or in any wise disturb his Majesty's Peace, and the good Order of his Government in this Colony, which we are resolved, at the Risque of our Lives and Fortune, to maintain and defend; but at the same Time, being deeply affected with the Grievances and Distresses with which his Majesty's American Subjects are oppressed, and dreading the Evils which threaten the ruin of ourselves and our posterity, by reducing us from a free and happy People, to a wretched and miserable State of Slavery; and having taken into our most serious Consideration the present State of the Trade of this Colony, and of the American Commerce in general, observe with Anxiety, that the Debt due Great Britain for Goods imported from thence is very great, and that the Means of paying this Debt, in the present Situation of Affairs, are likely to become more and more precarious; that the Difficulties, under which we now labour, are owing to Restrictions, Prohibitions, and ill advised Regulations in several late Acts of Parliament of Great Britain; in particular, that the late unconstitutional Act, imposing Duties on Tea, Paper, Glass, etc., for the sole Purpose of raising a Revenue in America, is injurious to Property; and destructive to Liberty, hath a necessary Tendency to prevent the Payment of the Debt due from this Colony to Great Britain, and is, of Consequence, ruinous to Trade; that, notwithstanding the many earnest Applications already made, there is little reason to expect a Redress of those Grievances: Therefore, in Justice to ourselves and our Posterity, as well as to the Traders of Great Britain concerned in the American Commerce, we, the Subscribers, have voluntarily and unanimously entered into the following Resolutions, in Hopes that our Example will induce the good People of this Colony to be frugal in the Use and Consumption of British Manufactures, and that the Merchants and Manufacturers of Great Britain may, from Motives of Interest, Friendship, and Justice, be engaged to exert themselves to obtain for us a Redress of those Grievances, under which the Trade and Inhabitants of America at present labour: We do therefore most earnestly recommend this our Association to the serious inhabitants of this Colony, in Hopes, that they will very readily and cordially accede thereto.

_First_, It is UNANIMOUSLY agreed on and resolved this 18th day of May, 1769, that the Subscribers, as well by their own Example, as all other legal Ways and Means in their Power, will promote and encourage Industry and Frugality, and discourage all Manner of Luxury and Extravagance.

_Secondly_, That they will not at any Time hereafter, directly or indirectly import, or cause to be imported, any Manner of Goods, Merchandise, or Manufactures, which are, or shall thereafter be taxed by Act of Parliament, for the Purpose of raising a Revenue in _America_ (except Paper, not exceeding Eight Shillings Sterling per Reem, and except such Articles only, as Orders have been already sent for) nor purchase any such after the First Day of September next, of any Person whatsoever, but that they will always consider such Taxation, in every Respect, as an absolute Prohibition, and in all future Orders, direct their Correspondents to ship them no Goods whatever, taxed as aforesaid, except as is above excepted. ...[119]

[Present 89 members.]

The business being finished, the following TOASTS were drank, and Gentlemen retired.

The KING,

The QUEEN and ROYAL FAMILY,

His Excellency Lord BOTETOURT [the Governor], and Prosperity to VIRGINIA.

The speedy and lasting Union between Great Britain and her Colonies.

The constitutional British Liberty in America, and all true Patriots, the Supporters thereof....

122. The Origin of Massachusetts Town-Committees of Correspondence, 1772

_Boston Town Records, 1770-1777_ (Report of the Record Commissioners, 1887), pp. 90-93.

A Boston town meeting of October 28 had been concerned with the report that "Stipends are affixed by order of the Crown to the offices of the Judges of Superior Court." This action had been taken by the British government to render the judges independent of the Assembly and of public opinion in Massachusetts. The meeting had voted that "a decent ... Application" be made to the governor asking for information as to the truth of the report. The Governor's refusal appears in the first part of the document. This crisis, and the refusal of Governor Hutchinson (below) to permit the Assembly to meet, brought about the organization of committees of correspondence. Cf. _American History and Government_, # 140.

_Fryday October 30_, 10 O'Clock Before Noon, Met according to Adjournment.

The Committee to present the Governor an Address Reported the following answer which his Excellency delivered to them in Writing--Viz--

_Gentlemen_

It is by no means proper for me to lay before the Inhabitants of any Town whatsoever in consequence of their Votes and Proceedings in a Town Meeting any part of my Correspondence as Governor of this Province or to acquaint them whether I have or have not received any advice relating to the public Affairs of the Government. This reason alone if your Address to me had been in other respects unexceptionable, would have been sufficient to restrain me from complying with your desire--

I shall always be ready to gratify the Inhabitants of the Town of Boston upon every regular Application to me on business of public concernment to the Town as far as I shall have it in my power consistent with fidelity to the trust which his Majesty has reposed in me--

T. HUTCHINSON.

The aforegoing answer, having been considered--It was moved and the Question put--Whether application shall be now made to his Excellency by the Town that he would be pleased to permit the General Assembly to meet at the time to which they stand prorogued, which passed in the Affermative _Nem Con._--It was then Voted, that

The Honorable James Otis, Esq. Mr. Samuel Adams The Honorable Thomas Cushing, Esq.

be a Committee to prepare a Petition to his Excellency for the purpose aforesaid--

The Petition of a number of the Inhabitants--"That another public School may be Established at the South part of the Town," was read, and after debate had thereon--the Question was put--Whether the Consideration of the same shall be referred to March Meeting--Passed in the affermative.

The Committee appointed by the Town at a late Meeting to consider what was proper to be done to prevent the ruin of Beacon Hill, were desired to make Report as soon as may be.

Voted, that the Town Clerk be directed to lay the Original Grant of Beacon Hill before the Town at their adjournment.

Upon a Motion made--Voted, that the Selectmen be added to the Committee relative to Beacon Hill--

The Committee chosen to prepare a Petition to the Governor, relative to the Meeting of the General Court--Reported the following Draft--Viz--

The Petition of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the Town of Boston legally Assembled by Adjournment in Faneuil Hall on Fryday 30 of October 1772--

Humbly Sheweth--

That your Petitioners are still greatly alarmed at the Report which has been prevalent of late Viz. That Stipends are affixed to the Offices of the Judges of the Superior Court of Judicature of this Province by Order of the Crown for their support--

Such an Establishment is contrary not only to the plain and obvious sense of the Charter of this Province but also some of the fundamental Principles of the Common Law, to the benefit of which all British Subjects, wherever dispersed throughout the British Empire, are indubitably entitled--...

It is therefore their earnest and humble request that your Excellency would be pleased to allow the General Assembly to meet at the time to which they now stand prorogued; in order that in that _Constitutional_ Body, with whom it is to enquire into Grievances and Redress them, the Joint Wisdom of the Province may be employed, in deliberating and determining on a matter so important and alarming--

The Town having considered the foregoing Draft of a Petition to Governor Hutchinson--It was Voted, that the same be accepted, _Nem. Con._ Also Voted, that [seven names] be a Committee to present the Petition to his Excellency--

Voted, that this Meeting be Adjourned to Monday next 3. O'Clock P.M.

_Monday November 2d_ 3. O'Clock P.M. Met According to Adjournment.

The Committee appointed to present a Petition To his Excellency the Governor of this Province, Reported and laid before the Town the following Reply which his Excellency had been pleased to deliver them in writing--Viz. [A firm claim that the town-meeting was meddling with matters that were beyond its province, and a refusal to call the Assembly.]

The foregoing Reply having been read several times and duly considered; it was moved and the Question accordingly put Whether the same be satisfactory to the Town; which passed in the Negative _Nem. Con._ And thereupon--

Resolved as the Opinion of the Inhabitants of this Town that they have ever had, and ought to have, a right to Petition the King or his Representatives for the Redress of such Grievances as they feel or for preventing of such as they have reason to apprehend, and to communicate their Sentiment to other Towns.

=It was then moved by Mr. Samuel Adams, That a Committee of Correspondence be appointed to consist of twenty-one Persons--to state the Rights of the Colonists and of this Province in particular, as Men, as Christians, and as Subjects; to communicate and publish the same to the several Towns in this Province and to the World as the sense of this Town, with the Infringements and Violations thereof that have been, or from time to time may be made--Also requesting of each Town a free communication of their Sentiments on this Subject--And the Question being accordingly put--Passed in the Affermative. _Nem. Con._=--Also Voted, that [a list headed with the names of Samuel Adams, James Otis, and Joseph Warren] be and hereby are appointed a Committee for the purpose aforesaid, and that they be desired to Report to the Town as soon as may be--....

Then the Meeting was dissolved.

123. Creation of Standing Intercolonial Committees of Correspondence, 1773

This was the most important step in America between the Stamp Act Congress and the First Continental Congress. Cf. _American History and Government_, # 140.

_a. Jefferson's Account of the Origin of the Movement (written at a Later Date)_

Ford's _Writings of Jefferson_, I is, 7, 8.

Not thinking our old and leading members up to the point of forwardness and zeal which the times required, Mr. _Henry_, _Richard Henry Lee_, _Francis L. Lee_, Mr. _Carr_ and myself agreed to meet in the evening in a private room of the _Raleigh_, to consult on the state of things. There may have been a member or two more whom I do not recollect. We were all sensible that the most urgent of all measures was that of coming to an understanding with all the other colonies, to consider the British claims as a common cause to all, and to produce a unity of action; and for this purpose that a committee of correspondence in each colony would be the best instrument for intercommunication; and that their first measure would probably be, to propose a meeting of deputies from every colony, at some central place, who should be charged with the direction of the measures which should be taken by all. We therefore drew up the resolutions. The consulting members proposed to me to move them, but I urged that it should be done by Mr. _Carr_, my friend and brother in law, then a member, to whom I wished an opportunity should be given of making known to the house his great worth and talents. It was so agreed; he moved them. They were agreed to _nem. con._, and a committee of correspondence appointed, of whom Peyton Randolph, the Speaker, was chairman.

_b. The Action, of the Virginia Burgesses_

_Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1775-1776_, 26-28.

Friday, the 12th of March, 13 Geo. III. 1773.

* * * * *

The House resolved itself into a Committee of the whole House, upon the State of the Colony.

Mr. _Speaker_ left the chair.

Mr. _Bland_ took the Chair of the Committee.

Mr. _Speaker_ resumed the Chair.

Mr. _Bland_ reported from the Committee, that they had directed him to make the following Report to the House, _viz_.[120]

_Whereas_, the minds of his Majesty's faithful Subjects in this Colony have been disturbed, by various Rumours and Reports of proceedings tending to deprive them of their ancient, legal and constitutional Rights.

And _whereas_, the affairs of this Colony are frequently connected with those of Great Britain, as well as of the neighboring _Colonies_, which renders a Communication of Sentiments necessary; in Order therefore to remove the Uneasiness, and to quiet the minds of the People, as well as for the other good purposes above mentioned:

Be it _resolved_, that a standing Committee of Correspondence and inquiry be appointed, to consist of eleven Persons, to wit, the Honourable _Peyton Randolph_, Esquire, _Robert Carter Nicholas_, _Richard Bland_, _Richard Henry Lee_, _Benjamin Harrison_, _Edmund Pendleton_, _Patrick Henry_, _Dudley Digges_, _Dabney Carr_, _Archibald Cary_, and _Thomas Jefferson_, Esquires, any six of whom to be a Committee, =whose business it shall be to obtain the most early and authentic intelligence of all such Acts and _Resolutions_ of the _British Parliament_, or proceedings of Administration, as may relate to or affect the British Colonies in America, and to keep up and maintain a Correspondence and Communication with our Sister Colonies, respecting these important Considerations; and the result of such their proceedings, from Time to Time, to lay before this House.=

_Resolved_, that it be an instruction to the said Committee, that they do, without delay, inform themselves particularly of the principles and Authority, on which was constituted a _Court of Inquiry_, said to have been lately held in _Rhode Island_, with Powers to transmit Persons, accused of Offences committed in America, to places beyond the Seas, to be tried.

The said _Resolutions_, being severally read a second Time, were upon the Question severally put thereupon agreed to by the House, _nemine contradicente_.

=_Resolved_, that the Speaker of this House do transmit to the Speakers of the different Assemblys of the British Colonies, on the Continent, Copies of the said Resolutions, and desire that they will lay them before their respective Assemblies; and request them to appoint some Person or Persons, of their respective Bodies, to communicate, from Time to Time, with the said Committee.=

_c. Letters received by the Virginia Committee of Correspondence, 1773_

_Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, 1773-1767_, 47-50.

* * * * *

(1) Rhode Island. New Port, May 15th, 1773.

SIR:

I had the Pleasure of receiving your Favour of the 19th of March with the Resolves of the House of Burgesses of Virginia; which with the Letter from your Committee of Correspondence I laid before the House of Deputies of this Colony at their meeting the last Week.

The House thoroughly convinced that a firm Union of the Colonies is absolutely necessary for the Preservation of their ancient, legal and constitutional Rights, and that the Measures proposed by your House of Burgesses will greatly promote so desirable an End, came, Nemine contradicente, into the Resolutions of which I have the honor now to enclose you a Copy.

I am desired to inform you that the Committee apointed by our House of Deputies, will, as soon as possible, transmit to the Committee of Correspondence of Virginia, the best Accounts they shall be able to obtain, respecting the Court of Inquiry lately held in this Colony.

I am with great Respect, your most obedient Servant,

Metcalf Bowler [Speaker].

[The Resolves inclosed, as follows.] May 7th 1773. In the House of Deputies.

_Resolved_ that a standing _Committee of Correspondence and Inquiry_ be appointed to consist of seven Persons, _to wit_ the honorable _Stephen Hopkins_, Esquire, _Metcalf Bowler_, _Moses Brown_, _John Cole_, _William Bradford_, _Henry Ward_, and _Henry Merchant_ Esquires, and four of whom to be a Committee, whose Business it shall be to obtain the most early and authentick Intelligence of all such Acts and Resolutions of the British Parliament or Proceedings of Administration as may relate to or affect the British Colonies in America, and to keep up and maintain a Correspondence with our Sister Colonies respecting these important Considerations; and the Result of such their Proceedings from Time to Time to lay before this House.

Voted Per Order J. Lyndon, Clerk.

The above written is a true _Copy_ of a Vote of the House of Deputies of Lower House of Assembly of the Colony of _Rhode Island_.

* * * * *

_May_ 7th 1773. In the House of Deputies.

_Resolved_, that the Speaker of this House be requested to write to the _Speaker_ of the House of Burgesses in _Virginia_, and to all other _Speakers_ of Assemblies in North America, informing them of the Proceedings of this House relating to the Preservation of the Rights of the Colonies.

Voted Per Order J. Lyndon, Clerk.

* * * * *

(2) From a Massachusetts Legislative Committee. Province of Massachusetts Bay, June 3d., 1773.

Sir:

The very judicious and important Resolves entered into by the House of Burgesses of his Majesty's most ancient Colony of Virginia on the 12th March last, together with your obliging Letter inclosing the same, have been laid before the house of Representatives of this Province.

The Wisdom of the Measures proposed in those Resolves, and the great and good Effects that may reasonably be expected to flow from them, not only to the Colonies but the Parent State, were so obvious, that the House immediately adopted them; and appointed a Committee to keep up and maintain a free Communication with Virginia and the Rest of the Sister Colonies.

* * * * *

[Similar replies from other colonies.]

124. Tea Riots

From a Philadelphia Handbill to the Delaware Pilots, September, 1773, given in Scharf and Westcott's _History of Philadelphia_, I, 286.

... We need not point out to you the steps you ought to take if the tea-ship falls in your way. You cannot be at a loss how to prevent, or if that cannot be done, how to give the merchants of the city timely notice of her arrival. But this you may depend upon, that whatever pilot brings her into the river, such pilot will be marked for his treason. ... Like Cain, he will be hung out as a spectacle to the nations, and be forever recorded as the _damned traitorous pilot who brought up the tea-ship_....

(Signed) THE COMMITTEE FOR TARRING AND FEATHERING.

[Another broadside was addressed as a warning to Captain Ayers of the expected tea-ship. "What think you, Captain, of a Halter round your Neck, ten gallons of liquid Tar decanted on your Pate, with the feathers of a doxen wild Geese lain over that, to enliven your appearance?"

All this activity preceded the Boston "Tea-Party." The Philadelphia ship, however, did not arrive until some weeks after she was expected--on Christmas Day at Gloucester Point, near the city. The Captain was escorted to the city, where a mass meeting of 8000 people persuaded him to sail at once for England, without breaking cargo.]

FOOTNOTES:

[118] Mercer promised not to act unless first he should have secured permission from the Virginia Assembly. He was then borne in triumph to his lodgings by the joyful "mob."

[119] George Washington and George Mason (as their preserved letters show) had been in correspondence regarding such a non-importation agreement for some weeks. Mason drew the resolutions; Washington was to have presented them to the Assembly. Now he did so (in person or by deputy) to the informal meeting at Mr. Hay's. See Washington's _Writings_, first edition, II, 263; and _Mason's Life and Correspondence_, I, 136 ff.

[120] Only the _result_ of the action of the Committee of the Whole goes on record. Cf. No. 121.

XXII. RISE OF REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENTS

=The colonies between 1768 and 1773 had each organized, more or less perfectly, local committees--town or county--to enforce non-importation agreements, and these committees often acted as "committees of correspondence" to organize the province as a unit for action. Then in 1773 the Intercolonial Committees (No. 123) gave the germ of a standing continental union.

"The next step toward revolutionary government was to develop from the local committees the _Provincial_ Congresses in individual colonies, and from the intercolonial committees of the continent a _Continental_ Congress. These things developed _in the summer and fall of 1774_, as the result of _three events_: (1) the attempt of the ministry to force taxed tea down the throats of the colonists [see # 121 for colonial resistance]; (2) the rather animated protest of the Boston Tea Party; and (3) the punishment of Boston by the Port Bill."= (_American History and Government_, # 141. Cf. remainder of the same section for additional explanation.)

=The documents for this period are very numerous, and many of the most valuable are not suitable for condensation and are too long for insertion here. It has seemed well to draw primarily upon one colony; and Virginia has been selected, partly because of her leadership, partly because her documents excel in form.=

125. The Virginia Burgesses suggest an Annual Continental Congress

A detailed account is given in _American History and Government_, # 141.

_a. Extract from a Letter by a Member of the Assembly to a London Friend_

Force's _American Archives_, Fourth Series, I, 340. The Assembly had met May 6. Very little business had been transacted when the news of the Boston Port Bill arrived; but Virginia had been in high good humor with her governor, and the Burgesses had appointed May 30 for a great state ball, in honor of the governor's wife, the Lady Countess of Dunmore, just arrived from England.

WILLIAMSBURG, May 20, 1774.

Infinite astonishment, and equal resentment, has seized every one here on account of the war sent to Boston. It is the universal determination to stop the exportation of tobacco, pitch, tar, lumber, etc., and to stop all importation from _Britain_ while this act of hostility continues. We every day expect an express from _Boston_, and it appears to me incontestabl[y] certain, that the above measures will be universally adopted. We see with concern, that this plan will be most extensively hurtful to our fellow-subjects in _Britain_; nor would we have adopted it, if _Heaven_ had left us any other way to secure our _liberty_, and prevent the total ruin of ourselves and our posterity to endless ages. A wicked Ministry must answer for all the consequences. I hope the wise and good on your side will pity and forgive us. The House is now pushing on the public business for which we were called here at this time; but before we depart, our measures will be settled and agreed on. The plan proposed is extensive; it is wise, and I hope, under _God_, it will not fail of success. _America_ possesses virtue unknown and unfelt by the abominable sons of corruption who planned this weak and wicked enterprise.

_b. Thomas Jefferson's Account of the Feeling aroused by News of the Port Bill, and of the Action taken Thereon_

_Works_, Washington edition, I, 6, 7. The _Autobiography_ in which this passage occurs was composed many years after the event.

The lead in the House ... being no longer left to the old members, Mr. Henry, R. H. Lee, Fr. L. Lee, three or four other members whom I do not recollect, and myself, agreeing that we must boldly take an unequivocal stand in the line with Massachusetts, determined to meet and consult on proper measures ... We were under conviction of the necessity of arousing our people ... and thought that ... a day of general fasting and prayer would be most likely to ... alarm their attention. No example of such a solemnity had existed since. ... our distresses in the war of of '55, since which a new generation had grown up. With the help, therefore, of Rushworth [_Historical Collections_], whom we rummaged over for the revolutionary precedents and forms of the Puritans of that day [England, in the Seventeenth century], we cooked up a resolution, somewhat modernizing the phrases, for appointing the first day of June, on which the Port Bill was to commence, as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer. ... To give greater emphasis to our proposition, we agreed to wait the next morning on Mr. Nicholas, whose grave and religious character was more in unison with the tone of our resolution, and to solicit him to move it ... He moved it the same day ... and it passed without opposition [_c_, below.]

_c. Resolution of the Burgesses_

_Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1773-1776_, 123-136.

Tuesday, the 24th of May. 14 Geo. III. 1774.

* * * * *

This House, being deeply impressed with apprehension of the great dangers, to be derived to british _America_, from the hostile Invasion of the City of _Boston_, in our Sister Colony of _Massachusetts_ bay, whose commerce and harbour are, on the first Day of June next, to be stopped by an Armed force, deem it highly necessary that the said first day of June be set apart, by the Members of this House, as a day of Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer, devoutly to implore the divine interposition for averting the heavy Calamity which threatens destruction to our Civil Rights, and the Evils of civil War; to give us one heart and one Mind firmly to oppose, by all just and proper means, every injury to American Rights; and that the Minds of his Majesty and his Parliament, may be inspired from above with Wisdom, Moderation, and Justice, to remove from the loyal People of America all cause of danger from a continued pursuit of Measures pregnant with their ruin.

* * * * *

_d. Dissolution_

Thursday, the 26th of May. 14 Geo. III. 1774.

The Order of the Day being read;

Mr. _Speaker_ laid before the House the Letters from the Speakers of the lower Houses of Assembly of the British Colonies in _America_, with other Papers, upon the subject matter, which were referred to the standing Committee of Correspondence and Inquiry.

And the said _Letters_ and _Papers_ were read.

_Resolved_, that the said Letters and Papers be taken into Consideration upon this Day Sevenight....

A _Message_ from the Governor by Mr. _Blair_:

"Mr. _Speaker_: the Governor commands this House to attend his Excellency immediately, in the Council Chamber."

Accordingly Mr. _Speaker_ with the House, went up to attend his Excellency in the Council Chamber, where his Excellency was pleased to say to them.

"Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Burgesses,

"I have in my hand a Paper published by Order of your House, conceived in such Terms as reflect highly upon his Majesty and the Parliament of Great Britain; which makes it necessary for me to dissolve you; and you are dissolved accordingly."

_e. Virginia Ex-burgesses propose an Annual Continental Congress_

_Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1773-1776_, xiii, xiv.

This is the first such proposal by any body of men so nearly approaching a "government."

_ ... an Association signed by eighty nine members of the House of Burgesses, in session in the old Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, on May 27th, 1774:_

We his Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the late representatives of the good people of this country, having been deprived by the sudden interposition of the executive part of this government from giving our countrymen the advice we wished to convey to them in a legislative capacity, find ourselves under the hard necessity of adopting this, the only method we have left, of pointing out to our countrymen such measures as in our opinion are best fitted to secure our dearest rights and liberty from destruction, by the heavy hand of power now lifted against _North America_: With much grief we find that our dutiful applications to _Great Britain_ for security of our ancient and constitutional rights, have been not only disregarded, but that a determined system is formed and pressed for reducing the inhabitants of _British America_ to slavery by subjecting them to the payment of taxes imposed without the consent of the people or their representatives; and that in pursuit of this system, we find an act of the British parliament, lately passed, for stopping the harbour and commerce of the town of _Boston_, in our sister colony of _Massachusetts Bay_, until the people there submit to the payment of such unconstitutional taxes, and which act most violently and arbitrarily deprives them of their property, in wharfs erected by private persons, at their own great and proper expense, which act is, in our opinion, a most dangerous attempt to destroy the constitutional liberty and rights of all _North America_. It is further our opinion, that as Tea, on its importation into _America_, is charged with a duty imposed by parliament for the purpose of raising a revenue, without the consent of the people, it ought not to be used by any person who wishes well to the constitutional rights and liberty of British America. And _whereas_ the _India Company_ have ungenerously attempted the ruin of _America_ by sending many ships loaded with tea into the colonies, thereby intending to fix a precedent in favor of arbitrary taxation, we deem it highly proper, and do accordingly recommend it strongly to our countrymen, not to purchase or use any kind of _East India_ commodity whatsoever, =except saltpetre and spices=, until the grievances of _America_ are redressed. We are further clearly of opinion, that an attack, made on one of our sister colonies to compel submission to arbitrary taxes, is an attack made on all British America, and threatens ruin to the rights of all, unless the united wisdom of the whole be applied. =And for this purpose it is recommended to the Committee of Correspondence, that they communicate, with their several corresponding committees, on the expediency of appointing deputies from the several colonies of British America, to meet in general congress, at such place _annually_ as shall be thought most convenient; there to deliberate on those general measures which the united interests of America may from time to time require.=[121]

_f. Letters from the Virginia Committee of Correspondence, according to direction above_

_Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1773-1776_, 138.

At a Committee of Correspondence held in Williamsburg on Saturday the 28th May, 1774.

Present

The honorable _Peyton Randolph_, Esquire _Robert C. Nicholas_, _Richard Bland_, _Edmund Pendleton_, _Benjamin Harrison_, _Richard Henry Lee_, _Dudley Digges and Thomas Jefferson_, Esquires.

_Ordered_, that Letters be prepared to the several Committees of Correspondence requesting their Sentiments on the Appointments of Deputies from the several Colonies to meet annually in general Congress. ... A Letter was accordingly prepared to the Committee of Correspondence for _Maryland_, which being read and approved of the Committee is as follows:

Williamsburg, May 28th 1774.

Gentlemen.

The inclosed Papers will explain to you our present political State here, with respect to the unhappy Dispute with our Mother Country. The Propriety of appointing Deputies from the several Colonies of British America to meet annually in general Congress, appears to be a Measure extremely important and extensively useful, as it tends so effectually to obtain the united Wisdom of the Whole, in every Case of General Concern. We are desired to obtain your Sentiments on this Subject which you will be pleased to furnish us with. Being very desirous of communicating to you the Opinion and Conduct of the late Representatives on the present Posture of American Affairs as quickly as possible we beg Leave to refer you to a future Letter on these Subjects.

We are, with great Respect, Your most obedient Servants, Peyton Randolph. Robert C. Nicholas. Dudley Digges.

To the Committee of Correspondence for Maryland.

Also Letters of the same Import, to the Committe of Correspondence for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachuset's Bay, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, [Delaware], North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

_Ordered_, that the said Letters be sent by this Day's Post.

[On the arrival of these letters in Maryland, a Baltimore town meeting (May 31) called a Provincial Assembly, to appoint delegates to the proposed Continental Congress. Other counties took like action; and (June 22, before the time set for the Virginia Convention), the Maryland Convention met and named representatives. Two days earlier still, action had been taken in Rhode Island, after receipt of the Virginia suggestion, as appears below.]

_Answer to Virginia from the Rhode Island Assembly [with Appointment of Delegates]_

_Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1773-1776_, 152-153.

New Port June 20. 1774.

Sir,

_Agreeable to the Directions of the General Assembly I have the honor to inclose you a Copy of certain Resolutions entered into by them respecting the very alarming Situation of the Colonies._

_I have also to inform you that upon this Occasion the Assembly have adjourned to the fourth Monday in August next._

_I am with very great Regard_, _Sir, your most humble Servant._ =Metcalf Bowler.= _Speaker._

Resolutions inclosed.

At the general Assembly of the Governor and Company of the English colony of _Rhode Island_ and Providence Plantations in _New England_ in America begun and holden by Adjournment at _Newport_ within and for the said Colony on the second _Monday_ in _June_ in the Year of our LORD one thousand seven hundred and seventy four and fourteenth of the Reign of his most sacred Majesty _George_ the third by the grace of GOD king of Great Britain etc.

This Assembly taking into the most serious Consideration several Acts of the British Parliament for levying Taxes upon his Majesty's Subjects in America without their Consent, and particularly an Act lately passed for blocking up the Port of _Boston_, which Act even upon the Supposition that the People of _Boston_ had justly deserved Punishment, is scarcely to be parallelled in History for the Severity of the Vengeance executed upon them; and also considering to what a deplorable State this and the other Colonies are reduced, when by an Act of Parliament in which the Subjects in _America_ have not a single Voice, and without being heard, they may be divested of Property and deprived of Liberty, do upon mature Deliberation, _resolve_

_That_ it is the Opinion of this Assembly that a firm and inviolable Union of all the Colonies in Counsels and Measures is absolutely necessary for the preservation of their Rights and Liberties; and that for that purpose, a Convention of the Representatives from all the Colonies ought to be holden in some suitable Place, as soon as may be, in Order to consult upon proper Measures to obtain a Repeal of the said Act, and to establish the Rights and Liberties of the Colonies upon a just and solid Foundation.

_That_ the honorable _Stephen Hopkins_ and the honorable _Samuel Ward_ Esquires be and they are hereby appointed by this Assembly to represent the People of this Colony in a general Congress of Representatives from the other Colonies at such Time and place as shall be agreed upon by the major part of the Committees appointed or to be appointed by the Colonies in general.

_That_ they consult and advise with the Representatives of the other Colonies who shall meet in such Congress upon a loyal and dutiful Petition and Remonstrance to be presented to his Majesty as the united Voice of his faithful Subjects in _America_ setting forth the grievances they labour under, and praying his gracious Interposition for their Relief: _And_ that in Case a major part of the Representatives of all the Colonies shall agree upon such Petition and Remonstrance they be empowered to sign the same on behalf of this Colony.

_That_ they also consult upon all such reasonable and lawful Measures as may be expedient for the Colonies, in an united Manner to persue in Order to procure a Redress of their Grievances, and to ascertain and establish their Rights and Liberties.

_That_ they also endeavor to Procure a regular annual Convention of Representatives from all the Colonies to consider of Proper Means for the preservation of the Rights and Liberties of the Colonies. ...[122]

(Witnessed) Henry Ward, _Sect'y_.

126. Another "Call" for the Continental Congress

June 17, 1774, the Massachusetts House of Representatives, under the lead of Samuel Adams (and after a carefully planned, secret campaign), adopted the following resolutions.

That a meeting of committees from the several colonies on this continent is highly expedient and necessary, to consult upon the present state of the colonies, and the miseries to which they are and must be reduced by the operation of certain acts of Parliament respecting America, and to deliberate and determine upon wise and proper measures, to be by them recommended to all the colonies, for the recovery and establishment of their just rights and liberties, civil and religious, and the restoration of union and harmony between Great Britain and the colonies, most ardently desired by all good men: Therefore, resolved, that the Hon. James Bowdoin, Esq., the Hon. Thomas Cushing, Esq., Mr. Samuel Adams, John Adams and Robert Treat Paine, Esqrs., be, and they are hereby appointed a committee on the part of this province, for the purposes aforesaid, any three of whom to be a quorum, to meet such committees or delegates from the other colonies as have been or may be appointed, either by their respective houses of burgesses or representatives, or by convention, or by the committees of correspondence appointed by the respective houses of assembly, in the city of Philadelphia, or any other place that shall be judged most suitable by the committee, on the 1st day of September next; and that the speaker of the house be directed, in a letter to the speakers of the houses of burgesses or representatives in the several colonies, to inform them of the substance of these resolves.

[This is often referred to as "the call" for the Continental Congress. It was the first action by a colonial legislature in regular session. It did not, however, have "legal" validity under the Charter to which the men of Massachusetts constantly appealed. That charter (1691) required the assent of the upper House and the approval of the governor for every resolution and every appointment; and these elements, of course, were lacking. The dramatic story of Sam Adams' plot is well told in many places,--notably in Dr. Hosmer's _Samuel Adams_.]

127. A Virginia County Suggests a Continental Congress and a General Association

Force, _American Archives_, Fourth Series, I, 392-393.

At a Meeting of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the County of _Frederick_, in _Virginia_ ... the 8th day of June, 1774 [to consider the Boston Port Bill].

The Reverend Charles M. Thurston, Moderator.

A Committee of the following gentlemen, viz: the Reverend Charles M. Thurston, Isaac Zane, George Rootes, Angus McDonald, Alexander White, George Johnston, and Samuel Beall, 3d, were appointed to draw up Resolves suitable to the same occasion, who, withdrawing for a short time, returned with the following votes, viz:

_Voted_, 1st. That we will always cheerfully pay due submission to such Acts of Government as his Majesty has a right =by law= to exercise over his subjects, as Sovereign of the _British_ Dominions, =and to such only=.

2d. That it is the inherent right of _British_ subjects to be governed and taxed by Representatives chosen by themselves only; and that every Act of the British Parliament respecting the internal policy of North America, is a daring and unconstitutional invasion of our said rights and privileges.

3d. That the Act of Parliament above mentioned is not only in itself repugnant to the fundamental law of natural justice, in condemning persons for a supposed crime unheard, but also =a despotic exertion of unconstitutional power=, calculated to enslave a free and loyal people.

=_4th. That the enforcing the execution of the said Act of Parliament by a military Power, will have a necessary tendency to raise a civil war, thereby dissolving that union which has so long happily subsisted between the mother country and her Colonies; ..._=

5th. It is the unanimous opinion of this meeting, that a joint resolution of all the Colonies to stop all importations from _Great Britain_, and exportations to it, till the said Act shall be repealed, will prove the salvation of North America and her liberties....

7th. That it is the opinion of this meeting that Committees ought to be appointed for the purpose of effecting a general Association, that the same measures may be pursued through the whole Continent. That the Committees ought to correspond with each other, and to meet at such places and times as shall be agreed on, in order to form such General Association, and that when the same shall be formed and agreed on by the several Committees, we will strictly adhere thereto; and till the general sense of the Continent shall be known, we do pledge ourselves to each other and our country, that we will inviolably adhere to the votes of this day.

8th. That Charles M. Thurston, Isaac Zane, Angus McDonald, Samuel Beall, 3d, Alexander White, and George Rootes, be appointed a Committee for the purposes aforesaid; and that they or any three of them, are hereby fully empowered to act.

Which being read, were unanimously assented to and subscribed.

[This meeting makes no reference to the action of the ex-Burgesses at Williamsburg some ten days before, but probably it originated from that action.]

128. The First Call for a Provincial Convention (Virginia)

_a. Suggestion from the Ex-Burgesses (May 30, 1774)_

Force, _American Archives_, Fourth Series, I, p. 351.

The ex-Burgesses, many of them, remained in Williamsburg to attend the state ball on the 30th and for the day of prayer, June 1 (cf. No. 122 c). On the day after the call for a Continental Congress (May 29), letters arrived from committees of correspondence in the northern colonies, as below noted; and the following day, twenty-five of the ex-Burgesses called a meeting of the whole number for August 1, as below. That meeting was expanded into a true representative convention by modifications in the plan indicated in _b_ and _c_ below. Force does not indicate the source of the following statement; but presumably it was printed by order of the meeting in the Williamsburg papers. Such proceedings were ordered printed in almost every case by the various county meetings; but the clause referring to printing is usually omitted in these extracts.

... Immediately upon receipt of these letters the Honorable Peyton Randolph, Esquire, moderator of the Committee of the late House of Representatives, thought it proper to convene all the members that were then in town; who on considering those important papers [suggesting the need of uniform action in the various colonies], came to a resolution to call together several other members near this city, to whom notice could be given. [Twenty-five of them met next day, Monday, May 30, at ten o'clock, when] it was unanimously agreed to refer the further consideration of this matter to _the first day of August next_; at which time it is expected there will be a very general attendance of the late members of the House....

[This notice is referred to in a letter of June 23 by Richard Henry Lee to Samuel Adams as follows, after describing the meeting of the ex-Burgesses on May 27--No. 125, _e._] ... "Most of the members, myself among the rest, had left Williamsburg before your message from Boston arrived. Twenty-five of them, however, were assembled to consider that message, and they determined to invite a general meeting of the whole body on the first of August." (Force, Fourth Series, I, 446.)

[Presumably the committee of correspondence sent out a circular letter to the various counties. The editor of this volume has not been able to find any such letter, but some of the documents just following assume such action. After June 1, the remaining ex-Burgesses at Williamsburg departed home, in order to arouse their respective counties to appoint delegates for the August convention.]

_b. Sample Notice to a Virginia County by an Ex-Burgess_

Force, _American Archives_, Fourth Series, I, 418. Thomas Mason writes from Williamsburg on June 16, portraying the situation, through several pages. Only the close of the letter is given here.

If the governour should be restrained by the instructions of a wicked Minister from relieving the distresses of the Colony by calling an Assembly, immediately, and writs should not be issued for that purpose before the 1st day of July, I advise the freeholders of each county in the Colony to convene themselves and choose two of the most able and discreet of their inhabitants to accompany and assist their late Representatives at the meeting at Williamsburg, on the 1st of August; and let the whole Colony unanimously support whatever may be there resolved upon.

[Lord Dunmore did issue writs that same day for a new Assembly, to meet August 11. No doubt he hoped this would induce the Virginia counties not to appoint delegates to the meeting called for August 1. Such a purpose was suspected and defeated. (See below, # 129, _a_).

Some counties sent only their ex-burgesses to the August Convention; some elected new burgesses for the Assembly called for August 11, but instructed them to attend the Convention also on the 1st; and some (as Mason suggested) sent not only their "burgesses," but also certain additional deputies.]

_c. Sample Call for a County Meeting to give Instructions for the August Convention_

Force, _American Archives_, Fourth Series, I, 451.

_At a meeting of the Committee of Correspondence for Norfolk ... held at the Court House, on Monday, the 27th day of June, 1774. Present [six names]._

_Voted_ That the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the County and Borough of Norfolk be earnestly requested to attend at the Court House of the said County on Wednesday, the 6th day of July next, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, that the late Burgesses may collect their sentiments previous to the meeting appointed to be held at Williamsburg, on the 1st day of August next.

William Davis, _Clerk_.

As late Burgesses for Norfolk ... we heartily concur ... with the Committee of Correspondence, and propose to attend at the time appointed. [Signatures of the ex-burgesses for the County.]

[The meeting was held at the appointed time (Force, IV, 1, 518), and adopted ten resolutions--directing "our late Burgesses" to attend the Williamsburg Convention on August 1; to try to secure a "general association" there for the Colony of Virginia, "against all importations and exportations (medicines excepted) to and from Great Britain"; to try to extend such association against every part of the colonies which should refuse to accept the measure; and to secure the appointment in each County of Virginia of a Committee "of respectable men ... to prevent any breach of such ... Association as may be adopted."]

129. Typical Virginia County Instructions to Delegates to the First Provincial Convention

Force has preserved records of meetings in thirty-one Virginia counties, to appoint and instruct delegates to the Provincial Convention called for the 1st of August. Many of these sets of instructions rank as great state papers, quite equal in logic, rhetoric, and statesmanship to the documents put forth by the Continental Congress three months later at Philadelphia. The Fairfax County resolutions, which are given in about a third part below, seem to have been in exceptional degree the model for the resolutions adopted by the August Convention, which, in turn, with the same Fairfax document, must have been before the committees of the Continental Congress which drew up the famous documents issued by that body.

Brief extracts from a few other Virginia county resolutions follow the main document (_a_), to show the drift of feeling in certain plain matters. When the exact location in Force is omitted, to save space, it can readily be found from the index to that work.

_Virginia Counties appoint Delegates to the First Virginia Convention_

_a. Westmoreland County (Virginia) Resolutions_

Force, _American Archives_, Fourth Series, I, 437, 438.

At a respectable Meeting of the Freeholders =and other Inhabitants= of the County of Westmoreland, assembled on due notice, at the Court House of the said County, on Wednesday, the 22d of June, 1774.

[The Reverend Mr. Thomas Smith, having been appointed _Moderator_], Several papers containing the Proceedings of the late House of Burgesses of this Colony, and the subsequent determinations of the late Representatives after the House was dissolved, together with extracts of several Resolves of the Provinces of Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, etc., being read, the meeting proceeded seriously to consider the present dangerous and truly alarming crisis, when ruin is threatened to the ancient constitutional rights of _North America_, and came to the following Resolves:

* * * * *

=7th. This meeting do heartily concur with the late Representative body of this country, to disuse tea, and not purchase any other commodity of the East Indies, _except saltpetre_, until the grievances of _America_ are redressed. (Cf. No. 125 _e_, above.)=

8th. We do most heartily concur in these preceding Resolves, and will, to the utmost of our power, take care that they are carried into execution; and that we will regard every man as infamous who now agree[s] to, and shall hereafter make a breach of all or any of them; subject however to such future alterations as shall be judged expedient, at a general meeting of Deputies from the several parts of this Colony, or a general Congress of all the Colonies.

=9th. We do appoint _Richard Henry Lee_, and _Richard Lee_, Esquires, the late Representatives of this county, to attend the general meeting of Deputies from all the counties [August 1]; and we desire that they do exert their best abilities to get these, our earnest desires for the security of public liberty, assented to.=

=10th. And as it may happen that the Assembly now called to meet on the 11th of August, may be prorogued to a future day, and many of the Deputies appointed to meet on the 1st of August, trusting to the certainty of meeting in Assembly on the 11th may fail to attend on the first, by which means decisive injury may arise to the common cause of liberty, by the general sense of the country not being early known at this dangerous crisis of _American_ freedom, we do, therefore, direct that our Deputies now chosen fail not to attend at Williamsburg, on the said 1st of August; and it is our earnest wish that the Deputies from other counties be directed to do the same, for the reasons above assigned.=

[Other counties responded to this wish. Thus, seven days later, a "respectable meeting of =Freeholders and Freemen= of the County of Richmond," called to choose and instruct delegates to the August Convention, did so with the following caution:

* * * * *

"8th. This meeting do appoint Robert Wormeley Carter and Francis L. Lee, gentlemen, as their Deputies for the purposes afore said; and they do request them that they fail not to attend in Williamsburg on the said first day of August, and do not trust to meeting in Assembly on the 11th ... as it is in the power of Government either to prorogue the Assembly to a future day, or dissolve the same,--by which means the sense of this Colony may not be known." (Force, IV, 1, 492, 493.)]

_b. Fairfax County (Virginia) Resolutions_

Force, _American Archives_, Fourth Series, I, 597-602.

At a General Meeting of the Freeholders and =other Inhabitants= of the County of Fairfax, at the Court House in the Town of Alexandria, on Monday, the 18th day of July, 1774.

=George Washington=, Esquire, _Chairman_, and =Robert Harrison=, Gentleman, _Clerk_.

_Resolved_, That this Colony and Dominion of Virginia cannot be considered as a conquered country, and, if it was, that the present inhabitants are the descendants, not of the conquered, but of the conquerors. That the same was not settled at the national expense of England, but at the private expense of the adventurers, our ancestors ... [and] that our ancestors ... brought with them, even if the same had not been confirmed by Charters, the civil Constitution and form of Government of the country they came from, and were by the laws of nature and Nations entitled to all its privileges, immunities, and advantages, which have descended to us, their posterity....

_Resolved_, That the most important and valuable part of the British Constitution, upon which its very existence depends, is the fundamental principle of the people's being governed by no laws to which they have not given their consent by Representatives freely chosen by themselves, =who are affected by the laws they enact equally with their constituents, to whom they are accountable and whose burthens they share=.

[The colonies "are not, and from their situation, cannot be, represented in the British Parliament"; and therefore "legislative power here can, _of right_, be exercised only by our Provincial Assemblies, or =Parliaments=, subject to the assent or negative of the British crown ..."; but it is recognized as reasonable that the British Parliament should, _in practice_, regulate trade "for the general good of that great body politick of which we are a part, although in some degree repugnant to the principles of the Constitution," but only when such power is exercised "with wisdom and moderation."]

_Resolved_, That the claim lately assumed and exercised by the _British_ Parliament, for making all such laws as they think fit to govern the people of these Colonies, and to extort from us our money without our consent, is not only diametrically contrary to the first principles of the Constitution and the original compacts by which we are dependent upon the _British_ Crown and Government, but is totally incompatible with the privileges of a free people and the natural rights of mankind, will render our own Legislatures merely nominal and nugatory, and is calculated to reduce us from a state of freedom and happiness to slavery and misery.

_Resolved_, That taxation and representation are in their nature inseparable; that the right of withholding, or of giving and granting their own money, is the only effectual security to a free people against the encroachments of despotism and tyranny; and that whenever they yield the one, they must quickly fall a prey to the other.

_Resolved_, That the powers over the people of America, now claimed by the British House of Commons,--=in whose election we have no share; in whose determinations we have no influence; whose information must be always defective, and often false; who in many instances may have a separate, and in some an opposite interest to ours; and who are removed from those impressions of tenderness and compassion, arising from personal intercourse and connection, which soften the rigours of the most despotick Government=, must, if continued, establish the most grievous and intolerable species of tyranny and oppression that ever was inflicted upon mankind.

_Resolved_, That it is our greatest wish and inclination, as well as interest, to continue our connection with, and dependence upon, the British Government; but though we are its subjects, we will use every means which Heaven hath given us to prevent our becoming its slaves.

* * * * *

_Resolved_, That the several Acts of Parliament for raising a revenue upon the people of America without their consent; the erecting new and dangerous jurisdictions here [the "special commissions"]; the taking away our trials by jury; the ordering persons, on criminal accusations, to be tried in another country than that in which the fact is charged to have been committed; the Act inflicting Ministerial vengeance upon the town of Boston; the two Bills lately brought into Parliament for abrogating the charter of Massachusetts Bay, and =for the protection and encouragement of murderers= in the said Province,[123] are part of the above-mentioned iniquitous system....

* * * * *

_Resolved_, That nothing will so much contribute to defeat the pernicious designs of the common enemies of Great Britain and her Colonies, as a firm union of the latter, who ought to regard every act of violence or oppression inflicted upon any one of them, as aimed at all; and to effect this desirable purpose, =that a Congress should be appointed, to consist of Deputies from all the Colonies, to concert a general and uniform plan for the defence and preservation of our common rights=, and continuing the connection and dependence of the said Colonies upon Great Britain, under a just, lenient, permanent, and constitutional form of Government.

* * * * *

_Resolved_, That ... all manner of luxury and extravagance ought immediately to be laid aside, as totally inconsistent with the threatening and gloomy prospect before us; that it is the indispensable duty of all the gentlemen and men of fortune to set examples of temperance, fortitude, frugality, and industry ... [and] that great care and attention should be had to the cultivation of flax, cotton, and other materials for manufactures; and we recommend it to such of the inhabitants as have large stocks of sheep, to sell to their neighbors at a moderate price, as the most certain means of speedily increasing our breed of sheep and quantity of wool.[124]

[Some pages of resolves as to non-importation with much of the detail afterward copied by the Continental Congress--especially the following provisions:--

"That the merchants and vendors of goods ought not to take advantage of our present distress, but continue to sell the goods and merchandise which they now have, or which may be shipped to them before the 1st of September next [when non-importation was recommended to begin], at the same rates and prices they have been accustomed to do within one year past; and that if any person shall sell such goods on any other terms ... that no inhabitant of this colony should, at any time forever thereafter, deal with him, his agent, factor, or storekeeper, for any commodity whatsoever"; with provisions for depositing goods of later shippings with the committees of their counties, _i.e._, as adopted by the Continental Congress; resolutions against importing slaves, and against exporting lumber to the West Indies, and, after November 1, 1775 (unless redress of grievances should come), against _all_ exports to Great Britain. "And ... as the people will thereby be disabled from paying their debts, that no judgments should be rendered by the Courts ... for any debt, after imformation of the said measures being determined upon."]

* * * * *

=_Resolved_, That _George Washington_, Esquire, and _Charles Broadwater_, Gentleman, lately elected our Representatives to serve in the General Assembly, attend the Convention at Williamsburg, on the first day of August next, and present these Resolves as the sense of the people of this county upon measures proper to be taken in the present alarming and dangerous situation of America.=

=_Resolved_, That George Washington Esquire, [and 24 others] be a Committee for this county; that they, or a majority of them, on any emergency, have power to call a general meeting, and to concert and adopt such measures as may be thought most expedient and necessary.=

=_Resolved_, That a copy of these Proceedings be transmitted to the Printer at Williamsburg, to be published.=

=[It is possible to find in these instructions by Fairfax County to its delegates to Williamsburg almost every provision of the "Association" adopted three months later by the Continental Congress at Philadelphia. For a very large part of the two documents, the language is almost identical. Much alike as many such papers of the time were, it is impossible to read these two together without being convinced that the committee which framed the Association at Philadelphia had a copy of the Fairfax instructions before them.]=

_c. Nansemond County (July 11)_

[10] Resolved that every kind of luxury, dissipation, and extravagance, ought to be banished from amongst us....

[12] Resolved That the African [Negro] trade is injurious to this Colony, obstructs the population of it by freemen, prevents manufactures and useful emigrants from Europe from settling amongst us and occasions an annual increase of the balance of trade against the colony.[125]

[14] Resolved that to be clothed in manufactures fabricated in this Colony ought to be considered as a badge and distinction of respect and true patriotism.

_d. York County (July 18)_

[Instructions to delegates for the August Convention, after urging appointment of Virginia delegates to a "General Congress of America," continue:--]

"That these Representatives be instructed to form a Declaration of American Rights [a page of suggestions follows].

[That _imports_ be stopped at once, and that _exports_ be regulated by the General Congress when it comes.]

="That industry and frugality be adopted, in their largest extent, throughout this Colony; and that horse-racing, and every species of expensive amusement, be laid aside, as unsuitable to the situation of the country, and unbecoming men who feel for its distress."=

_e. Middlesex County (July 15)_

[This county alone takes a royalist tone.]

_Resolved_, That we do not approve of the conduct of the people of Boston in destroying the tea ... and notwithstanding the tax on tea must be esteemed a violent infringement of one of the fundamental privileges ... yet we apprehend violence cannot justify violence. ... A desistance from the consumption of tea, and a confidence in the virtue of our countrymen, whose sense of the spirit of the law will no doubt induce a total disuse of it, are much more eligible means, and more probably will work a repeal of the Act, than disorders, outrages, and tumults.

130. The First Continental Congress

_a. Method of Voting, etc._

John Adams' "Diary" (_Works_, II, 366 ff.).

[Sept.] 5. Monday. At ten the delegates all met at the City Tavern, and walked to the Carpenters' Hall, where they took a view of the room, and of the chamber where is an excellent library; there is also a long entry where gentlemen may walk, and a convenient chamber opposite to the library. The general cry was, that this was a good room, and the question was put, whether we were satisfied with this room? and it passed in the affirmative. A very few were for the negative, and they were chiefly from Pennsylvania and New York. Then Mr. Lynch arose, and said there was a gentleman present who had presided with great dignity over a very respectable society, greatly to the advantage of America, and he therefore proposed that the Honorable Peyton Randolph, Esquire, one of the delegates from Virginia, and the late Speaker of their House of Burgesses; should be appointed Chairman, and he doubted not it would be unanimous.

The question was put, and he was unanimously chosen.

Mr. Randolph then took the chair, and the commissions of the delegates were all produced and read.

Then Mr. Lynch proposed that Mr. Charles Thomson, a gentleman of family, fortune, and character in this city, should be appointed Secretary, which was accordingly done without opposition, though Mr. Duane and Mr. Jay discovered at first an inclination to seek further.

Mr. Duane then moved that a committee should be appointed to prepare regulations for this Congress. Several gentlemen objected.

I then arose and asked leave of the President to request of the gentleman from New York an explanation, and that he would point out some particular regulations which he had in his mind. He mentioned particularly the method of voting, whether it should be by Colonies, or by the poll, or by interests.

Mr. Henry then rose, and said this was the first General Congress which had ever happened; that no former Congress could be a precedent; that we should have occasion for more general congresses, and therefore that a precedent ought to be established now; that it would be great injustice if a little Colony should have the same weight in the councils of America as a great one, and therefore he was for a committee.

Major Sullivan [from New Hampshire] observed that a little Colony had its all at stake as well as a great one....

Mr. _Henry._ Government is dissolved. Fleets and armies and the present state of things show that government is dissolved. Where are your landmarks, your boundaries of Colonies? We are in a state of nature, sir....

The distinctions between Virginians Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders, are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American.

Slaves are to be thrown out of the question, and if the freemen can be represented according to their numbers, I am satisfied.

Mr. _Lynch._ I differ in one point from the gentleman from Virginia, that is, in thinking that numbers only ought to determine the weight of Colonies. I think that property ought to be considered, and that it ought to be a compound of numbers and property that should determine the weight of the Colonies.[126]

I think it cannot be now settled.

* * * * *

Mr. _Lee._ But one reason ... prevails with me [for favoring one vote to each colony] ... that we are not at this time provided with proper materials [to assign proper proportions]....

Mr. _Gadsen._ I can't see any way of voting but by Colonies.

Mr. _Pendleton._ If the committee should find themselves unable to ascertain the weight of the Colonies, by their numbers and property, they will report this, and this will lay the foundation for the Congress to take some other steps to procure evidence of numbers and property at some future time.

_Mr Henry._ I agree that authentic accounts cannot be had, if by authenticity is meant attestations of officers of the Crown.

I go upon the supposition that government is at an end. All distinctions are thrown down. All America is thrown into one mass. We must aim at the minutiæ of rectitude.

* * * * *

The argument that the delegates lacked information (such as a census would have provided) to arrange a proper apportionment of votes to different colonies prevailed. October 10, the Connecticut delegates wrote to the governor of their colony: "The mode of voting ... was first resolved upon; which was that each colony should have one voice; but, as this was objected to as unequal, an entry was made in the journals to prevent its being drawn into precedent in future."

_b. John Adams' Impressions toward the Close_

_Diary_, as above.

[Oct.] 10. Monday. The deliberations of the Congress are spun out to an immeasurable length. There is so much wit, sense, learning, acuteness, subtlety, eloquence, etc., among fifty gentlemen, each of whom has been habituated to lead and guide in his own Province, that an immensity of time is spent unnecessarily.

* * * * *

24. Monday. In Congress, nibbling and quibbling as usual. There is no greater mortification than to sit with half a dozen wits, deliberating upon a petition, address, or memorial. These great wits, these subtle critics, these refined geniuses, these learned lawyers, these wise statesmen, are so fond of showing their parts and powers, as to make their consultations very tedious. Young Ned Rutledge is a perfect Bob-o-Lincoln,--a swallow, a sparrow, a peacock; excessively vain, excessively weak, and excessively variable and unsteady; jejune, inane, and puerile. Mr. Dickinson is very modest, delicate, and timid. Spent the evening at home. Colonel Dyer, Judge Sherman, and Colonel Floyd came in, and spent the evening with Mr. [Samuel] Adams and me. Mr. Mifflin and General Lee came in. Lee's head is running upon his new plan of a battalion....

26. Wednesday. Dined at home. This day the Congress finished. Spent the evening together at the City Tavern; all the Congress, and several gentlemen of the town....

28. Friday. Took our departure, in a very great rain, from the happy, the peaceful, the elegant, the hospitable, and polite city of Philadelphia. It is not very likely that I shall ever see this part of the world again, but I shall ever retain a most grateful, pleasing sense of the many civilities I have received in it, and shall think myself happy to have an opportunity of returning them.

[Delegates from eleven colonies to the First Continental Congress assembled at Philadelphia, September 5, 1774. Delegates from North Carolina appeared on the 14th. Georgia was not represented. For elections and credentials, cf. _American History and Government_, # 141.]

_c. Declaration of Rights_

_Journals of the Continental Congress_ (Ford edition), I, 63 ff. A committee, appointed on September 7, reported on the 22d. The report was taken up October 12, and adopted October 14.

Whereas, since the close of the last war, the British parliament, claiming a power, of right, to bind the people of America by statutes in all cases whatsoever, hath, in some acts, expressly imposed taxes on them, and in others, under various pretences, but in fact for the purpose of raising a revenue, hath imposed rates and duties payable in these colonies, established a board of commissioners, with unconstitutional powers, and extended the jurisdiction of courts of admiralty, not only for collecting the said duties, but for the trial of causes merely arising within the body of a county.

And whereas, in consequence of other statutes, judges, who before held only estates at will in their offices, have been made dependant on the crown alone for their salaries, and standing armies kept in times of peace: And whereas it has lately been resolved in parliament, that by force of a statute, made in the thirty-fifth year of the reign of King Henry the Eighth, colonists may be transported to England, and tried there upon accusations for treasons and misprisions, or concealments of treasons committed in the colonies, and by a late statute, such trials have been directed in cases therein mentioned:

And whereas, in the last session of parliament, three statutes were made; one entitled, "An act to discontinue, in such manner and for such time as are therein mentioned, the landing and discharging, lading, or shipping of goods, wares and merchandize, at the town, and within the harbour of Boston, in the province of Massachusetts-Bay in North-America;" another entitled, "An act for the better regulating the government of the province of Massachusetts-Bay in New England;" and another entitled, "An act for the impartial administration of justice, in the cases of persons questioned for any act done by them in the execution of the law, or for the suppression of riots and tumults, in the province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New England;" and another statute was then made, "for making more effectual provision for the government of the province of Quebec, etc." All which statutes are impolitic, unjust, and cruel, as well as unconstitutional, and most dangerous and destructive of American rights:

And whereas, assemblies have been frequently dissolved, contrary to the rights of the people, when they attempted to deliberate on grievances; and their dutiful, humble, loyal, and reasonable petitions to the crown for redress, have been repeatedly treated with contempt, by his Majesty's ministers of state:

The good people of the several colonies of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts-Bay, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, and South-Carolina, justly alarmed at these arbitrary proceedings of parliament and administration, have severally elected, constituted, and appointed deputies to meet, and sit in general Congress, in the city of Philadelphia, in order to obtain such establishment, as that their religion, laws, and liberties, may not be subverted: Whereupon the deputies so appointed being now assembled, in a full and free representation of these colonies, taking into their most serious consideration, the best means of attaining the ends aforesaid, do, in the first place, as Englishmen, their ancestors in like cases have usually done, for asserting and vindicating their rights and liberties, DECLARE,

That the inhabitants of the English colonies in North-America, by the immutable laws of nature, the principles of the English constitution, and the several charters or compacts, have the following RIGHTS:

_Resolved, N. C. D._ 1. That they are entitled to life, liberty and property: and they have never ceded to any foreign power whatever, a right to dispose of either without their consent.

_Resolved, N. C. D._ 2. That our ancestors, who first settled these colonies, were at the time of their emigration from the mother country, entitled to all the rights, liberties, and immunities of free and natural-born subjects, within the realm of England.

_Resolved, N. C. D._ 3. That by such emigration they by no means forfeited, surrendered, or lost any of those rights, but that they were, and their descendants now are, entitled to the exercise and enjoyment of all such of them, as their local and other circumstances enable them to exercise and enjoy.

_Resolved_, 4. That the foundation of English liberty, and of all free government, is a right in the people to participate in their legislative council: and as the English colonists are not represented, and from their local and other circumstances, cannot properly be represented in the British parliament, they are entitled to a free and exclusive power of legislation in their several provincial legislatures, where their right of representation can alone be preserved, in all cases of taxation and internal polity, subject only to the negative of their sovereign, in such manner as has been heretofore used and accustomed: But, from the necessity of the case, and a regard to the mutual interest of both countries, we cheerfully consent to the operation of such acts of the British parliament, as are, _bona fide_, restrained to the regulation of our external commerce, for the purpose of securing the commercial advantages of the whole empire to the mother country, and the commercial benefits of its respective members; excluding every idea of taxation internal or external, for raising a revenue on the subjects, in America, without their consent.

_Resolved, N. C. D._ 5. That the respective colonies are entitled to the common law of England, and more especially to the great and inestimable privilege of being tried by their peers of the vicinage, according to the course of that law.

_Resolved_, 6. That they are entitled to the benefit of such of the English statutes, as existed at the time of their colonization; and which they have, by experience, respectively found to be applicable to their several local and other circumstances.

_Resolved, N. C. D._ 7. That these, his majesty's colonies, are likewise entitled to all the immunities and privileges granted and confirmed to them by royal charters, or secured by their several codes of provincial laws.

_Resolved, N. C. D._ 8. That they have a right peaceably to assemble, consider of their grievances, and petition the king; and that all prosecutions, prohibitory proclamations, and commitments for the same, are illegal.

_Resolved, N. C. D._ 9. That the keeping a standing army in these colonies, in times of peace, without the consent of the legislature of that colony, in which such army is kept, is against law.

_Resolved, N. C. D._ 10. It is indispensably necessary to good government, and rendered essential by the English constitution, that the constituent branches of the legislature be independent of each other; that, therefore, the exercise of legislative power in several colonies by a council appointed, during pleasure, by the crown, is unconstitutional, dangerous and destructive to the freedom of American legislation.

All and each of which the aforesaid deputies, in behalf of themselves, and their constituents, do claim, demand, and insist on, as their indubitable rights and liberties; which cannot be legally taken from them, altered or abridged by any power whatever, without their own consent, by their representatives in their several provincial legislatures.

In the course of our inquiry, we find many infringements and violations of the foregoing rights, which, from an ardent desire that harmony and mutual intercourse of affection and interest may be restored, we pass over for the present, and proceed to state such acts and measures as have been adopted since the last war, which demonstrate a system formed to enslave America.

_Resolved, N. C. D._ That the following acts of parliament are infringements and violations of the rights of the colonists; and that the repeal of them is essentially necessary, in order to restore harmony between Great-Britain and the American colonies, viz.

The several acts of 4 Geo. III. ch. 15, and ch. 34.--5 Geo. III. ch. 25.--6 Geo. III. ch. 52.--7 Geo. III. ch. 41, and ch. 46.--8 Geo. III. ch. 22. which impose duties for the purpose of raising a revenue in America, extend the power of the admiralty courts beyond their ancient limits, deprive the American subject of trial by jury, authorise the judges certificate to indemnify the prosecutor from damages, that he might otherwise be liable to, requiring oppressive security from a claimant of ships and goods seized, before he shall be allowed to defend his property, are subversive of American rights.

Also 12 Geo. III. ch. 24. intituled, "An act for the better securing his majesty's dockyards, magazines, ships, ammunition, and stores," which declares a new offence in America, and deprives the American subject of a constitutional trial by jury of the vicinage, by authorising the trial of any person, charged with the committing any offence described in the said act, out of the realm, to be indicted and tried for the same in any shire or county within the realm.

Also the three acts passed in the last session of parliament, for stopping the port and blocking up the harbour of Boston, for altering the charter and government of Massachusetts-Bay, and that which is entitled, "An act for the better administration of justice, etc."

Also the act passed in the same session for establishing the Roman Catholic religion, in the province of Quebec, abolishing, the equitable system of English laws, and erecting a tyranny there, to the great danger, (from so total a dissimilarity of religion, law and government) of the neighbouring British colonies, by the assistance of whose blood and treasure the said country was conquered from France.

Also the act passed in the same session, for the better providing suitable quarters for officers and soldiers in his majesty's service, in North-America.

Also, that the keeping a standing army in several of these colonies, in time of peace, without the consent of the legislature of that colony in which such army is kept, is against law.

To these grievous acts and measures, Americans cannot submit, but in hopes their fellow subjects in Great-Britain will, by a revision of them, restore us to that state, in which both countries found happiness and prosperity, we have for the present, only resolved to pursue the following peaceable measures: 1. To enter into a non-importation, non-consumption, and non-exportation agreement or association. 2. To prepare an address to the people of Great-Britain, and a memorial to the inhabitants of British America: and 3. To prepare a loyal address to his majesty, agreeable to resolutions already entered into.

[This "Declaration" confines itself almost wholly, it will be observed, to "concrete" English rights, which had been infringed by recent acts of government. There is little suggestion of the more general principles soon to appear, first in the Virginia bill of rights and then in the Declaration of Independence. Advanced students will find in John Adams' _Works_ (II, 373 ff.) an autobiographical extract, _composed in 1804_, giving Adams' recollections of the drawing up of the Declaration.]

_d. The Association_

(October 20, 1774)

_Journals of Congress_ (Ford edition), I, 75 ff. For conflict between this plan and Galloway's moderate proposal, cf. _American History and Government_, 141. The wording of much of the plan, and the efficient machinery for putting it in operation (Eleventh Article), were common property by this time. In particular, cf. No. 129 _b_, above, and comment at close.

WE, his majesty's most loyal subjects, the delegates of the several colonies of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts-Bay, Rhode-Island, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, the three lower counties of Newcastle, Kent and Sussex on Delaware,[127] Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, and South-Carolina, deputed to represent them in a continental Congress, held in the city of Philadelphia, on the fifth day of September, 1774, avowing our Allegiance to his majesty, our affection and regard for our fellow-subjects in Great Britain and elsewhere, affected with the deepest anxiety, and most alarming apprehensions, at those grievances and distresses with which his majesty's American subjects are oppressed; and having taken under our most serious deliberation the state of the whole continent, find, that the present unhappy situation of our affairs is occasioned by a ruinous system of colony administration, adopted by the British ministry about the year 1763, evidently calculated for inslaving these colonies, and, with them, the British Empire. In prosecution of which system, various acts of parliament have been passed, for raising a revenue in America, for depriving the American subjects, in many instances, of the constitutional trial by jury, exposing their lives to danger, by directing a new and illegal trial beyond the seas, for crimes alleged to have been committed in America: And in prosecution of the same system, several late, cruel, and oppressive acts have been passed, respecting the town of Boston and the Massachusetts-Bay, and also an act for extending the province of Quebec, so as to border on the western frontiers of these colonies, establishing an arbitrary government therein, and discouraging the settlement of British subjects in that wide extended country; thus, by the influence of civil principles and ancient prejudices, to dispose the inhabitants to act with hostility against the free Protestant colonies, whenever a wicked ministry shall chuse so to direct them.

To obtain redress of these grievances, which threaten destruction to the lives, liberty, and property of his majesty's subjects, in North-America, we are of opinion, that a non-importation, non-consumption, and non-exportation agreement, faithfully adhered to, will prove the most speedy, effectual, and peaceable measure: And, therefore, we do, for ourselves, and the inhabitants of the several colonies, whom we represent, firmly agree and associate, under the sacred ties of virtue, honour and love of our country, as follows:

First, That from and after the first day of December next, we will not import, into British America, from Great-Britain or Ireland, any goods, wares, or merchandize whatsoever, or from any other place, any such goods, wares, or merchandize, as shall have been exported from Great-Britain or Ireland; nor will we, after that day, import any East-India tea from any part of the world; nor any molasses, syrups, paneles, coffee, or pimento, from the British plantations or from Dominica; nor wines from Madeira, or the Western Islands; nor foreign indigo.

Second, We will neither import nor purchase, any slave imported after the first day of December next; after which time, we will wholly discontinue the slave trade, and will neither be concerned in it ourselves, nor will we hire our vessels, nor sell our commodities or manufactures to those who are concerned in it.

Third, As a non-consumption agreement, strictly adhered to, will be an effectual security for the observation of the non-importation, we, as above, solemnly agree and associate, that from this day, we will not purchase or use any tea, imported on account of the East-India company, or any on which a duty hath been or shall be paid; and from and after the first day of March next, we will not purchase or use any East-India tea whatever; nor will we, nor shall any person for or under us, purchase or use any of those goods, wares, or merchandize, we have agreed not to import, which we shall know, or have cause to suspect, were imported after the first day of December, except such as come under the rules and directions of the tenth article hereafter mentioned.

Fourth, The earnest desire we have not to injure our fellow-subjects in Great-Britain, Ireland, or the West-Indies, induces us to suspend a non-exportation, until the tenth day of September, 1775; at which time, if the said acts and parts of acts of the British parliament herein after mentioned, are not repealed, we will not directly or indirectly, export any merchandize or commodity whatsoever to Great-Britain, Ireland, or the West-Indies, except rice to Europe.

Fifth, Such as are merchants, and use the British and Irish trade, will give orders, as soon as possible, to their factors, agents and correspondents, in Great-Britain and Ireland, not to ship any goods to them, on any pretence whatsoever, as they cannot be received in America; and if any merchant, residing in Great-Britain or Ireland, shall directly or indirectly ship any goods, wares or merchandize, for America, in order to break the said non-importation agreement, or in any manner contravene the same, on such unworthy conduct being well attested, it ought to be made public; and, on the same being so done, we will not, from thenceforth, have any commercial connexion with such merchant.

Sixth, That such as are owners of vessels will give positive orders to their captains, or masters, not to receive on board their vessels any goods prohibited by the said non-importation agreement, on pain of immediate dismission from their service.

Seventh, We will use our utmost endeavours to improve the breed of sheep, and increase their number to the greatest extent; and to that end, we will kill them as seldom as may be, especially those of the most profitable kind; nor will we export any to the West-Indies or elsewhere; and those of us, who are or may become overstocked with, or can conveniently spare any sheep, will dispose of them to our neighbours, especially to the poorer sort, on moderate terms.

Eighth, We will, in our several stations, encourage frugality, [oe]conomy, and industry, and promote agriculture, arts and the manufactures of this country, especially that of wool; and will discountenance and discourage every species of extravagance and dissipation, especially all horse-racing, and all kinds of gaming, cock-fighting, exhibitions of shews, plays, and other expensive diversions and entertainments; and on the death of any relation or friend, none of us, or any of our families, will go into any further mourning-dress than a black crape or ribbon on the arm or hat, for gentlemen, and a black ribbon and necklace for ladies, and we will discontinue the giving of gloves and scarves at funerals.

Ninth, Such as are venders of goods or merchandize will not take advantage of the scarcity of goods that may be occasioned by this association, but will sell the same at the rates we have been respectively accustomed to do, for twelve months last past.--And if any vender of goods or merchandize shall sell such goods on higher terms, or shall, in any manner, or by any device whatsoever, violate or depart from this agreement, no person ought, nor will any of us deal with any such person, or his or her factor or agent, at any time thereafter, for any commodity whatever.

Tenth, In case any merchant, trader, or other person, shall import any goods or merchandize, after the first day of December, and before the first day of February next, the same ought forthwith, at the election of the owner, to be either re-shipped or delivered up to the committee of the county or town, wherein they shall be imported, to be stored at the risque of the importer, until the non-importation agreement shall cease, or be sold under the direction of the committee aforesaid; and in the last-mentioned case, the owner or owners of such goods shall be reimbursed out of the sales, the first cost and charges, the profit, if any, to be applied towards relieving and employing such poor inhabitants of the town of Boston, as are immediate sufferers by the Boston port-bill; and a particular account of all goods so returned, stored, or sold, to be inserted in the public papers; and if any goods or merchandizes shall be imported after the said first day of February, the same ought forthwith to be sent back again, without breaking any of the packages thereof.

Eleventh, That a committee be chosen in every county, city, and town, by those who are qualified to vote for representatives in the legislature, whose business it shall be attentively to observe the conduct of all persons touching this association; and when it shall be made to appear, to the satisfaction of a majority of any such committee, that any person within the limits of their appointment has violated this association, that such majority do forthwith cause the truth of the case to be published in the gazette; to the end, that all such foes to the rights of British-America may be publicly known, and universally contemned as the enemies of American liberty; and thenceforth we respectively will break off all dealings with him or her.

Twelfth, That the committee of correspondence, in the respective colonies, do frequently inspect the entries of their custom-houses, and inform each other, from time to time, of the true state thereof, and of every other material circumstance that may occur relative to this association.

Thirteenth, That all manufactures of this country be sold at reasonable prices, so that no undue advantage be taken of a future scarcity of goods.

Fourteenth, And we do further agree and resolve, that we will have no trade, commerce, dealings or intercourse whatsoever, with any colony or province, in North-America, which shall not accede to, or which shall hereafter violate this association, but will hold them as unworthy of the rights of freemen, and as inimical to the liberties of their country.

And we do solemnly bind ourselves and our constituents, under the ties aforesaid, to adhere to this association, until such parts of the several acts of parliament, passed since the close of the last war, as impose or continue duties on tea, wine, molasses, syrups, paneles, coffee, sugar, pimento, indigo, foreign paper, glass, and painters colours, imported into America, and extend the powers of the admiralty courts beyond their ancient limits, deprive the American subject of trial by jury, authorise the judge's certificate to indemnify the prosecutor from damages, that he might otherwise be liable to, from a trial by his peers, require oppressive security from a claimant of ships or goods seized, before he shall be allowed to defend his property, are repealed.--And until that part of the act of the 12. G. 3. ch. 24. entitled, "An act for the better securing his majesty's dockyards, magazines, ships, ammunition, and stores," by which any persons charged with committing any of the offences therein described, in America, may be tried in any shire or county within the realm, is repealed--and until the four acts, passed the last session of parliament, viz. that for stopping the port and blocking up the harbour of Boston--that for altering the charter and government of the Massachusetts-Bay--and that which is entitled, "An act for the better administration of justice, etc."--and that "For extending the limits of Quebec, etc." are repealed. And we recommend it to the provincial conventions, and to the committees in the respective colonies, to establish such farther regulations as they may think proper, for carrying into execution this association.

131. Prince William County (Virginia) Committee, Approval of the Association

Force, _American Archives_, Fourth Series, I, 1034.

In consequence of the eleventh Resolution of the Continental Congress, the Freeholders of the County of Prince William, being convened at the house of William Reno on Monday, the 9th day of December, 1774, proceeded to elect the following gentlemen as a Committee for the said County: [25 names].

[Notice of the organization of the Committee by election of its chairman and clerk--and then a series of six resolutions adopted by it. Four of them are given below.]

_Resolved_, That the thanks of the Committee are due to the Deputies of this Colony, for their wise, firm, and patriotick conduct in the late Continental Congress.

_Resolved_, That whenever there appears ... cause to suspect that any Merchant ... of this County has violated the Association ... by raising the price of his Goods, such Trader be called upon to show his day-books and invoices, to clear up such suspicion; and that, in case of refusal, he be deemed guilty ... and subject to the penalties in such case provided....

_Resolved_, That all publick Balls and Entertainments be discountenanced in this county from this time, as contrary to the sentiments of the Continental Congress....

_Resolved_, That no person in this County ought to purchase more Goods in one year than he has been accustomed to do ... that the poor ... may not be distressed by wealthy designing men.

By order-- Evan Williams, _Clerk_.

132. Virginia County "Conventions" become De Facto Governments

Force, _American Archives_, Fourth Series, I, 1145.

For the occasion for the "second conventions" in the various colonies in the winter of 1774-5, cf. _American History and Government_, # 143.

The Virginia Convention of August 1-6, 1774, had appointed delegates to the Continental Congress to be held in September at Philadelphia, and adjourned after authorizing its chairman to call another convention when necessary. _It was only an informal conference._

In December, a _Second Maryland Convention_ virtually became a _de facto_ government, arming the province for defense against England. This example was followed promptly in single _counties_ in Virginia,--first in George Washington's County.

[_Extracts from the Proceedings of the Committee of Fairfax County, on the 17th of January 1775._]

=George Washington=, Esquire, _Chairman_, =Robert H. Harrison=, _Clerk_:

_Resolved_, That the defenceless state of this County renders it indispensably neccessary that a quantity of Ammunition should be immediately provided; and as the same will be for the common benefit, protection, and defence of the inhabitants thereof, it is but just and reasonable that the expenses incurred in procuring the same should be defrayed by a general and equal contribution. It is therefore recommended that the sum of three Shillings per poll, for the purpose aforesaid, be paid by and for every tithable person in this County, to the Sheriff, or such other Collector as may be appointed, who is to render the same to this Committee, with a list of the names of such persons as shall refuse to pay the same, if any such there be.

_Resolved_, That this Committee do concur in opinion with the Provincial Committee of the Province of Maryland, that a well regulated Militia, composed of gentlemen freeholders, and other freemen, is the natural strength and only stable security of a free Government, and that such Militia will relieve our mother country from any expense in our protection and defence, will obviate the pretence of a necessity for taxing us on that account, and render it unnecessary to keep Standing Armies among us--ever dangerous to liberty; and therefore it is recommended to such of the inhabitants of this County as are from sixteen to fifty years of age, to form themselves into Companies of sixty-eight men; to choose a Captain, two Lieutenants, an Ensign, four Sergeants, four Corporals, and one Drummer, for each Company; that they provide themselves with good Firelocks, and use their utmost endeavours to make themselves masters of the Military Exercise, published by order of his Majesty in 1764, and recommended by the Provincial Congress of the Massachusetts Bay, on the 29th of October last.

133. Virginia Provincial Conventions become Governments

(March-July, 1775)

_a. County Instructions to Delegates_

Force, _American Archives_, Fourth Series, II, 3.

Instructions from the Freeholders of Cumberland County Virginia.

To John Mayo and William Fleming, Gentlemen [Delegates of Cumberland County to the Second Virginia Convention, to be held in March, 1775.]

We, the Freeholders of Cumberland County, having elected you to represent us in a Provincial Convention,[128] to be held in the Town of Richmond, on Monday, the 20th of this instant, and being convinced that the safety and happiness of British America depend upon the unanimity, firmness and joint efforts of all the Colonies, we expect you will, on your parts, let your measures be as much for the common safety as the peculiar interests of this Colony will permit, and that you, in particular, comply with the recommendation of the Continental Congress, in appointing Delegates to meet in the City of Philadelphia, in May next.

* * * * *

=The means of Constitutional legislation in this Colony being now interrupted, and entirely precarious, and being convinced that some rule is necessary for speedily putting the Colony in a state of defence, we, in an especial manner, recommend this matter to your consideration in Convention; and you may depend that any general tax, by that body imposed, for such purposes, will be cheerfully submitted to, and paid by the inhabitants of this County.=[129]

_b. The Second Virginia Convention (March 20-27, 1775) arms the Colony for War_

Force, _American Archives_, Fourth Series, II, 165-172.

At a Convention of Delegates for the Counties and Corporations in the Colony of Virginia, at the Town of Richmond, in the County of Henrico, on Monday, the 20th of March, 1775. [Present: 120 names.]...

* * * * *

The Honourable _Peyton Randolph_, Esquire, was unanimously elected President of this Convention, and Mr. _John Tazewell_, Clerk thereof.

The President then recommended it to the Convention to proceed in the deliberation and discussion of the several important matters which should come before them, with that prudence, decency, and order which had distinguished their conduct on all former occasions; and laid before the Convention the proceedings of the Continental Congress....

_Resolved_, That this Convention will observe, in their debates, the same rules and orders as are established in the House of Burgesses in this Colony.

Adjourned till to-morrow 10 o'clock.

* * * * *

=March 21. ... _Resolved unanimously_, That this Convention doth entirely and cordially approve the Proceedings and Resolutions of the _American_ Continental Congress [the "First Continental Congress"], and that they consider this whole Continent as under the highest obligations to that very respectable body, for the wisdom of their counsels, and their unremitted endeavours to maintain and preserve inviolate the just rights and liberties of His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects in _America_.=

_Resolved unanimously_, That the warmest thanks of this Convention, and all the inhabitants of this Colony, whom they represent, are particularly due, and that this just tribute of applause be presented, to the Honourable _Peyton Randolph_ Esquire, _Richard Henry Lee_, _George Washington_, _Patrick Henry_, Junior, _Richard Bland_, _Benjamin Harrison_, and _Edmund Pendleton_, Esquires, the worthy Delegates deputed by a former Convention to represent this Colony in General Congress, for their cheerful undertaking, and faithful discharge of the very important trust reposed in them.

Adjourned till to-morrow 10 o'clock.

=March 22. ... _Resolved_, That a well regulated Militia, composed of Gentlemen and Yeomen, is the natural strength, and only security of a free Government; that such a Militia in this Colony would for ever render it unnecessary for the Mother Country to keep among us, for the purpose of our defence, any Standing Army of mercenary forces, always subversive of the quiet, and dangerous to the liberties of the people, and would obviate the pretext of taxing us for their support.=

That the establishment of such Militia is at this time peculiarly necessary, by the state of our laws for the protection and defence of the Country, some of which have already expired, and others will shortly do so; and that the known remissness of Government, in calling us together in a legislative capacity renders it too insecure, in this time of danger and distress to rely, that opportunity will be given of renewing them in General Assembly, or making any provision to secure our inestimable rights and liberties from those farther violations with which they are threatened.

_Resolved therefore_, That this Colony be immediately put into a posture of defence; and that Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Robert Carter Nicholas, Benjamin Harrison, Lemuel Riddick, George Washington, Adam Stephen, Andrew Lewis, William Christian, Edmund Pendleton, Thomas Jefferson, and Isaac Zane, Esquires, be a Committee to prepare a plan for the embodying, arming, and disciplining such a number of men as may be sufficient for that purpose.

Adjourned till to-morrow 10 o'clock....

Saturday, March 25, 1775. ... _Resolved_, As the opinion of this Convention, that, on account of the unhappy disputes between Great Britain and the Colonies, and the unsettled state of this Country, the lawyers, suitors, and witnesses ought not to attend the prosecution or defence of civil suits at the next General Court; and it is recommended to the several Courts of Justice not to proceed to the hearing or determination of suits on their dockets, except attachments; nor to give judgments but in the case of Sheriffs or other collectors for Money or Tobacco received by them; in other cases, where such judgment shall be voluntarily confessed; or upon such amicable proceedings as may become necessary for the settlement, division, or distribution of estates. And, during this suspension of the administration of justice, it is earnestly recommended to the people to observe a peaceable and orderly behaviour; to all creditors to be as indulgent to their debtors as may be; to all debtors to pay as far as they are able; and where differences may arise which cannot be adjusted between the parties, that they refer the decision thereof to judicious neighbours, and abide by their determination.

The Convention then took into their consideration, according to the order of yesterday, the plan for embodying, arming and disciplining the Militia; which, being read, and amended, was unanimously agreed to, as follows:

* * * * *

The committee are further of opinion that, as from the expiration of the above-mentioned latter laws, and various other causes, the legal and necessary disciplining the Militia has been much neglected, and a proper provision of Arms and Ammunition has not been made, to the evident danger of the community in case of invasion or insurrection, =it be recommended to the inhabitants of the several Counties of this Colony that they form one or more volunteer Companies of Infantry and Troops of Horse, in each County, and to be in constant training and readiness to act on any emergency=.

* * * * *

=That, in order to make a further and more ample provision of Amunition, it be recommended to the Committees of the several Counties, that they collect from their Constituents, in such manner as shall be most agreeable to them, so much money as will be sufficient to purchase half a pound of Gunpowder, one pound of Lead, necessary Flints and Cartridge Paper, and dispose thereof, when procured, in such place or places of safety as they may think best; and it is earnestly recommended to each individual to pay such proportion of the money necessary for these purposes as by the respective Committees shall be judged requisite.=

That as it may happen that some Counties, from their situation, may not be apprized of the most certain and speedy method of procuring the articles before-mentioned, one General Committee should be appointed, whose business it should be to procure, for such Counties as may make application to them, such articles, and so much thereof as the moneys wherewith they shall furnish the said Committee with purchase, after deducting the charges of transportation, and other necessary expenses.

_Resolved_, That Robert Carter Nicholas, Thomas Nelson, and Thomas Whiting, Esquires, or any two of them, be a Committee for the purpose afore-mentioned.

... _Resolved_, That _Robert Carter Nicholas_, _Richard Bland_, _James Mercer_, _Edmund Pendleton_, _Archibald Cary_, _Charles Carter_ of _Stafford_, _Benjamin Harrison_, _Richard Henry Lee_, _Josias Clapham_, _George Washington_, _Patrick Henry_, _James Holt_, and _Thomas Newton_, Esquires, be a Committee to prepare a plan for the encouragement of Arts and Manufactures in this Colony.

=The Convention then proceeded to the election of Delegates by ballot, to represent this Colony in General Congress, to be held at the City of _Philadelphia_, on the 10th day of _May_ next; when the Honourable _Peyton Randolph_, Esquire, _George Washington_, _Patrick Henry_, _Richard Henry Lee_, _Edmund Pendleton_, _Benjamin Harrison_, and _Richard Bland_, Esquires, were chosen for that purpose.=

=_Resolved_, That _Robert Carter Nicholas_, Esquire, be desired to lay before the Convention, on Monday next, an account of the Money received from the several Counties and Corporations in this Colony, for the use of the Delegates sent to represent this Colony in General Congress.=

Adjourned till Monday, 10 o'clock.

March 27 ... _Resolved unanimously_, That from and after the first day of _May_ next, no person or persons whatever ought to use, in his or their families, unless in case of necessity, and on no account to sell to butchers, or kill for market, any Sheep under four years old; and where there is necessity for using any mutton in his, her, or their families, it is recommended to kill such only as are least profitable to be kept.

_Resolved unanimously_, That the setting up and promoting Woollen, Cotton, and Linen Manufactures ought to be encouraged in as many different branches as possible, especially Coating, Flannel, Blankets, Rugs, or Coverlids, Hosiery, and coarse Cloths, both broad and narrow.

* * * * *

_Resolved unanimously_, As Salt is a daily and indispensable necessary of life, and the making of it amongst ourselves must be deemed a valuable acquisition, it is therefore recommended that the utmost endeavours be used to establish Salt Works, and that proper encouragement be given to Mr. _James Tait_, who hath made proposals, and offered a scheme to the publick, for so desirable a purpose.

=_Resolved unanimously_, That Saltpetre and Sulphur, _being articles of great and necessary use_, the making, collecting, and refining them to the utmost extent, be recommended, the Convention being of opinion that it may be done to great advantage.=

=_Resolved unanimously_, That the making of Gunpowder be recommended.=

=_Resolved unanimously_, That the manufacturing of iron into Nails and Wire, and other necessary articles, be recommended.=

=_Resolved unanimously_, That the making of Steel ought to be largely encouraged, as there will be a great demand for this article.=

_Resolved unanimously_, That the making of different kinds of Paper ought to be encouraged; and as the success of this branch depends on a supply of old Linen and Woollen Rags, the inhabitants of this Colony are desired, in their respective families, to preserve these articles.

_Resolved unanimously_, That whereas Wool Combs, Cotton and Wool Cards, Hemp and Flax Heckles, have been for some time made to advantage in some of the neighbouring Colonies, and are necessary for carrying on Linen and Woollen Manufactures, the establishing such Manufactures be recommended.

_Resolved unanimously_, That the erecting Fulling Mills and mills for breaking, swingling, and softening Hemp and Flax, and also the making Grindstones be recommended.

_Resolved unanimously_, That the brewing Malt Liquors in this Colony would tend to render the consumption of foreign Liquors less necessary. It is therefore recommended that proper attention be given to the cultivation of Hops and Barley.

_Resolved unanimously_, That it be recommended to all the inhabitants of this Colony, that they use, as the Convention engageth to do, our own Manufactures, and those of other Colonies, in preference to all others.

* * * * *

The Members of the Convention then, in order to encourage Mr. _James Tait_, who is about to erect Salt Works, undertook, for their respective Counties, to pay the sum of Ten Pounds to _Robert Carter Nicholas_, Esquire, for the use of the said _James Tait_, on or before the 10th day of _May_ next.

* * * * *

=_Resolved_, That this Convention doth consider the delegation of its members as now at an end; and that it is recommended to the People of this Colony to choose Delegates to represent them in Convention _for one year_, as soon as they conveniently can.=

Peyton Randolph, President. John Tazewell, Clerk of the Convention.

_c._ [_The Third Virginia Convention_, pursuant to the call in the closing recommendation of the Second, met July 17, 1775, and adopted the forms of a legislative body, giving bills three readings, etc. The first resolution read....

"That this Convention will observe, in their debates _and proceedings_, the same Rules and Orders as are established in the House of Burgesses of this Colony." Cf. with the corresponding Resolution of the Second Convention above; note significance of the two additional words. That significance is brought out clearly in the postscript of a letter from George Mason to a friend, August 22:

"P. S. Every ordinance goes thro' all the Formalities of a Bill in the House of Burgesses, has three Readings, etc. before it is passed, and in every respect wears the Face of Law,--Resolves, as recommendations, being no longer trusted to. ..." (Virginia Calendar of State Papers, I, 269.)

Thus the Third Convention was a "government" in style as well as in fact. It held two busy sessions; and, in January, 1776, though its "year" was not up, it adjourned, to give place to a new Convention freshly instructed from the people.]

FOOTNOTES:

[121] A letter from Richard Henry Lee to Samuel Warren (June 23) states that he had intended to present such a resolution in the Assembly, but, on advice of friends, waited for the completion of important business,--and then came the dissolution. Washington went from this meeting, over which he had presided, to dine with Lord and Lady Dunmore. The tone of Virginia intercourse with the governor remains suave for some time.

[122] The resolutions so reported on June 20 to the Virginia committee, had been adopted on the 15th. Rhode Island, therefore, was the first colony to appoint delegates. The resolutions, of course, are given also in the _Rhode Island Colonial Records_.

[123] This final clause refers to a provision withdrawing from trial in colonial courts any servants of the government accused of violence in the performance of duty. The list of offending statutes is repeated, somewhat less impressively but more specifically, in the Continental Congress's =Declaration= (130 _c_).

[124] Upon this passage was based the Sixth Article of the Virginia Association, recommended August 1, by the Convention as follows:--

"6th. We will endeavor to improve our breed of sheep, and increase their number to the utmost extent; and to this end, we will be as sparing as we conveniently can, in killing sheep, especially those of the most profitable kind; and if we should at any time be overstocked, or can conveniently spare any, we will dispose of them to our neighbors, especially the poorer sort of people, on moderate terms."

In time, this passage was copied even more closely in the Association of the Continental Congress at Philadelphia (No. 130 _d_).

[125] This resolution is found in identical words in the resolutions of Caroline County (Virginia), July 14, 1774; and the sentiment, in more varied forms, appears often in the county meetings. Thus Hanover (Patrick Henry's county) declared: "The African trade for slaves we consider most dangerous to virtue and the welfare of this country. We therefore most earnestly wish to see it totally discouraged."

[126] Mr. Lynch was from South Carolina. This position here taken as to "numbers _and_ property" was taken thirteen years later by South Carolina delegates in the Convention which framed our present Constitution.

[127] This was the "style" of the three "counties" soon to form the state of Delaware.

[128] This convention had finally been called in January by Peyton Randolph, chairman of the preceding convention, according to authorization by body. Cf. introduction to No. 137, above. The work of the Convention is given in No. 139.

[129] Observe the authorization to raise money by taxation,--a special prerogative of government.

XXIII. INDEPENDENCE

Cf. _American History and Government_ (## 146-150) for additional comment and narrative, and suggestions as to bibliography, on each of the following numbers, 134-139. Many short extracts are there given from documents which, on that account, are not reproduced here,--notably from Paine's _Common Sense_.

134. Virginia County Instructions for Independence, April 23, 1776

Force, _American Archives_, Fourth Series, V, 1034-1035.

The following instructions from a county meeting of Charlotte County, Virginia, to delegates for the next Virginia Convention [to meet May 6] show that that body was at least partially authorized to take its momentous action of adopting a State constitution and of instructing the Virginia delegates at Philadelphia to move for independence. Note that the King, to whom all earlier documents had professed loyalty, is here coupled with the ministry and parliament. Other counties gave similar instruction. Cf. Force, V, 1046.

_To Paul Carrington, and Thomas Read, Esq's.:_

Gentlemen: When we consider the despotick plan adopted by the King, Ministry and Parliament of _Great Britain_, insidiously pursued for these twelve years past, to enslave _America_; when we consider that they have turned a deaf ear to the repeated petitions and remonstrances of this and our sister Colonies, and that they have been equally inattentive to the rights of freemen and the British Constitution; and when we consider that they have for some time been endeavouring to enforce their arbitrary mandates by fire and sword, and likewise encouraging, by every means in their power, our savage neighbours, and our more savage domestics, to spill the blood of our wives and children; and to crown the whole, they have added insult to their injustice and cruelty, by repeatedly pretending to hold out the olive branch of peace in such a way as teacheth us that they are determined to persist in their hellish designs, and that nothing is intended for us but the most abject slavery....

Therefore despairing of any redress of our grievances from the King and Parliament of _Great Britain_, and all hopes of a reconciliation between her and the United Colonies being now at an end, and being concious that their treatment has been such as loyal subjects did not deserve, and to which as freemen, we are determined not to submit; by the unanimous approbation and direction of the whole freeholders, and all the other inhabitants of this County, we advise and instruct you, cheerfully to concur and give your best assistance in our Convention, to push to the utmost a war offensive and defensive until you are certified that such proposals of peace are made to our General Congress as shall by them be judged just and friendly. And because the advantages of a trade will better enable us to pay the taxes, and procure the necessaries for carrying on a war, and in our present circumstances this cannot be had without a Declaration of Independence; therefore, if no such proposals of peace shall be made, we judge it to be a dictate of the first law of nature, to continue to oppose every attempt on our lives and properties; and we give it you in charge, to use your best endeavours =that the Delegates which are sent to the General Congress be instructed immediately to cast off the _British_ yoke=, and to enter into a commercial alliance with any nation or nations friendly to our cause. And as King George the Third of Great Britain etc., has manifested deliberate enmity towards us, and under the character of a parent persists in behaving as a tyrant, that they, in our behalf renounce allegiance to him for ever; =and that, taking God of Heaven to be our King, and depending upon His protection and assistance, they plan out that form of Government which may the more effectually secure to us the enjoyment of our civil and religious rights and privileges, to the latest posterity. ...=

Ordered, That the above Resolves be published in the _Virginian Gazette_.

By order: William Jameson, Clerk.

135. Instructions for Independence in the Virginia Convention (and Resolutions for an Independent State Government), May 15, 1776[130]

Force, _American Archives_, Fourth Series, VI, 461-462.

The Fourth Virginia Convention met May 6, elected on the recommendation of the preceding Convention (see No. 133 c, close). On the 9th the Convention voted to go next day into Committee of the Whole to consider the state of the colony (which meant to take up the matter of independence and a State government). Military needs, however, delayed the consideration until the 14th. On that day and the 15th, the questions were debated, and, on the 15th, the Committee rose and reported to the Convention the resolutions below, which were unanimously adopted. For a more detailed story, see _American History and Government_, # 148; but it should be seen here clearly that the Convention instructed its delegates in the Continental Congress to secure a _general_ declaration of Independence for all the colonies, and that, at the same time, it began the work of a permanent independent constitution for Virginia.

[The first half of the document is a preamble stating the grievances of the colonies.] ... In this state of extreme danger, we have no alternative left but an abject submission to the will of those overbearing tyrants or a total separation from the crown and government of Great Britain, uniting and exerting the strength of all America for defence, and forming alliances with foreign powers for commerce and aid in war: Wherefore, appealing to the Searcher of Hearts for the sincerity of former declarations expressing our desire to preserve the connection with that nation, and that we are driven from that inclination by their wicked councils and the eternal laws of self-preservation;

_Resolved_, unanimously, That the delegates appointed to represent this colony in General Congress be instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the United Colonies free and independent States, absolved from all allegiance to or dependence upon the Crown or parliament of Great Britain; and that they give the assent of this colony to such declaration, and to whatever measures may be thought proper and necessary by the Congress for forming foreign alliances and a confederation of the colonies, at such time, and in such manner, as to them shall seem best: Provided that the power of forming government for, and the regulation of, the internal concerns of each colony, be left to the respective colonial legislatures.

_Resolved unanimously_, That a committee be appointed to prepare a DECLARATION OF RIGHTS and such a plan of government as will be most likely to maintain peace and order in this colony, and secure substantial and equal liberty to the people.

136. The Virginia Bill of Rights, June 12, 1776

Poore, _Charters and Constitutions_, II, 1908-1909. Cf. No. 135 for history. This bill of rights was reported by a committee to the Virginia Convention on May 27, and adopted unanimously on June 12. It was the model, often followed closely, for similar bills in other states. See comment at close.

_A declaration of rights made by the representatives of the good people of Virginia, assembled in full and free convention; which rights do pertain to them and their posterity, as the basis and foundation of government._

SECTION 1. That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.

SECTION 2. That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them.

SECTION 3. That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or community; of all the various modes and forms of government, that is best which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety, and is most effectually secured against the danger of maladministration; and that, when any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, inalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal.

SECTION 4. That no man, or set of men, are entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the community, but in consideration of public services; which, not being descendible, neither ought the offices of magistrate, legislator, or judge to be hereditary.

SECTION 5. That the legislative and executive powers of the State should be separate and distinct from the judiciary; and that the members of the two first may be restrained from oppression, by feeling and participating in the burdens of the people, they should, at fixed periods, be reduced to a private station, return into that body from which they were originally taken, and the vacancies be supplied by frequent, certain, and regular elections, in which all, or any part of the former members to be again eligible, or ineligible, as the laws shall direct.

SECTION 6. That elections of members to serve as representatives of the people, in assembly, ought to be free; and that all men, having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community, have the right of suffrage, and cannot be taxed or deprived of their property for public uses, without their own consent, or that of their representatives so elected, nor bound by any law to which they have not, in like manner, assented, for the public good.[131]

SECTION 7. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without consent of the representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised.

SECTION 8. That in all capital or criminal prosecutions a man hath a right to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be confronted with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in his favor, and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of twelve men of his vicinage, without whose unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty; nor can he be compelled to give evidence against himself; that no man be deprived of his liberty, except by the law of the land or the judgment of his peers.

SECTION 9. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

SECTION 10. That general warrants, whereby an officer or messenger may be commanded to search suspected places without evidence of a fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, or whose offence is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are grievous and oppressive, and ought not to be granted.

SECTION 11. That in controversies respecting property, and in suits between man and man, the ancient trial by jury is preferable to any other, and ought to be held sacred.

SECTION 12. That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.

SECTION 13. That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defence of a free State; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided, as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.

SECTION 14. That the people have a right to uniform government; and, therefore, that no government separate from, or independent of the government of Virginia, ought to be erected or established within the limits thereof.

SECTION 15. That no free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.

SECTION 16. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, 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.

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.=

22d. Voted, That Mr. Caleb West be desired to transmit a copy of the proceedings of this convention to the convention of the County of Worcester.

23d. Voted, That the chairman of the convention be desired to transmit a copy of the proceedings of this convention to the county of Berkshire.

24th. Voted, That the chairman of this convention be directed to notify a county convention, upon any motion made to him for that purpose, if he judge the reasons offered be sufficient, giving such notice together with the reasons therefor, in the publick papers of this county.

25th. Voted, That a copy of the proceedings of this convention be sent to the press in Springfield for publication.

_b. Washington's Alarm_

(1) _George Washington to Henry Lee._

Washington's _Writings_ (Ford edition), XI, 76-78. Lee was a Virginia delegate in the Continental Congress. Washington's letter is in reply to one received from Lee.

MOUNT VERNON, October 31, 1786.

... The picture which you have exhibited ... of the commotions and temper of numerous bodies in the eastern States, are equally to be lamented and deprecated. They exhibit a melancholy proof of what our transatlantic foe has predicted; and of another thing perhaps, which is still more to be regretted, and is yet more unaccountable, =that mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government=. I am mortified beyond expression when I view the clouds that have spread over the brightest morn that ever dawned upon any country. In a word, I am lost in amazement when I behold what intrigue, the interested views of desperate characters, ignorance, and jealously of the minor part, are capable of effecting, as a scourge on the major part of our fellow citizens of the Union; for it is hardly to be supposed, that the great body of the people, though they will not act, can be so shortsighted or enveloped in darkness, as not to see rays of a distant sun through all this mist of intoxication and folly.

You talk, my good Sir, of employing influence to appease the present tumults in Massachusetts. I know not where that influence is to be found, or, if attainable, that it would be a proper remedy for the disorders. _Influence_ is no _government_. Let us have one by which our lives, liberties, and properties will be secured, or let us know the worst at once. Under these impressions, my humble opinion is, that there is a call for decision. Know precisely what the insurgents aim at. If they have _real_ grievances, redress them if possible; or acknowledge the justice of them, and your inability to do it in the present moment. If they have not, employ the force of government against them at once. If this is inadequate, _all_ will be convinced, that the superstructure is bad, or wants support. To be more exposed in the eyes of the world, and more contemptible than we already are, is hardly possible. To delay one or the other of these, is to exasperate ... or to give confidence, and will add to their numbers; for, like snow-balls, such bodies increase by every moment unless there is something in the way to obstruct and crumble them before the weight is too great and irresistible....

(2) _George Washington, to James Madison._

_Writings_ (Ford edition), XI, 80, 81. Note especially the extracts quoted from General Lincoln, in command against the rebels.

November 5, 1786.

I thank you for the communications in your letter of the 1st instant. ... Fain would I hope that the great and most important of all subjects, the _federal government_, may be considered with ... calm and deliberate attention. ... No morn ever dawned more favorably than ours did; and no day was ever more clouded than the present. Wisdom and good examples are necessary at this time to rescue the political machine from the impending storm. Virginia has now an opportunity to set the latter, and has enough of the former, I hope, to take the lead in promoting this great and arduous work. Without an alteration in our political creed, the superstructure we have been seven years in raising, at the expense of so much treasure and blood, must fall. We are fast verging to anarchy and confusion.

... a letter which I have received from General Knox, who had just returned from Massachusetts, whither he had been sent by Congress consequent of the commotions in that State, is replete with melancholy accounts of the temper and designs of a considerable part of that people. Among other things he says:

"Their creed is, that the property of the United States has been protected from the confiscation of Britain by the joint exertions of _all_; and therefore ought to be the _common property of all_; and he that attempts opposition to this creed, is an enemy to equity and justice, and ought to be swept from off the face of the earth." Again: "They are determined to annihilate all debts, public and private, and have agrarian laws, which are easily effected by the means of unfunded paper money, which shall be a tender in all cases whatever." He adds: "The number of these people amount in Massachusetts to about one fifth part of several populous counties, and to them may be collected people of similar sentiments from the States of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, so as to constitute a body of about twelve or fifteen thousand desperate and unprincipled men. They are chiefly of the young and active part of the community."

How melancholy is the reflection, that in so short a space we should have made such large strides towards fulfilling the predictions of our transatlantic foes! "Leave them to themselves, and their government will soon dissolve." Will not the wise and good strive hard to avert this evil? Or will their supineness suffer ignorance, and the arts of self interested, designing, disaffected, and desperate characters, to involve this great country in wretchedness and contempt? What stronger evidence can be given of the want of energy in our government, than these disorders? If there is not power in it to check them, what security has a man for life, liberty, or property? To you I am sure I need not add aught on this subject. The consequences of a lax or inefficient government are too obvious to be dwelt upon. Thirteen sovereignties pulling against each other, and all tugging at the federal head, will soon bring ruin on the whole; whereas a liberal and energetic constitution, well guarded and closely watched to prevent encroachments, might restore us to that degree of respectability and consequence to which we had a fair claim....

152. A Shrewd Foreign Observer's View of the Social Conflict over the Adoption of a New Constitution

_Louis Guillaume Otto to Vergennes_[149]

George Bancroft's _History of the Constitution_ (1882), II, Appendix, 399 ff.

PHILADELPHIA, October 10, 1786.

[The letter first describes the failure of the Annapolis Convention.]

The people are not ignorant that the natural consequences of an increase of power in the government would be a regular collection of taxes, a strict administration of justice, extraordinary duties on imports, =_rigorous executions against debtors_=--in short, =_a marked preponderance of rich men and of large proprietors_=.

It is, however, for the interest of the people to guard as much as possible the absolute freedom granted them in a time when no other law was known but necessity, and when an English army, as it were, laid the foundations of the political constitution.

In those stormy times =_it was necessary_= to agree that all power ought to emanate only from the people; that everything was subject to its supreme will, and that the magistrates were only its servants.

Although there are no nobles in America, there is a class of men denominated "gentlemen," who, by reason of their wealth, their talents, their education, their families, or the offices they hold, =_aspire to a pre-eminence which the people refuse to grant them_=; and, although many of these men have betrayed the interests of their order to gain popularity, =_there reigns among them a connection so much the more intimate as they almost all of them dread the efforts of the people to despoil them of their possessions, and, moreover, they are creditors_=, and therefore interested in strengthening the government, and watching over the execution of the laws....

The majority of them being merchants, it is for their interest to establish the credit of the United States in Europe on a solid foundation by the exact payment of debts, and to grant to congress powers extensive enough to compel the people to contribute for this purpose. The attempt, my lord, has been vain, by pamphlets and other publications, to spread notions of justice and integrity, and to deprive the people of a freedom which they have so misused. By proposing a new organization of the federal government all minds would have been revolted; circumstances ruinous to the commerce of America have happily arisen to furnish the reformers with a pretext for introducing innovations.

They represented to the people that the American name had become opprobrious among all the nations of Europe; that the flag of the United States was everywhere exposed to insults and annoyance....

[Otto continues at length to represent that the gentry sought to secure a stronger government by inflaming the common people against foreign powers. He then declares that it was never intended that the Annapolis convention should do anything; that it was only one step in a "plot" to secure a more unfettered convention.]

The measures were so well taken that at the end of September no more than five states were represented at Annapolis, and the commissioners from the northern states tarried several days at New York, in order to retard their arrival.

The states which assembled, after having waited nearly three weeks, separated under the pretext that they were not in sufficient numbers to enter on business, and, to justify this dissolution, they addressed to the different legislatures and to congress a report, the translation of which I have the honor to enclose to you [i.e., the paper reproduced in No. 153].

In this paper the commissioners employ an infinity of circumlocutions and ambiguous phrases to show to their constituents the impossibility of taking into consideration a general plan of commerce and the powers pertaining thereto, without at the same time touching upon other objects closely connected with the prosperity and national importance of the United States.

Without enumerating these objects, the commissioners enlarge upon the present crisis of public affairs, upon the dangers to which the confederation is exposed, upon the want of credit of the United States abroad, and upon the necessity of uniting, under a single point of view, the interests of all the states.

They close by proposing, for the month of May next, a new assembly of commissioners, instructed to deliberate not only upon a general plan of commerce, but upon other matters which may concern the harmony and welfare of the states, and upon the means of rendering the federal government adequate to the exigencies of the union.

In spite of the obscurity of this document, you will perceive, my lord, that the commissioners were unwilling to take into consideration the grievances of commerce, which are of exceeding interest for the people, without at the same time perfecting the fundamental constitution of congress.

FOOTNOTES:

[148] Which was so constituted as to represent wealth rather than men, cf. _American History and Government_, # 154 and note.

[149] Otto was the French minister to the United States; Vergennes was the French minister in charge of foreign affairs at Paris.

XXVII. MAKING THE CONSTITUTION

153. Call issued by the Annapolis Convention

_Documentary History of the Constitution_, I, 1-6. For a narrative of the circumstances, cf. _American History and Government_, # 199.

Sundry of the States having in Consequence of a Resolution and Circular Letter from the State of Virginia appointed Commissioners to meet at such time and Place as should be agreed upon by them the said Commissioners, to take into Consideration the Trade and Commerce of the United States etc:--the Commissioners of Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, met at the City of Annapolis on the 11th of September 1786, but did not think it advisable to proceed on the Business of their Mission. They therefore broke up after making a Report to the States by which they had been appointed and transmitting to Congress a Copy thereof which is as follows.

To the Honorable the Legislatures of Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.

The Commissioners from the said States respectively Assembled at the City of Annapolis, humbly beg leave to Report:

That, pursuant to their several Appointments, they met at Annapolis in the State of Maryland, on the eleventh day of September Instant, and, having proceeded to a communication of their Powers, they found that the States of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia had, in substance, and nearly in the same terms, authorized their respective Commissioners "to meet such Commissioners as were or might be appointed by the other States in the Union, at such time and Place as should be agreed upon by the said Commissioners, to take into Consideration the trade and Commerce of the United States, to consider how far an uniform System in their commercial intercourse and regulations might be necessary to their common interest and permanent harmony, and _to report, to the several States_, such an Act relative to this great Object, _as when unanimously ratified by them_, would enable the United States in Congress Assembled effectually to provide for the same."

That the State of Delaware had given similar Powers to their Commissioners, with this difference only, that the Act to be framed in virtue of those Powers, is required to be reported "to the United States in Congress Assembled to be agreed to by them and Confirmed by the Legislatures of every State."

That the State of New Jersey has enlarged the Object of their Appointment, empowering their Commissioners, "to consider how far an uniform System in their Commercial Regulations, and _other important matters_, might be necessary to the common interest and permanent harmony of the several States;" and to "report such an Act on the Subject, as when ratified by them" would "enable the United States in Congress Assembled effectually to provide _for the exigencies of the Union_."

That appointments of Commissioners have also been made by the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and North Carolina, none of whom have however attended, but that no information has been received by your Commissioners of any Appointment having been made by the States of Connecticut, Maryland, South-Carolina or Georgia.

That the express terms of the Powers to your Commissioners supposing a Deputation from _all_ the States, and having for Object _the trade and Commerce of the United States_, your Commissioners did not conceive it advisable to proceed on the business of their Mission, under the Circumstance of so partial and defective a Representation.

Deeply impressed however with the magnitude and importance of the Object confided to them on this Occasion, your Commissioners cannot forbear to indulge an expression of their earnest and unanimous wish that speedy measures may be taken to effect a general meeting of the States in a future Convention, for the same, and such other Purposes, as the situation of Public Affairs may be found to require.

If in expressing this wish, or in intimating any other Sentiment, your Commissioners should seem to exceed the strict bounds of their Appointment, they entertain a full Confidence that a Conduct dictated by an anxiety for the welfare of the United States, will not fail to receive an indulgent Construction.

In this persuasion, your Commissioners submit an Opinion, that the Idea of extending the Powers of their Deputies to other Objects than those of Commerce, which has been adopted by the State of New Jersey, was an improvement on the original Plan, and will deserve to be incorporated into that of a future Convention. They are the more naturally led to which Conclusion, as in the course of the Reflections on the Subject, they have been induced to think, that the Power of regulating Trade, is of such comprehensive extent, and will enter so far into the General System of the F[oe]deral Government, that to give it efficacy, and to obviate questions and doubts concerning its precise nature and limits, may require a corresponding adjustment of other Parts of the F[oe]deral System.

That there are important defects in the System of the F[oe]deral Government, is acknowledged by the Acts of those States which have concurred in the present Meeting. That the defects, upon a closer examination may be found greater and more numerous than even these Acts imply, is at least so far probable from the embarrassments which characterize the present state of our National Affairs, foreign and domestic, as may reasonably be supposed to merit a deliberate and candid discussion, in some mode, which will unite the Sentiments and Councils of all the States. In the choice of the mode, your Commissioners are of Opinion that a Convention of Deputies from the different States, for the special and sole purpose of entering into this investigation and digesting a Plan for supplying such defects as may be discovered to exist, will be entitled to a preference, from Considerations which will occur without being particularized.

Your Commissioners decline an enumeration of those National Circumstances on which their Opinion respecting the Propriety of a future Convention with more enlarged Powers is founded; as it would be an useless intrusion of facts and Observations, most of which have been frequently the Subject of Public Discussion, and none of which can have escaped the penetration of those to whom they would in this instance be addressed. They are however of a nature so serious as, in the View of your Commissioners, to render the situation of the United States delicate and critical, calling for an exertion of the united Virtue and Wisdom of all the Members of the Confederacy.

Under this Impression Your Commissioners, with the most respectful deference, beg leave to suggest =_their unanimous conviction that it may essentially tend to advance the interests of the Union, if the States by whom they have been respectively delegated would themselves concur, and use their endeavours to procure the concurrence of the other States, in the Appointment of Commissioners to meet at Philadelphia on the second Monday in May next, to take into Consideration the situation of the United States, to devise such further Provisions as shall appear to them necessary to render the Constitution of the F[oe]deral Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union; and to report such an Act for that purpose to the United States in Congress Assembled, as when "agreed to by them and afterwards confirmed by the Legislatures of every State" will effectually provide for the same_=.

Though your Commissioners could not with propriety address these Observations and Sentiments to any but the States they have the honor to Represent, they have nevertheless concluded, from motives of respect, to transmit Copies of this Report, to the United States in Congress Assembled, and to the Executives of the other States.

By Order of the Commissioners John Dickinson, Chairman

Dated at Annapolis September 14th 1786.

154. Appointment of Delegates: Credentials (Georgia)

_Records of the Federal Convention_ (Farrand), III, 576-577.

Georgia is here selected for illustration, because of the emphasis upon the sovereignty of the State in the forms used.

GEORGIA

By the Honorable GEORGE MATHEWS Esquire, Captain General, Governor and Commander in Chief, in and over the said State aforesaid.

To all to whom these Presents shall come Greeting.

KNOW YE that JOHN MILTON Esquire, who hath certified the annexed Copy of an Ordinance intituled "An Ordinance for the appointment of Deputies from this State for the purpose of revising the F[oe]deral Constitution"--is Secretary of the said State in whose Office the Archives of the same are deposited. Therefore all due faith, Credit and Authority are and ought to be had and given the same.

IN TESTIMONY whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the said State to be put and affixed at _Augusta_, this Twenty fourth day of April in the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and eighty seven and of _our_ Sovereignty and Independence the Eleventh.

GEO. (Seal) MATHEWS.

By his Honor's Command J. MILTON Secy

AN ORDINANCE for the appointment of Deputies from this State for the purpose of revising the F[oe]deral Constitution.

BE IT ORDAINED by the Representatives of the Freemen of the State of Georgia in General Assembly met and by the Authority of the same, that WILLIAM FEW, ABRAHAM BALDWIN, WILLIAM PIERCE, GEORGE WALTON, WILLIAM HOUSTOUN and NATHANIEL PENDLETON ESQUIRES, Be, and they are hereby appointed Commissioners, who, =_or any two or more of them_= are hereby authorized as Deputies from this State to meet such deputies as maybe appointed and authorized by other States to assemble in Convention at Philadelphia and to join with them in devising and discussing all such Alterations and farther Provisions as may be necessary to render the Federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of the Union, and in reporting such an Act for that purpose to the United States in Congress Assembled as _when agreed to by them, and duly confirmed by the several States_ will effectually provide for the same. In case of the death of any of the said Deputies, or of their declining their appointments, the Executive are hereby authorized to supply such Vacancies.

By Order of the House (signed) WM GIBBONS Speaker. Augusta the 10th February 1787.

Georgia. Secretary's Office

The above is a true Copy from the Original Ordinance deposited in my Office.

Augusta } 24 April 1787. } J. MILTON, Secretary.

_The State of Georgia by the grace of God free, Sovereign and Independent_

To the Honorable WILLIAM PIERCE, Esquire.

WHEREAS you, the said William Pierce, are in and by an Ordinance of the General Assembly of our said State Nominated and Appointed a Deputy to represent the same in a Convention of the United States to be assembled at Philadelphia, for the Purposes of devising and discussing such Alterations and farther Provisions as may be necessary to render the F[oe]deral Constitution adequate to the exigencies of the Union.

You are therefore hereby Commissioned to proceed on the duties required of you in virtue of the said Ordinance

Witness our trusty and well beloved _George Mathews_ Esquire, our[150] Captain General, Governor, and Commander in Chief, under his hand and our Great Seal at Augusta this Seventeenth day of April in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven and of our Sovereignty and Independence the Eleventh.[151]

GEO: MATHEWS (Seal) By His Honor's Command. J. Milton. Secy.

[Like commissions for the other delegates.]

155. George Mason on the Preliminaries at Philadelphia

_George Mason to George Mason, Jr._

_Records of the Federal Convention_ (Farrand), III, 22-24.

PHILADELPHIA, May 20th, 1787.

... Upon our arrival here on Thursday evening, seventeenth May, I found only the States of Virginia and Pennsylvania fully represented; and there are at this time only five--New York, the two Carolinas, and the two before mentioned. All the States, Rhode Island excepted, have made their appointments; but the members drop in slowly; some of the deputies from the Eastern States are here, but none of them have yet a sufficient representation, and it will probably be several days before the Convention will be authorized to proceed to business. The expectations and hopes of all the Union centre in this Convention. God grant that we may be able to concert effectual means of preserving our country from the evils which threaten us.

The Virginia deputies (who are all here) meet and confer together two or three hours every day, in order to form a proper correspondence of sentiments; and for form's sake, to see what new deputies are arrived, and to grow into some acquaintance with each other, we regularly meet every day at three o'clock. These and some occasional conversations with the deputies of different States and with some of the general officers of the late army (who are here upon a general meeting of the Cincinnati), are the only opportunities I have hitherto had of forming any opinion upon the great subject of our mission, and, consequently, a very imperfect and indecisive one. Yet, upon the great principles of it, I have reason to hope there will be greater unanimity and less opposition, except from the little States, than was at first apprehended. The most prevalent idea in the principal States seems to be a total alteration of the present federal system, and substituting a great national council or parliament, consisting of two branches of the legislature, founded upon the principles of equal proportionate representation, with full legislative powers upon all the subjects of the Union; and an executive: and to make the several State legislatures subordinate to the national, by giving the latter the power of a negative upon all such laws as they shall judge contrary to the interest of the federal Union ... and what is a very extraordinary phenomenon, we are likely to find the republicans, on this occasion, issue from the Southern and Middle States, and the anti-republicans from the Eastern; however extraordinary this may at first seem, it may, I think be accounted for from a very common and natural impulse of the human mind. Men disappointed in expectations too hastily and sanguinely formed, tired and disgusted with the unexpected evils they have experienced, and anxious to remove them as far as possible, are very apt to run into the opposite extreme; and the people of the Eastern States, setting out with more republican principles, have consequently been more disappointed than we have been....

156. The Virginia Plan

_Records of the Federal Convention_ (Farrand), I, 20-22, for May 29. For history of the plan, cf. _American History and Government_, # 202. On the opening day of the Philadelphia Convention for business Mr. Randolph, after a brilliant speech, introduced the following resolutions in behalf of the Virginia delegation.

1. Resolved that the articles of Confederation ought to be so corrected and enlarged as to accomplish the objects proposed by their institution; namely, "common defence, security of liberty and general welfare."

2. Resd. therefore that the rights of suffrage in the National Legislature ought to be proportioned to the Quotas of contribution, or to the number of free inhabitants, as the one or the other rule may seem best in different cases.

3. Resd. that the National Legislature ought to consist of two branches.

4. Resd. that the members of the first branch of the National Legislature ought to be elected by the people of the several States every ---- for the term of ----; to be of the age of ---- years at least; to receive liberal stipends by which they may be compensated for the devotion of their time to public service; to be ineligible to any office established by a particular State, or under the authority of the United States, except those peculiarly belonging to the functions of the first branch, during the term of service, and for the space of ---- after its expiration; to be incapable of re-election for the space of ---- after the expiration of their term of service, and to be subject to recall.

5. Resd. that the members of the second branch of the National Legislature ought to be elected by those of the first, out of a proper number of persons nominated by the individual Legislatures, to be of the age of ---- years at least; to hold their offices for a term sufficient to ensure their independency; to receive liberal stipends, by which they may be compensated for the devotion of their time to public service; and to be ineligible to any office established by a particular State, or under the authority of the United States, except those peculiarly belonging to the functions of the second branch, during the term of service, and for the space of ---- after the expiration thereof.

6. Resolved that each branch ought to possess the right of originating Acts; that the National Legislature ought to be impowered to enjoy the Legislative Rights vested in Congress by the Confederation and moreover to legislate in all cases to which the separate states are incompetent, or in which the harmony of the United States may be interrupted by the exercise of individual Legislation; to negative all laws passed by the several States, contravening in the opinion of the National Legislature the articles of Union; and to call forth the force of the Union against any member of the Union failing to fulfill its duty under the articles thereof.

7. Resd. that a National Executive be instituted; to be chosen by the National Legislature for the term of ---- years, to receive punctually at stated times, a fixed compensation for the services rendered, in which no increase or diminution shall be made so as to affect the Magistracy existing at the time of increase or diminution, and to be ineligible a second time; and that besides a general authority to execute the National laws, it ought to enjoy the Executive rights vested in Congress by the Confederation.

8. Resd. that the Executive and a convenient number of the National Judiciary, ought to compose a council of revision with authority to examine every act of the National Legislature before it shall operate, and every act of a particular Legislature before a Negative thereon shall be final; and that the dissent of the said Council shall amount to a rejection, unless the Act of the National Legislature be again passed, or that of a particular Legislature be again negatived by ---- of the members of each branch.

9. Resd. that a National Judiciary be established to consist of one or more supreme tribunals, and of inferior tribunals to be chosen by the National Legislature, to hold their offices during good behaviour; and to receive punctually at stated times fixed compensation for their services, in which no increase or diminution shall be made so as to affect the persons actually in office at the time of such increase or diminution that the jurisdiction of the inferior tribunals shall be to hear and determine in the first instance, and of the supreme tribunal to hear and determine in the dernier resort, all piracies and felonies of the high seas, captures from an enemy; cases in which foreigners or citizens of other States applying to such jurisdiction may be interested, or which respect the collection of the National revenue; impeachments of any National officers, and questions which may involve the national peace and harmony.

10. Resd. that provision ought to be made for the admission of States lawfully arising within the limits of the United States, whether from a voluntary junction of Government and Territory or otherwise, with the consent of a number of voices in the National legislature less than the whole.

11. Resd. that a Republican Government and the territory of each State, except in the instance of a voluntary junction of Government and territory, ought to be guaranteed by the United States to each State.

12. Resd. that provision ought to be made for the continuance of Congress and their authorities and privileges, until a given day after the reform of the articles of Union shall be adopted, and for the completion of all their engagements.

13. Resd. that provision ought to be made for the amendment of the Articles of Union whensoever it shall seem necessary; and that the assent of the National Legislature ought not to be required thereto.

14. Resd. that the Legislative Executive and Judiciary powers within the several States ought to be bound by oath to support the articles of Union.

15. Resd. that the amendments which shall be offered to the Confederation by the Convention, ought at a proper time, or times, after the approbation of Congress to be submitted to an assembly or assemblies of Representatives, recommended by the several Legislatures to be expressly chosen by the people to consider and decide thereon.

157. George Mason on the Convention and its Aristocratic Tendencies (June, 1787)

_George Mason to George Mason, Jr._

Records of the Federal Convention (Farrand), III, 32-33

PHILADELPHIA, June 1, 1787.

... Virginia has had the honor of presenting the outlines of the plan upon which the convention is proceeding; but so slowly that it is impossible to judge when the business will be finished, most probably not before August--_festina lente_ may very well be called our motto. =_When I first came here, judging from casual conversations with gentlemen from the different States, I was very apprehensive that, soured and disgusted with the unexpected evils we had experienced from the democratic principles of our governments, we should be apt to run into the opposite extreme and in endeavoring to steer too far from Scylla, we might be drawn into the vortex of Charybdis, of which I still think there is some danger_=,[152] though I have the pleasure to find in the convention, many men of fine republican principles. America has certainly, upon this occasion, drawn forth her first characters; there are upon this Convention many gentlemen of the most respectable abilities, and so far as I can discover, of the purest intentions. The eyes of the United States are turned upon this assembly, and their expectations raised to a very anxious degree....

All communications of the proceedings are forbidden during the sitting of the Convention; this I think was a necessary precaution to prevent misrepresentations or mistakes; there being a material difference between the appearance of a subject in its first crude and undigested shape, and after it shall have been properly matured and arranged.

158. The New Jersey Plan

_Records of the Federal Convention_ (Farrand), I, 242-245 (for June 15). The Convention, in committee of the whole, in two weeks of debate, had adopted nineteen resolutions based upon the fifteen in the Virginia Plan above. Action upon this report of the committee of the whole was then interrupted by the presentation of the following plan on which the "Small States" had now agreed.

Mr. _Patterson_ [New Jersey] laid before the Convention the plan which he said several of the deputations wished to be substituted in place of that proposed by Mr. Randolph. After some little discussion of the most proper mode of giving it a fair deliberation it was agreed that it should be referred to a Committee of the Whole, and that in order to place the two plans in due comparison, the other should be recommitted. At the earnest desire of Mr. Lansing [New Jersey], and some other gentlemen, it was also agreed that the Convention should not go into Committee of the Whole on the subject till tomorrow, by which delay the friends of the plan proposed by Mr. Patterson wd. be better prepared to explain and support it, and all would have an opportunity of taking copies.--

The propositions from N. Jersey moved by Mr. Patterson were in the words following.

1. Resd. that the articles of Confederation ought to be so revised, corrected and enlarged as to render the federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of Government, and the preservation of the Union.

2. Resd. that in addition to the powers vested in the U. States in Congress, by the present existing articles of Confederation, they be authorized to pass acts for raising a revenue, by levying a duty or duties on all goods and merchandizes of foreign growth or manufacture, imported into any part of the U. States, by Stamps on paper, vellum or parchment, and by a postage on all letters or packages passing through the general post-Office, to be applied to such federal purposes as they shall deem proper and expedient; to make rules and regulations for the collection thereof; and the same from time to time to alter and amend in such manner as they shall think proper: to pass Acts for the regulation of trade and commerce as well with foreign nations as with each other: provided that all punishments, fines, forfeitures and penalties, to be incurred for contravening such acts rules and regulations shall be adjudged by the Common law judiciaries of the State in which any offence contrary to the true intent and meaning of such Acts rules and regulations shall have been committed or perpetrated, with liberty of commencing in the first instance all suits and prosecutions for that purpose in the superior Common law Judiciary in such State, subject nevertheless, for the correction of all errors, both in law and fact in rendering judgment, to an appeal to the Judiciary to the U. States.

3. Resd. that whenever requisitions shall be necessary, instead of the rule for making requisitions mentioned in the articles of Confederation, the United States in Congs. be authorized to make such requisitions in proportion to the whole number of white and other free citizens and inhabitants of every age sex and condition including those bound to servitude for a term of years and three fifths of all other persons not comprehended in the foregoing description, except Indians not paying taxes; that if such requisitions be not complied with, in the time specified therein, to direct the collection thereof in the non complying States and for that purpose to devise and pass acts directing and authorizing the same; provided that none of the powers hereby vested in the U. States in Congs. shall be exercised without the consent of at least ---- States, and in that proportion, if the number of Confederated States should hereafter be increased or diminished.

4. Resd. that the U. States in Congs. be authorized to elect a federal Executive to consist of ---- persons, to continue in office for the term of ---- years, to receive punctually at stated times a fixed compensation for their services, in which no increase or diminution, shall be made so as to affect the persons composing the Executive at the time of such increase or diminution, to be paid out of the federal treasury; to be incapable of holding any other office or appointment during their time of service and for ---- years thereafter; to be ineligible a second time, and removeable by Congs. on application by a majority of the Executives of the several States; that the Executives besides their general authority to execute the federal acts ought to appoint all federal officers not otherwise provided for, and to direct all military operations; provided that none of the persons composing the federal Executive shall on any occasion take command of any troops, so as personally to conduct any enterprise as General, or in other capacity.

5. Resd. that a federal judiciary be established to consist of a supreme Tribunal the Judges of which to be appointed by the Executive, and to hold their offices during good behaviour, to receive punctually at stated times a fixed compensation for their services in which no increase or diminution shall be made, so as to affect the persons actually in office at the time of such increase or diminution; that the Judiciary so established shall have authority to hear and determine in the first instance on all impeachments of federal officers, and _by way of appeal, in the dernier resort, in all cases touching the rights of Ambassadors, in all cases of captures from an enemy, in all cases of piracies and felonies on the high seas, in all cases in which foreigners may be interested, in the construction of any treaty or treaties, or which may arise on any of the Acts for regulation of trade, or the collection of the federal Revenue_: that none of the Judiciary shall during the time they remain in Office be capable of receiving or holding any other office or appointment during their time of service, or for ---- thereafter.

6. =Resd. that all Acts of the U. States in Congs. made by virtue and in pursuance of the powers hereby and by the articles of confederation vested in them, and all Treaties made and ratified under the authority of the U. States shall be the supreme law of the respective States so far forth as those Acts or Treaties shall relate to the said States or their Citizens, and _that the Judiciary of the several States_ shall be bound thereby in their decisions, any thing in the respective laws of the individual States to the contrary notwithstanding=; and that if any State or any body of men in any State shall oppose or prevent the carrying into execution such acts or treaties, the federal Executive shall be authorized to call forth the power of the Confederated States, or so much thereof as may be necessary to enforce and compel an obedience to such Acts or an Observance of such Treaties.

7. Resd. that provision be made for the admission of new States into the Union.

8. Resd. the rule for naturalization ought to be the same in every State.

9. Resd. that a Citizen of one State committing an offence in another State of the Union, shall be deemed guilty of the sane offence as if it had been committed by a Citizen of the State in which the Offence was committed.

Adjourned

159. Hamilton's Plan

On June 18, Hamilton occupied nearly the whole session with an argument for a government stronger and more centralized even than the Virginia Plan--to meet the advocates of the New Jersey Plan by taking high ground. During this address he presented his own Plan (not what he thought attainable, but desirable). The paper given below (from Hamilton's _Works_, Federalist edition, I, 401 ff.) seems to have been prepared to assist the delivery of this address, as a sort of brief. The address itself is reported by Madison (_Journal_, for June 18) much more at length, but with many of the same phrases. The student would do well to compare the two. Copious extracts from that speech, and from other words of Hamilton in the Convention, are quoted in _American History and Government_, # 200.

All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and well-born; the other, the mass of the people. ... The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right. Give therefore to the first class [the few] a distinct _permanent_ share in the government. They will check the unsteadiness of the second; and, as they cannot receive any advantage by a change, they therefore will ever maintain good government. ... Nothing but a _permanent_ body can check the imprudence of democracy. Their turbulent and uncontrollable disposition requires checks....

It is admitted that you cannot have a good Executive upon a democratic plan. See the excellency of the British Executive. He is placed above temptation. He can have no distinct interests from the public welfare. =Nothing short of such an executive can be efficient. ... Let one body of the Legislature be constituted during good behavior or life.= Let one Executive be appointed who dares execute his powers. It may be asked: Is this a republican system? It is strictly so, as long as they remain elective. And let me observe that an Executive is less dangerous to the liberties of the people when in office during life, than for seven years. ... =Let electors be appointed in each of the States to elect the Legislature=, to consist of two branches; and I would give them [the national legislature] the _unlimited power of passing all laws, without exception_. The Assembly to be elected for three years by the people in districts. The Senate to be elected by electors to be chosen for that purpose by the people, and to remain in office during life. _The Executive to have the power of negativing all laws_; to make war and peace, with their [Senate's] advice, but to have sole direction of all military operations, and to send ambassadors, and appoint all military officers; and to pardon all offenders, treason excepted, unless by advice of the Senate ... Supreme judicial officers to be appointed by the Executive and the Senate.

The Legislature to appoint courts in each State, _so as to make the State governments unnecessary to it_. All state laws which contravene the general laws to be absolutely void. _An officer to be appointed in each State to have a negative on all State laws. ..._

160. Character Sketches of Delegates by William Pierce

_Records of the Federal Convention_, III, 87 ff.

Pierce was a delegate from Georgia. It is not known just when he composed these sketches.

From New Hampshire.

Mr. Langdon is a man of considerable fortune....

From Massachusetts.

Rufus King, Natl. Gorham, Gerry and Jno. [Caleb] Strong Esquires.

Mr. King is a Man much distinguished for his eloquence and great parliamentary talents. He was educated in Massachusetts and is said to have good classical as well as legal knowledge. He has served for three years in the Congress of the United States with great and deserved applause, and is at this time high in the confidence and approbation of his Countrymen. This Gentleman is about thirty three years of age, about five feet ten Inches high, well formed, an handsome face, with a strong expressive Eye, and a sweet high toned voice. In his public speaking there is something peculiarly strong and rich in his expression, clear, and convincing in his arguments, rapid and irresistible at times in his eloquence but he is not always equal. His action is natural, swimming and graceful, but there is a rudeness of manner sometimes accompanying it. But take him _tout en semble_, he may with propriety be ranked among the Luminaries of the present Age.

Mr. Gorham is a Merchant in Boston....

Mr. Gerry's character is marked for integrity and perseverance. He is a hesitating and laborious speaker;--possesses a great degree of confidence and goes extensively into all subjects that he speaks on, without respect to elegance or flower of diction. He is connected and sometimes clear in his arguments, conceives well, and cherishes as his virtue, a love for his Country. Mr. Gerry is very much of a Gentleman in his principles and manners;--he has been engaged in the mercantile line and is a Man of property. He is about 37 years of age.

From Connecticut.

Saml. Johnson, Roger Sherman, and W. [Oliver] Elsworth Esquires.

* * * * *

Mr. Sherman exhibits the oddest shaped character I ever remember to have met with. He is awkward, un-winning, and unaccountably strange in his manner. But in his train of thinking there is something regular, deep and comprehensive; yet the oddity of his address, the vulgarisms that accompany his public speaking, and that strange New England cant that runs through his public as well as his private speaking make everything that is connected with him grotesque and laughable;--and yet he deserves infinite praise,--no Man has a better Heart or a clearer Head. If he cannot embellish he can furnish thoughts that are wise and useful. He is an able politician and extremely artful in accomplishing any particular object;--and it is remarked that he seldom fails. I am told he sits on the bench in Connecticut, and is very correct in the discharge of his Judicial functions. In the early part of his life he was a Shoe-maker;--but despising the lowness of his condition, he turned Almanack maker, and so progressed upwards to a Judge. He has been several years a Member of Congress, and discharged the duties of his Office with honor and credit to himself, and advantage to the State he represented. He is about 60.

Mr. Elsworth is a Judge of the Supreme Court in Connecticut;--he is a Gentleman of a clear, deep, and copious understanding; eloquent, and connected in public debate; and always attentive to his duty. He is very happy in a reply, and choice in selecting such parts of his adversary's arguments as he finds make the strongest impressions,--in order to take off the force of them, so as to admit the power of his own. Mr. Elsworth is about 37 years of age, a Man much respected for his integrity, and venerated for his abilities.

From New York.

Alexander Hamilton, [Robert] Yates, and W. [John] Lansing Esquires.

Colo. Hamilton is deservedly celebrated for his talents. He is a practitioner of the Law, and reputed to be a finished Scholar. To a clear and strong judgment he unites the ornaments of fancy, and whilst he is able, convincing, and engaging in his eloquence the Heart and Head sympathize in approving him. Yet there is something too feeble in his voice to be equal to the strains of oratory;--it is my opinion that he is rather a convincing Speaker, that [than] a blazing Orator. Colo. Hamilton requires time to think,--he enquires into every part of his subject with the searchings of philosophy, and when he comes forward he comes highly charged with interesting matter. There is no skimming over the surface of a subject with him, he must sink to the bottom to see what foundation it rests on.--His language is not always equal, sometimes didactic like Bolingbroke's at others light and tripping like Stern's. His eloquence is not so diffusive as to trifle with the senses, but he rambles just enough to strike and keep up the attention. He is about 33 years old, of small stature, and lean. His manners are tinctured with stiffness, and sometimes with a degree of vanity that is highly disagreeable.

Mr. Yates is said to be an able Judge. He is a Man of great legal abilities, but not distinguished as an Orator. Some of his Enemies say he is an anti-federal Man, but I discovered no such disposition in him. He is about 45 years old, and enjoys a great share of health.

Mr. Lansing is a practicing Attorney at Albany, and Mayor of that Corporation. He has a hesitation in his speech, that will prevent his being an Orator of any eminence;--his legal knowledge I am told is not extensive, nor his education a good one. He is however a Man of good sense, plain in his manners, and sincere in his friendships. He is about 32 years of age.

From New Jersey.

Wm. Livingston, David Brearly, Wm. Patterson, and Jonn. Dayton, Esquires.

Governor Livingston is confessedly a Man of the first rate talents, but he appears to me rather to indulge a sportiveness of wit, than a strength of thinking. He is however equal to anything, from the extensiveness of his education and genius. His writings teem with satyr and a neatness of style. But he is no Orator, and seems little acquainted with the guiles of policy. He is about 60 years old, and remarkably healthy.

Mr. Brearly is a man of good, rather than of brilliant parts. He is a Judge of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and is very much in the esteem of the people. As an Orator he has little to boast of, but as a Man he has every virtue to recommend him. Mr. Brearly is about 40 years of age.

M. Patterson is one of those kind of Men whose powers break in upon you, and create wonder and astonishment. He is a Man of great modesty, with looks that bespeak talents of no great extent,--but he is a Classic, a Lawyer, and an Orator;--and of a disposition so favorable to his advancement that every one seemed ready to exalt him with their praises. He is very happy in the choice of time and manner of engaging in a debate, and never speaks but when he understands his subject well. This Gentleman is about 34 years of age, of a very low stature.

Capt. Dayton is a young Gentleman of talents, with ambition to exert them. He possesses a good education, and some reading; he speaks well, and seems desirous of improving himself in Oratory. There is an impetuosity in his temper that is injurious to him; but there is an honest rectitude about him that makes him a valuable Member of Society, and secures to him the esteem of all good Men. He is about 30 years old, served with me as a Brother Aid to General Sullivan in the Western expedition of '79.

From Pennsylvania.

Benja. Franklin, Thos. Mifflin, Robt. Morris, Geo. Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimmons, Jared Ingersol, James Wilson, Governeur Morris.

Dr. Franklin is well known to be the greatest philosopher of the present age;--all the operations of nature he seems to understand,--the very heavens obey him, and the Clouds yield up their Lightning to be imprisoned in his rod. But what claim he has to the politician posterity must determine. It is certain that he does not shine much in public Council,--he is no Speaker, nor does he seem to let politics engage his attention. He is, however, a most extraordinary Man, and tells a story in a style more engaging that anything I ever heard. Let his Biographer finish his character. He is 82 years old, and possesses an activity of mind equal to a youth of 25 years of age.

* * * * *

Robert Morris is a merchant of great eminence and wealth; an able Financier, and a worthy Patriot. He has an understanding equal to any public object, and possesses an energy of mind that few Men can boast of. Although he is not learned, yet he is as great as those who are. I am told that when he speaks in the Assembly of Pennsylvania, that he bears down all before him. What could have been his reason for not Speaking in the Convention I know not,--but he never spoke on any point. This Gentleman is about 50 years of age....

Mr. Fitzsimmons is a Merchant of considerable talents....

* * * * *

Mr. Ingersol is a very able Attorney, and possesses a clear legal understanding. He is well educated in the Classics and is a Man of very extensive reading. Mr. Ingersol speaks well, and comprehends his subject fully. There is a modesty in his character that keeps him back. He is about 36 years old.

Mr. Wilson ranks among the foremost in legal and political knowledge. He has joined to a fine genius all that can set him off and show him to advantage. He is well acquainted with Man, and understands all the passions that influence him.

Government seems to have been his peculiar Study, all the political institutions of the World he knows in detail, and can trace the causes and effects of every revolution from the earliest stages of the Grecian commonwealth down to the present time. No man is more clear, copious, and comprehensive than Mr. Wilson, yet he is no great Orator. He draws the attention not by the charm of his eloquence, but by the force of his reasoning. He is about 45 years old.

Mr. Governeur Morris is one of those Genius's in whom every species of talents combine to render him conspicuous and flourishing in public debate:--He winds through all the mazes of rhetoric, and throws around him such a glare that he charms, captivates, and leads away the senses of all who hear him. With an infinite stretch of fancy he brings to view things when he is engaged in deep argument, that render all the labor of reasoning easy and pleasing. But with all these powers he is fickle and inconstant,--never pursuing one train of thinking,--nor ever regular. He has gone through a very extensive course of reading, and is acquainted with all the sciences. No Man has more wit,--nor can any one engage the attention more than Mr. Morris. He was bred to the Law, but I am told he disliked the profession, and turned merchant. He is engaged in some great mercantile matters with his namesake Mr. Robt Morris. This Gentleman is about 38 years old, he has been unfortunate in losing one of his Legs, and getting all the flesh taken off his right arm by a scald, when a youth.

From Delaware.

John Dickinson, Gunning Bedford, Geo: Richd. Bassett, and Jacob Broom Esquires.

Mr. Dickinson has been famed through all America, for his Farmers Letters; he is a Scholar, and said to be a Man of very extensive information. When I saw him in the Convention I was induced to pay the greatest attention to him whenever he spoke. I had often heard that he was a great Orator, but I found him an indifferent Speaker. With an affected air of wisdom he labors to produce a trifle,--his language is irregular and incorrect,--his flourishes (for he sometimes attempts them), are like expiring flames, they just shew themselves and go out;--no traces of them are left on the mind to chear or animate it. He is, however, a good writer and will ever be considered one of the most important characters in the United States. He is about 55 years old, and was bred a Quaker.

Mr. Bedford was educated for the Bar, and in his profession I am told has merit. He is a bold and nervous Speaker, and has a very commanding and striking manner;--but he is warm and inpetuous in his temper, and precipitate in his judgment. [Cf. No. 161.] Mr. Bedford is about 32 years old, and very corpulent.

* * * * *

From Maryland.

Luther Martin, Jas. McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas, Jenifer, and Daniel Carrol Esquires.

Mr. Martin was educated for the Bar, and is Attorney general for the State of Maryland. This Gentleman possesses a good deal of information, but he has a very bad delivery, and so extremely prolix, that he never speaks without tiring the patience of all who hear him. He is about 34 years of age.

Mr. Jenifer is a Gentleman of fortune....

Mr. Carroll is a Man of large fortune....

From Virginia.

Genl. Geo. Washington, Geo. Wythe, Geo. Mason, Jas. Maddison Jr. Jno. Blair, Edmd. Randolph, and James McLurg.

* * * * *

Mr. Mason is a Gentleman of a remarkable strong powers, and possesses a clear and copious understanding. He is able and convincing in debate, steady and firm in his principles, and undoubtedly one of the best politicians in America. Mr. Mason is about 60 years old, with a fine strong constitution.

Mr. Maddison is a character who has long been in public life; and what is very remarkable every Person seems to acknowledge his greatness. He blends together the profound politician, with the Scholar. In the management of every great question he evidently took the lead in the Convention, and tho' he cannot be called an Orator, he is a most agreable, eloquent, and convincing Speaker. From a spirit of industry and application which he possesses in a most eminent degree, he always comes forward the best informed Man of any point in debate. The affairs of the United States, he perhaps, has the most correct knowledge of, of any Man in the Union. He has been twice a Member of Congress, and was always thought one of the ablest Members that ever sat in that Council. Mr. Maddison is about 37 years of age, a Gentleman of great modesty,--with a remarkable sweet temper. He is easy and unreserved among his acquaintances, and has a most agreable style of conversation.

Mr. Blair is one of the most respectable Men in Virginia both on account of his Family as well as his fortune....

Mr. Randolph is Governor of Virginia,--a young Gentleman in whom unite all the accomplishments of the Scholar, and the States-man. He came forward with the postulata or first principles, on which the Convention acted, and he supported them with a force of eloquence and reasoning that did him great honor. He has a most harmonious voice, a fine person and striking manners. Mr. Randolph is about 32 years of age.

* * * * *

North Carolina.

Wm. Blount, Richd. Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson, Wm. Davey, and Jno. [Alexander] Martin Esquires.

Mr. Blount is a character strongly marked for integrity and honor. He has been twice a Member of Congress, and in that office discharged his duty with ability and faithfulness. He is no Speaker, nor does he possess any of those talents that make Men shine;--he is plain, honest, and sincere. Mr. Blount is about 36 years of age.

Mr. Spaight is a worthy Man, of some abilities, and fortune. Without possessing a Genius to render him brilliant, he is able to discharge any public trust that his Country may repose in him. He is about 31 years of age....

South Carolina.

Jno. Rutledge, Chs. Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, and Pierce Butler Esquires.

Mr. Rutledge is one of those characters who was highly mounted at the commencement of the late revolution; his reputation in the first Congress gave him a distinguished rank among the American Worthies. He was bred to the Law, and now acts as one of the Chancellors of South Carolina. This Gentleman is much famed in his own State as an Orator, but in my opinion he is too rapid in his public speaking to be denominated an agreeable Orator. He is undoubtedly a man of abilities, and a Gentleman of distinction and fortune. Mr. Rutledge was once Governor of South Carolina. He is about 48 years of age.

Mr. Chas. Cotesworth Pinckney is a Gentleman of Family and fortune....

Mr. Charles Pinckney is a young Gentleman of most promising talents. He is, altho only 24 years of age, in possession of a very great variety of knowledge. Government, Law, History, and Philosophy are his favorite studies, but he is intimately acquainted with many species of polite learning....

* * * * *

For Georgia.

Wm. Few, Abraham Baldwin, Wm. Pierce, and Wm. Houstoun Esqrs.

Mr. Few possesses a strong natural Genius, and from application has acquired some knowledge of legal matters; and he practices at the bar of Georgia, and speaks tolerably well in the Legislature. He has been twice a Member of Congress, and served in that capacity with fidelity to his State, and honor to himself. Mr. Few is about 35 years of age.

Mr. Baldwin is a Gentleman of superior abilities, and joins in a public debate with great art and eloquence. Having laid the foundation of a compleat classical education at Harvard College, he pursues every other study with ease. He is well acquainted with Books and Characters, and has an accommodating turn of mind, which enables him to gain the confidence of Men, and to understand them. He is a practicing Attorney in Georgia, and has been twice a Member of Congress. Mr. Baldwin is about 38 years of age.

Mr. Houstoun is an Attorney at Law. ... He is a Gentleman of Family, and was educated in England. As to his legal or political knowledge, he has very little to boast of. Nature seems to have done more for his corporeal than mental powers. His person is striking....

161. One Day in the Philadelphia Convention

Madison's _Journal_. The day chosen was the closing day of debate on the "Connecticut Compromise" proposition, when the Convention came near disruption. For the narrative, cf. _American History and Government_, # 203.

SATURDAY, JUNE 30th

_In Convention,_--Mr. BREARLY [New Jersey][153] moved that the President write to the Executive of New Hampshire, informing it that the business depending before the Convention was of such a nature as to require the immediate attendance of the Deputies of that State. In support of his motion, he observed that the difficulties of the subject, and the diversity of opinions called for all the assistance we could possibly obtain. (It was well understood that the object was to add New Hampshire to the number of States opposed to the doctrine of proportional representation, which it was presumed, from her relative size, she must be adverse to.)

Mr. PATTERSON [New Jersey] seconded the motion.

Mr. RUTLEDGE [South Carolina] could see neither the necessity nor propriety of such a measure. They are not unapprised of the meeting, and can attend if they choose.

Rhode Island might as well be urged to appoint and send deputies. Are we to suspend the business until the Deputies arrive? If we proceed, he hoped all the great points would be adjusted before the letter could produce its effect.

Mr. KING [Massachusetts] said he had written more than once as a private correspondent, and the answer gave him every reason to expect that State would be represented very shortly, if it should be so at all. Circumstances of a personal nature had hitherto prevented it. A letter could have no effect.

Mr. WILSON [Pennsylvania] wished to know, whether it would be consistent with rule or reason of secrecy, to communicate to New Hampshire that the business was of such a nature as the motion described. It would spread a great alarm. Besides he doubted the propriety of soliciting any State on the subject, the meeting being merely voluntary.

On motion of Mr. BREARLY.

New York, New Jersey, aye--2; Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, no--5; Maryland divided; Pennsylvania, Delaware, Georgia, not on the floor.

The motion of Mr. ELLSWORTH being resumed, for allowing each State an equal vote in the second branch,--[154]

Mr. WILSON did not expect such a motion after the establishment of the contrary principle in the first branch; and considering the reasons which would oppose it, even if an equal vote had been allowed in the first branch. The gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. ELLSWORTH) had pronounced, that if the motion should not be acceded to, of all the States north of Pennsylvania one only would agree to any General Government. He entertained more favourable hopes of Connecticut and of the other Northern States. He hoped the alarms exceeded their cause, and that they would not abandon a country to which they were bound by so many strong and endearing ties. But should the deplored event happen, it would neither stagger his sentiments nor his duty. _If the minority of the people of America refuse to coalesce with the majority on just and proper principles; if a separation must take place, it could never happen on better grounds._ The votes of yesterday against the just principle of representation were as twenty-two to ninety of the people of America. Taking the opinions to be the same on this point, and he was sure, if there was any room for change, it could not be on the side of the majority, the question will be, shall less than one-fourth of the United States withdraw themselves from the Union, or shall more than three-fourths renounce the inherent, indisputable and unalienable rights of men, in favor of the artificial system of States? If issue must be joined, it was on this point he would choose to join it. The gentleman from Connecticut, in supposing that the preponderance secured to the majority in the first branch had removed the objections to an equality of votes in the second branch for the security of the minority, narrowed the case extremely. Such an equality will enable the minority to control, in all cases whatsoever, the sentiments and interests of the majority. Seven States will control six: seven States, according to the estimates that had been used, composed twenty-four ninetieths of the whole people. It would be in the power, then, of less than one-third to overrule two-thirds, whenever a question should happen to divide the States in that manner....

Mr. ELLSWORTH. The capital objection of Mr. WILSON, "that the minority will rule the majority," is not true. =_The power is given to the few to save them from being destroyed by the many._= If an equality of votes had been given to them in both branches, the objection might have weight. Is it a novel thing that the few should have a check on the many? Is it not the case in the British Constitution, the wisdom of which so many gentlemen have united in applauding? Have not the House of Lords, who form so small a proportion of the nation, a negative on the laws, as a necessary defence of their peculiar rights against the encroachments of the Commons? No instance of a confederacy has existed in which an equality of voices has not been exercised by the members of it. We are running from one extreme to another. We are razing the foundations of the building, when we need only repair the roof. No salutary measure has been lost for want of _a majority of the States_ to favor it. If security be all that the great States wish for, the first branch secures them. The danger of combinations among them is not imaginary. Although no particular abuses could be foreseen by him the possibility of them would be sufficient to alarm him. But he could easily conceive cases in which they might result from such combinations. Suppose, that, in pursuance of some commercial treaty or arrangement, three or four free ports and no more were to be established, would not combinations be formed in favor of Boston, Philadelphia, and some port of the Chesapeake? A like concert might be formed in the appointment of the great offices. He appealed again to =_the obligations of the Federal compact_= [Articles of Confederation] =_in force_=, and which had been entered =_into with so much solemnity; persuading himself that some regard would still be paid to the plighted faith under which each State, small as well as great, held an equal right of suffrage in the general councils_=. His remarks were not the result of partial or local views. The State he represented (Connecticut) held a middle rank.

Mr. MADISON did justice to the able and close reasoning of Mr. ELLSWORTH, but must observe that it did not always accord with itself. On another occasion, the large States were described by him as the aristocratic States, ready to oppress the small. Now the small are the House of Lords, requiring a negative to defend them against the more numerous Commons. Mr. ELLSWORTH had also erred in saying that no instance had existed in which confederated states had not retained to themselves a perfect equality of suffrage. Passing over the German system, in which the King of Prussia has nine voices, he reminded Mr. ELLSWORTH of the Lycian confederacy, in which the component members had votes proportioned to their importance, and which Montesquieu recommends as the fittest model for that form of government. Had the fact been as stated by Mr. ELLSWORTH, it would have been of little avail to him, or rather would have strengthened the arguments against him; the history and fate of the several confederacies, modern as well as ancient, demonstrating some radical vice in their structure. In reply to the appeal of Mr. ELLSWORTH to the faith plighted in the existing federal compact, he remarked, that the party claiming from others an adherence to a common engagement, ought at least to be guiltless itself of a violation. Of all the States, however, Connecticut was perhaps least able to urge this plea. Besides the various omissions to perform the stipulated acts, from which no State was free, the Legislature of that State had, by a pretty recent vote, _positively refused_ to pass a law for complying with the requisitions of Congress, and transmitted a copy of the vote to Congress.[155] It was urged, he said, continually, that an equality of votes in the second branch was not only necessary to secure the small, but would be perfectly safe to the large ones; whose majority in the first branch was an effectual bulwark. But notwithstanding this apparent defence, the majority of States might still injure the majority of the people. ... He admitted that every peculiar interest, whether in any class of citizens or any description of States, ought to be secured as far as possible. Wherever there is danger of attack, there ought to be given a constitutional power of defence. =But he contended that the States were divided into different interests, not by their difference of size, but other circumstances; the most material of which resulted partly from climate, but principally from the effects of their having or not having slaves. These two causes concurred in forming the great division of interests in the United States. It did not lie between the large and small States. It lay between the Northern and Southern. ...=

Mr. ELLSWORTH assured the House, that, whatever might be thought of the Representatives of Connecticut, the State was entirely Federal in her disposition. He appealed to her great exertions during the war, in supplying both men and money. _The muster-rolls would show she had more troops in the field than Virginia._[156] If she had been delinquent, it had been from inability, and not more so than other States.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. MADISON animadverted on the delinquency of the States, when his object required him to prove that the constitution of Congress was faulty. Congress is not to blame for the faults of the States. Their measures have been right, and the only thing wanting has been a further power in Congress to render them effectual.

Mr. DAVIE [North Carolina] was much embarrassed, and wished for explanations. The Report of the Committee [of the Whole], allowing the Legislatures to choose the Senate, and establishing a proportional representation in it, seemed to be impracticable. There will, according to this rule, be ninety members in the outset, and the number will increase as new States are added. It was impossible that so numerous a body could possess the activity and other qualities required in it. Were he to vote on the comparative merits of the Report, as it stood, and the amendment, he should be constrained to prefer the latter.... Under this view of the subject, he could not vote for any plan for the Senate yet proposed. He thought that, in general, there were extremes on both sides. _We were partly federal, partly national, in our union_; and he did not see why the Government might not in some respects operate on the States, in others on the people.

Mr. WILSON admitted the question concerning the number of Senators to be embarrassing. If the smallest States be allowed one, and the others in proportion, the Senate will certainly be too numerous. He looked forward to the time when the smallest States will contain a hundred thousand souls at least. Let there be then one Senator in each, for every hundred thousand souls, and let the States not having that number of inhabitants be allowed one. He was willing himself to submit to this temporary concession to the small States; and threw out the idea as a ground of compromise....

Doctor FRANKLIN. The diversity of opinions turns on two points. If a proportional representation takes place, the small States contend that their liberties will be in danger. If an equality of votes is to be put in its place, the large States say their money will be in danger. When a broad table is to be made, and the edges of planks do not fit, the artist takes a little from both, and makes a good joint. In like manner, here, both sides must part from some of their demands, in order that they may join in some accommodating proposition. He had prepared one which he would read, that it might lie on the table for consideration. The proposition was in the words following:

"That the Legislatures of the several States shall choose and send an equal number of delegates, namely ..., who are to compose the second branch of the General Legislature.

"That in all cases or questions wherein the sovereignty of individual States may be affected, or whereby their authority over their own citizens may be diminished, or the authority of the General Government within the several States augmented, each State shall have equal suffrage.

"That in the appointment of all civil officers of the General Government, in the election of whom the second branch may by the constitution have part, each State shall have equal suffrage.

"That in fixing the salaries of such officers, and in all allowances for public services, and generally in all appropriations and disposition of money to be drawn out of the general Treasury; and in all laws for supplying that Treasury, the Delegates of the several States shall have suffrage in proportion to the sums which their respective States do actually contribute to the Treasury."

Where a ship had many owners, this was the rule of deciding on her expedition. He had been one of the ministers from this country to France during the joint war, and would have been very glad if allowed to vote in distributing the money to carry it on.

Mr. KING observed, that the simple question was, whether each State should have an equal vote in the second branch; that it must be apparent to those gentlemen who liked neither the motion for this quality, nor the Report as it stood, that the Report was as susceptible of melioration as the motion; that a reform would be nugatory and nominal only, if we should make another Congress of the proposed Senate; that if the adherence to an equality of votes was fixed and unalterable, there could not be less obstinacy on the other side; and that =_we were in fact cut asunder already, and it was in vain to shut our eyes against it_=. That he was, however, filled with astonishment, that, if we were convinced that every _man_ in America was secured in all his rights, we should be ready to sacrifice this substantial good to the phantom of _State_ sovereignty. That his feelings were more harrowed and his fears more agitated for his country than he could express; that he conceived this to be the last opportunity of providing for its liberty and happiness: that he could not, therefore, but repeat his amazement, that when a just government, founded on a fair representation of the _People_ of America, was within our reach, we should renounce the blessing, from an attachment to the ideal freedom and importance of _States_. That should this wonderful illusion continue to prevail, his mind was prepared for any event, rather than sit down under a Government founded on a vicious principle of representation, and which must be as short-lived as it would be unjust. He might prevail on himself to accede to some such expedient as had been hinted by Mr. WILSON; but =_he never could listen to an equality of votes, as proposed in the motion_=.

Mr. DAYTON. =_When assertion is given for proof, and terror substituted for argument, he presumed they would have no effect, however eloquently spoken._= It should have been shown that the evils we have experienced have proceeded from the equality now objected to; and that the seeds of dissolution for the State Governments are not sown in the General Government. He considered the system on the table [Virginia Plan] as a novelty, an amphibious monster; and was persuaded that it never would be received by the people.

Mr. MARTIN [Maryland] =_would never confederate, if it could not be done on just principles_= [_i.e._, giving small States equal voice in at least one House].

Mr. MADISON would acquiesce in the concession hinted by Mr. WILSON, on condition that a due independence should be given to the Senate. The plan in its present shape makes the Senate absolutely dependent on the States. The Senate, therefore, is only another edition of Congress. He knew the faults of that body, and had used a bold language against it. Still he would preserve the State rights as carefully as the trial by jury.

Mr. BEDFORD [Delaware] contended, that there was no middle way between a perfect consolidation, and a mere confederacy of the States. The first is out of the question; and in the latter they must continue, if not perfectly, yet _equally_, sovereign. If political societies possess ambition, avarice, and all the other passions which render them formidable to each other, ought we not to view them in this light here? Will not the same motives operate in America as elsewhere? If any gentleman doubts it, let him look at the votes. Have they not been dictated by interest, by ambition? =_Are not the large States evidently seeking to aggrandize themselves at the expense of the small?_= They think, no doubt, that they have right on their side, but interest has blinded their eyes. Look at Georgia. Though a small State at present, she is actuated by the prospect of soon being a great one. South Carolina is actuated both by present interest, and future prospects. She hopes, too, to see the other States cut down to her own dimensions. North Carolina has the same motives of present and future interest. Virginia follows. Maryland is not on that side of the question. Pennsylvania has a direct and future interest. Massachusetts has a decided and palpable interest in the part she takes. ... =_The three large States have a common interest to bind them together in commerce._= But whether a combination, as we supposed, shall take place among them, in either case the small States must be ruined. We must, like Solon, make such a government as the people will approve. Will the smaller States ever agree to the proposed degradation of them? It is not true that the people will not agree to enlarge the powers of the present Congress. The language of the people has been, that Congress ought to have the power of collecting an impost, and of coercing the States where it may be necessary. On the first point they have been explicit, and, in a manner, unanimous in their declarations. And must they not agree to this, and similar measures, if they ever mean to discharge their engagements? The little States are willing to observe their engagements, _=but will meet the large ones on no ground but that of the Confederation. We have been told, with dictatorial air, this is the last moment for a fair trial in favor of a good government. It will be the last, indeed, if the propositions reported from the Committee go forth to the people. He was under no apprehensions. The large States dare not dissolve the Confederation.= If they do, the small ones will find some foreign ally, of more honour and good faith, who will take them by the hand, and do them justice._ He did not mean, by this, to intimidate or alarm. It was a natural consequence, which ought to be avoided by enlarging the Federal powers, not annihilating the Federal system. This is what the people expect. All agree in the necessity of a more efficient government, and why not make such an one as they desire?

Mr. ELLSWORTH. Under a National Government, he should participate in the national security, as remarked by Mr. KING; but that was all. What he wanted was domestic happiness. The National Government could not descend to the local objects on which this depended. It could only embrace objects of a general nature. He turned his eyes, therefore, for the preservation of his rights, to the State Governments. From these alone he could derive the greatest happiness he expects in this life. His happiness depends on their existence, as much as a new-born infant on its mother for nourishment. If this reasoning was not satisfactory, he had nothing to add that could be so.

Mr. KING was for preserving the States in a subordinate degree, and as far as they could be necessary for the purposes stated by Mr. ELLSWORTH. He did not think a full answer had been given to those who apprehended a dangerous encroachment on their jurisdictions. ... He could not sit down without taking some notice of the language of the honorable gentleman from Delaware (Mr. BEDFORD). It was not he [King] that had uttered a dictatorial language. This intemperance had marked the honorable gentleman himself. It was not he [King] who, with a vehemence unprecedented in that House, had declared himself ready to turn his hopes from our common country, and court the protection of some foreign hand. This, too, was the language of the honorable member himself. He was grieved that such an expression had dropped from his lips. The gentleman could only excuse it to himself on the score of passion. For himself, _whatever might be his distress, he would never court relief from a foreign power_.

Adjourned.

[The vote, taken on the opening of the next session, is recorded as follows:

"_In Convention_,--On the question for allowing each State one vote in the second branch, as moved by Mr. ELLSWORTH, it was lost, by an equal division of votes,--Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, aye--5; Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, no--5; Georgia, divided (Mr. Baldwin aye, Mr. Houston, no)."

This was a tie, intentionally made so by the Georgia delegate who voted last. For this and for the final victory of the "Compromise," cf. _American History and Government_, # 203.]

FOOTNOTES:

[150] This was an old royal form, now used by the _State_ instead of by the King.

[151] Some States dated: "in the year of the Sovereignty and Independence of the United States the Eleventh." Others were even more specific than Georgia; as, "in the Eleventh year of the Independence of the Delaware State"; or, as in New York,--"the Eleventh year of the Independence of the Said State."

[152] Later, Mason became again convinced there was much such danger. Cf. No. 161 below.

[153] Observe the motion was a "small-State" move, opposed by the "large States" in debate as in vote.

[154] This motion had been made the day before. The Convention had previously agreed that voting in the "first branch" should be in proportion to population.

[155] This begins the rather unhappy "personalities" of the debate.

[156] Cf. note above.

XXVIII. RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION[157]

162. George Mason's Objections to the Constitution, 1787

Kate Mason Rowland's _Life of George Mason_ (1892), II, 387-390.

Mason had been one of the most enthusiastic of the Philadelphia Convention in its early stages, writing to his son, after a few weeks, that he would "bury my bones in Philadelphia" rather than injure the business by leaving prematurely, though his private affairs were pressing. But he was more democratic than the Convention, and, before its close, he came to look upon the results with suspicion. He refused to sign the completed constitution, and afterward he opposed its ratification in Virginia. Mason was the chief author of the Virginia Bill of Rights of 1776 (No. 136 above). Cf. also No. 163.

_There is no Declaration of Rights_, and, the laws of the general government being paramount to the laws and constitution of the several States, the Declaration of Rights in the separate States are no security. _Nor are the people secured even in the enjoyment of the benefit of the common law._

In the House of Representatives there is not the substance but the shadow only of representation; which can never produce proper information in the legislature, or inspire confidence in the people; the laws will therefore be generally made by men little concerned in, and unacquainted with their effects and consequences.

The Senate have the power of altering all money bills, and of originating appropriations of money, and the salaries of the officers of their own appointment, in conjunction with the president of the United States, although they are not the representatives of the people or amenable to them.

These with their other great powers (viz.: their power in the appointment of ambassadors and all public officers; in making treaties, and in trying all impeachments; their influence upon and connection with the supreme Executive from these causes; their duration of office and their being a constantly existing body, almost continually sitting; joined with their being one complete branch of the legislature) will destroy any balance in the government, and enable them to accomplish what usurpations they please upon the rights and liberties of the people.

The Judiciary of the United States is so constructed and extended, as to absorb and destroy the judiciaries of the several States; thereby rendering law as tedious, intricate and expensive, and justice as unattainable, by a great part of the community, as in England, and enabling the rich to oppress and ruin the poor.

The President of the United States has no Constitutional Council, a thing unknown in any safe and regular government. He will therefore be unsupported by proper information and advice, and will generally be directed by minions and favorites; or he will become a tool to the Senate--or a Council of State will grow out of the principal officers of the great departments; the worst and most dangerous of all ingredients for such a Council in a free country. From this fatal defect has arisen the improper power of the Senate in the appointment of public officers, and the alarming dependence and connection between that branch of the legislature and the supreme Executive.

Hence also sprung that unnecessary officer the Vice-President, who for want of other employment is made president of the Senate, thereby dangerously blending the executive and legislative powers, besides always giving to some one of the States an unnecessary and unjust preeminence over the others.

The President of the United States has the unrestrained power of granting pardons for treason, which may be sometimes exercised to screen from punishment those whom he had secretly instigated to commit the crime, and thereby prevent a discovery of his own guilt.

By declaring all treaties supreme laws of the land, the Executive and the Senate have, in many cases, an exclusive power of legislation; which might have been avoided by proper distinctions with respect to treaties, and requiring the assent of the House of Representatives, where it could be done with safety.

By requiring only a majority to make all commercial and navigation laws, the five Southern States, whose produce and circumstances are totally different from that of the eight Northern and Eastern States, may be ruined, for such rigid and premature regulations may be made as will enable the merchants of the Northern and Eastern States not only to demand an exorbitant freight, but to monopolize the purchase of the commodities at their own price, for many years, to the great injury of the landed interest, and impoverishment of the people; and the danger is the greater as the gain on one side will be in proportion to the loss on the other. Whereas requiring two-thirds of the members present in both Houses would have produced mutual moderation, promoted the general interest, and removed an insuperable objection to the adoption of this government.

=_Under their own construction of the general clause, at the end of the enumerated powers_=,[158] the Congress may grant monopolies in trade and commerce, constitute new crimes, inflict unusual and severe punishments, and extend their powers as far as they shall think proper; so that the State legislatures have no security for the powers now presumed to remain to them, or the people for their rights.

_There is no declaration of any kind, for preserving the liberty of the press, or the trial by jury in civil causes; nor against the danger of standing armies in time of peace._

The State legislatures are restrained from laying export duties on their own produce.

Both the general legislature and the State legislature are expressly prohibited making _ex post facto_ laws; though there never was nor can be a legislature but must and will make such laws, when necessity and the public safety require them; which will hereafter be a breach of all the constitutions in the Union, and afford precedents for other innovations.

=This government will set out a moderate aristocracy=: it is at present impossible to foresee whether it will, in its operation, produce a monarchy, or a corrupt, tyrannical aristocracy; it will most probably vibrate some years between the two, and then terminate in the one or the other.

The general legislature is restrained from prohibiting the further importation of slaves for twenty odd years; though such importations render the United States weaker, more vulnerable, and less capable of defence.

163. Mason's Explanation of the Preparation of his "Objections" (and Accusation of "Railroading" through the Plan of the Majority)

_George Mason to Thomas Jefferson_ [_in France_]

_Records of the Federal Convention_, III, 304-305.

VIRGINIA, GUNSTON HALL, May 26, 1788.

I make no Doubt that You have long ago received Copies of the new Constitution. ... Upon the most mature consideration I was capable of, and from Motives of sincere Patriotism, I was under the Necessity of refusing my Signature, as one of the Virginia Delegates; and drew up some general Objections; which I intended to offer, by way of Protest; but was discouraged from doing so, by the precipitate and intemperate, not to say indecent, Manner, in which the Business was conducted during the last week of the Convention, after the Patrons of this New Plan formed they had a decided Majority in their Favour: which was obtained by a Compromise between the Eastern and the two Southern States, to permit the latter to continue the Importation of Slaves for twenty odd years; a more favorite Object with them than the Liberty and Happiness of the People.

164. An Unfriendly Account of Hancock's Support of the Constitution in the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention of 1788

_Writings of Laco_, VII, 23 ff. (a series of "Letters" published by Stephen Higginson and other Federalists, in 1789, to defeat Hancock in his candidacy for reëlection to the governorship). Higginson was a Boston merchant, and a leading Federalist. The "plan" he refers to as placed in Hancock's hands, favored the adoption of the Constitution with a list of amendments to be adopted later by the new government.

There are men in every free society, who have not a common interest with the community at large; and who rely wholly on the popular affection in their favour, to give them promotion and support in publick life. ... Without abilities to make them really useful in publick life, and devoid of principles or merits that can command respect, they have no dependence but upon popular attention to bring them into view; and, having been long attentive to the popular pulse, and always acquainted with the darling object with the multitude for the time, they rarely fail to touch the right string, and to make the people subserve their own selfish and private views. ... There cannot be found within the compass of our memory, an instance, so strongly verifying the preceding observation, as that of Mr. H. and his adhering dependents....

... The course of his conduct from his reassuming the chair, to the meeting of our State Convention, for considering and adopting the new form of government for the Union, was nothing more than a renewed exhibition of the same levities, and a uniform preference of his own private interest, to that of the public.

A scene now opens upon us, very interesting and important:--The objects which [were] then presented for our consideration, were so novel, and of such magnitude, as deservedly engrossed the feelings and the attention of every man. No one could remain mute and indifferent, while the question as to the New Constitution was pending; and every one, who felt no other bias than a regard to the safety and happiness of our country, ... was most anxiously solicitous for its adoption. But the popular demagogues, and those [who] were very much embarrassed in their affairs, united to oppose it with all their might; and they laboured incessantly, night and day, to alarm the simple and credulous, by insinuating, that, however specious its appearance, and that of its advocates, tyranny and vassalage would result from its principles. The former of those descriptions were conscious, that a stable and efficient government would deprive them of all future importance, or support from the publick; and the latter of them knew, that nothing but weakness and convulsions in government could screen them from payment of their debts. How far Mr. H. was influenced by either, or both of those motives, it is not easy to determine; but no one, who recollects his general habits, who knows his situation and views, and was acquainted with the open conversation and conduct of his cabinet counsellors, can have a doubt of his being opposed to it. We all know, that Mr. Quondam, and Mr. Changeling, as well as the _once venerable old Patriot_ [Samuel Adams], who, by a notable defection, has lately thrown himself into the arms of Mr. H. in violation of every principle; and for the paltry privilege of sharing in his smiles, has, at the eve of life, cast an indelible stain over his former reputation--it is well known, I say, that these men do not dare to speak in publick a language opposite to that of their patron; and it is equally notorious, that they were open in their opposition to the Constitution--They even went so far as to vilify its compilers, that they might thence draw an argument to support their suggestions of its containing the seeds of latent tyranny and oppression. They endeavoured by every possible mean in their power, to create a popular clamour against the Constitution; but they failed in their attempt; and Mr. H. and his friends were obliged, upon their own principles to grow more cautious in their opposition. The good sense of the _Mechanicks of Boston_ had produced some manly and spirited resolutions, which effectually checked Mr. H. and his followers in their opposition to the Constitution; and eventually occasioned _four_ votes in its favour, which otherwise would have been most certainly against it. Had those resolutions not made their appearance, Mr. H. and three others of our Delegates would have been in the negative; but it was thought necessary by them, after they had appeared, to vote in favour of it. Having settled this point, the next thing was to do it with a good grace, and to profit as much by it as they could; and Mr. H. accordingly intimated to the advocates for the adoption, that he would appear in its favour, if they would make it worth his while. This intimation was given through a common friend, who assured the friends of the Constitution, that nothing more would be required on the part of Mr. H. than a promise to support him in the chair at the next election. This promise, though a bitter pill, was agreed to be given; for such was the state of things, that they were very much afraid to decide upon the question, whilst he was opposed to it. The famous conciliatory proposition of Mr. H. as it was called, was then prepared by the advocates, and adopted by him; but the truth is, he never was consulted about it, nor knew its contents, before it was handed to him to bring forward in Convention. At the appointed time, Mr. H. with all the parade of an Arbiter of States, came out with the motion, not only in the words, but the very original paper that was given him; and, with a confidence astonishing to all who were in the secret, he called it his own, and said it was the result of his own reflections on the subject, in the short intervals of ease which he had enjoyed, during a most painful disorder. In this pompous and farcical manner did he make that famous proposition, upon which he and his adherents have arrogated so much; but neither he nor they have any other merit in the case, than an attempt to deceive both parties can fairly entitle them. For, at the very time he was buoying up the hopes of the advocates, he was assuring the opposers of the Constitution, by his emissaries, that he was really adverse to it; and upon the strictest scrutiny we cannot find that any one vote was gained by his being ostensibly in favour of it. The votes of the Old Patriot, and Mr. Changeling, and Mr. Joyce, jun. we know were determined in its favour by the resolutions of the Mechanicks; but the votes of many others, who used implicitly to follow Mr. H. were in the negative, which were counted upon by the friends of the Constitution, as being certain on their side. This is a strong confirmation that Mr. H. was then playing a game, which these people well understood; and indeed they, some of them, explicitly declared it at the time. His subsequent conduct, in regard to amendments, is a clear proof also, that by appearing in its favour in Convention, he did not mean to support it; and that he was not serious when he declared his proposition to be only conciliatory, and not to remedy any defects existing in his mind in the constitution as reported, which he explicitly declared at the time was the case.

165. The Federal Constitution

Recommended by the Philadelphia Convention to the States, September 17, 1787; ratified by the ninth State, June 21, 1788; in effect, April 30, 1789 (_American History and Government_, ## 210, 212). The text is that authorized by the Department of State and printed in the _Revised Statutes_ (1878), except for the footnote references and the brackets used in a few instances to inclose portions of the document no longer effective, and for the omission of numbers for the paragraphs. Interpolated explanatory matter is in the same type as this paragraph, and is placed within marks of parenthesis.

We the People[159] of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare,[160] and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of America.

ARTICLE I

SECTION 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

SECTION 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.[161]

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five-Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers [which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years], and excluding Indians not taxed, [three fifths of all other Persons].[162] The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.[163] The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand,[164] but each State shall have at Least one Representative; [and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three].

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

SECTION 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen [by the Legislature thereof],[165] for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

[Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year], so that one third may be chosen every second Year;[166] and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.

No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they[167] be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust, or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment, and Punishment, according to Law.

SECTION 4. The Times, Places, and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.[168]

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.

SECTION 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns, and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

SECTION 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.[169] They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance of the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.[170]

SECTION 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections, to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.[171]

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

SECTION 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States;[172] but all Duties, Imposts, and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the Credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization,[173] and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and rebel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper[174] for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

SECTION 9. [The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.]

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

No Capitation, or other direct,[175] Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.[176]

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

SECTION 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Control of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.[177]

(=Exercise on Article One.=--Are the names in Section 1 new in American history? Can Congress constitutionally provide for woman suffrage by law? If a Senator from your State were to die to-morrow, how would his place be filled? Would it have been filled differently, if it had happened at any other time during the year? How long would the new Senator keep his seat? (The same questions as to a Representative.) How many Representatives has your State? When did it last gain or lose one? How many has the largest State in the Union (cf. World Almanac)? How many has the smallest State? Do you need a World Almanac to answer the last question? Under what possible conditions can the presiding officer of the Senate vote even when there is no tie? With what provision in Section 9 is the last paragraph of Section 3 logically connected? If a Representative utters plain treason on the floor of the House, can he be punished? How? Commit to memory Section 8. Make two questions upon naturalization and citizenship, based upon the note on page 556. _Write appropriate headings for each section_; _e.g._, for Section 8, "Powers of Congress.")

ARTICLE II

SECTION 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

[The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.][178]

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation, or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.[179]

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.[180]

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

SECTION 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices,[181] and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,[182] shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

SECTION 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

SECTION 4. The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanours.

ARTICLE III

SECTION 1. The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

SECTION 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States;--between a State and Citizens or another State;[183]--between Citizens of different States,--between Citizens of the same State claiming lands under Grants of different States,--and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

The trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

SECTION 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.[184]

(On the appellate jurisdiction, cf. _American History and Government_, ## 207 _a_ and 217. Section 25 of the Judiciary Act of 1789, still in force, defines that jurisdiction as follows:

"_And be it further enacted_, That a final judgment or decree in any suit, in the highest court of law or equity of a State in which a decision in the suit could be had, when is drawn in question the validity of a treaty or statute of, or an authority exercised under, the United States, and the decision is against their validity; or when is drawn in question the validity of a statute of, or an authority exercised under, any State, on the ground of their being repugnant to the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States, and the decision is in favor of such their validity; or when is drawn in question the construction of any clause of the Constitution, or of a treaty, or statute of, or commission held under, the United States, and the decision is against the title, right, privilege, or exemption, especially set up or claimed ... under such clause of the said Constitution, treaty, statute, or commission, may be re-examined, and revised or affirmed in the Supreme Court of the United States upon a writ of error. ..."

On the establishment of "inferior courts," cf. _American History and Government_, # 217. Such courts at present (1913) are from the bottom up:--

1. _District Courts._ Over ninety in 1911; the law of 1789 provided for thirteen.

2. _Circuit Courts._ Nine, each three justices. The first law, 1789, provided three circuit courts, but no special circuit judges; a circuit court then consisted of a justice of the Supreme Court "or circuit" and one or more judges of district courts included within the circuit. This remained the rule with a brief attempt at change in 1801, as described in # 240, until 1866, when separate circuit justices were provided.

3. _Circuit Courts of Appeals._ One for each of the nine circuits, composed of a justice of the Supreme Court and of other Federal judges--not less than three in all, and not including any justice from whose decision the appeal is taken. This order of courts was instituted in 1891, to relieve the Supreme Court which was then hopelessly overburdened with appeals from lower courts. In most cases, now, the decision of the circuit court of appeals is final.

4. _The Supreme Court._ One Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. Its business now is confined very largely to those supremely important matters specified in the Constitution and in the law of 1789 quoted above.

There are also three special courts, somewhat outside this system: (1) the Federal _Court of Claims_, to determine money claims against the United States, established in 1855; (2) _Court of Customs Appeals_, established in 1909; and (3) _the Commerce Court_, created in 1910, to revise the work of the Interstate Commerce Commission.)

ARTICLE IV

SECTION 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceeding of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

SECTION 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and immunities of Citizens in the several States.[185]

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

[No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.][186]

SECTION 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to[187] the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

SECTION 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.

ARTICLE V[188]

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided [that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and] that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

ARTICLE VI

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.[189]

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

ARTICLE VII

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

(Exercise.--Write headings for each Article in the Constitution. Restate Sections 1 and 2 of Article IV in form appropriate for insertion in Section 10 of Article I. Cf. with corresponding provisions in the Articles of Confederation and in the Constitution of the New England Confederation. Can you restate Sections 3 and 4 so as to fit them for insertion under any preceding Article? Observe that Articles I, II, III, and V give the framework. Article VII, highly important at the time, had but temporary significance.)

AMENDMENTS

[i][190]

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

[ii]

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

[iii]

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by Law.

[iv]

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

[v]

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

[vi]

In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

[vii]

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

[viii]

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

[ix]

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

[x][191]

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the people.

[xi][192]

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

[xii][193]

The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;--The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;--The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.--The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice President, shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States.

[xiii][194]

SECTION 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

[xiv][195]

SECTION 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States: nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

SECTION 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial offices of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty one years of age in such State.

SECTION 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

SECTION 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

SECTION 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

[xv][196]

SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

[xvi][197]

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

[xvii][198]

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill vacancies: Provided, that the Legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as a part of the Constitution.

FOOTNOTES:

[157] The Federalist side is presented in books which should be accessible in reference libraries, much more fully than can possibly be reproduced here. Space is given for only three documents which indicate something of the opposition.

[158] "Necessary and proper." Mason almost alone saw the possibilities of change in this clause. Cf. No. 164 below.

[159] Cf. _American History and Government_, # 211.

[160] _Ib._, # 204 _a_.

[161] Modified by the Fifteenth Amendment; and cf. _American History and Government_, # 209

[162] The abolition of slavery has rendered obsolete the clauses within brackets in this paragraph.

[163] Cf. _American History and Government_, # 205 _b_. The first census was taken in 1790, the second year of the new government, and one has been taken in the closing year of each decade since.

[164] The First Congress made the number 33,000. It is now (1911) 193,284.

[165] Superseded by the Seventeenth Amendment.

[166] Precedents for this principle of "partial renewals" were found in several State Constitutions.

[167] What is the antecedent?

[168] A law of 1872 requires all Representatives to be chosen on "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November" in each even-numbered year; and a law of 1871 had already ordered that all such elections should be by ballot. An Act of 1866 provided a uniform method of electing Senators: the legislation of each state (in which such an election is to be made) to vote first _in separate Houses_, and, if no one candidate received a majority in each House, then thereafter in _joint_ session, taking at least one ballot daily until some candidate received a majority, or until the legislative session came to an end without an election. Forty-seven years later (1913), this law was superseded by the Seventeenth Amendment.

[169] How does this compare with the rule of the Articles of Confederation?

[170] This paragraph, designed to prevent corruption by direct use of the executive patronage, was vehemently opposed by Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris. See also a similar clause in Articles of Confederation.

[171] The first veto provision in a State Constitution (New York, 1777) ran as follows:--

"Section III. And whereas laws inconsistent with the spirit of this constitution, or with the public good, may be hastily and unadvisedly passed: Be it ordained that the governor for the time being, the chancellor, and the judges of the supreme court, or any two of them together with the governor, shall be and hereby are constituted a council to revise all bills about to be passed into laws by the legislature. ... [Provision for veto procedure and reconsideration in language essentially the same as in Massachusetts provision given below.]

"And in order to prevent unnecessary delays, be it further ordained that if any bill shall not be returned by the council within ten days after it shall have been presented, the same shall be a law, unless the Legislature shall, by their adjournment, render a return of the said bill within ten days impracticable; in which case the bill shall be returned on the first day of the Legislature after the expiration of the ten days."

The Veto Provision in the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 ran:--

"Article II. No bill or resolve of the senate or house of representatives shall become a law, and have force as such, until it shall have been laid before the governor for his revisal; and if he, upon such revision, approve thereof, he shall signify his approbation by signing the same. But if he have any objection to the passing of such bill or resolve, he shall return the same, together with his objections thereto, in writing, to the senate or house of representatives, in whatsoever the same shall have originated, who shall enter the objections sent down by the governor, at large, on their records, and proceed to reconsider the said bill or resolve; but if after such reconsideration, two-thirds of the said senate or house of representatives shall, notwithstanding the objections, agree to pass the same, it shall, together with the objections, be sent to the other branch of the legislature, when it shall also be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of the members present, shall have the force of law; but in all such cases, the vote of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays; and the names of the persons voting for or against the said bill or resolve shall be entered upon the public records of the Commonwealth.

"And in order to prevent unnecessary delays, if any bill or resolve shall not be returned by the governor within five days after it shall have been presented, the same shall have the force of law."

The Virginia Plan recommended essentially the New York method. The Massachusetts delegates at Philadelphia, however, contended strenuously for the plan in use in their State, and finally carried their point. The "pocket-veto" clause (the last provision of the text above) was original in the Federal Constitution.

[172] Observe punctuation and paragraphing; and see for comment _American History and Government_, # 204 a.

[173] Citizenship, in practice, comes by birth or by admission by a court of record under authority of a law of Congress. Two classes of people are citizens by birth: (1) according to the Fourteenth Amendment, all who are born within the limits of the United States (except children of official representatives of foreign states, of a foreign army occupying part of our territory); (2) according to a law of Congress, all who are born of parents who are American citizens but who were temporarily residing abroad. No one not included in one of the above classes can become a citizen except by (1) a special Act of Congress, or (2) by admission by a court of record under authority of the general law passed by Congress. That law has varied from time to time (cf. index, for some of the more important variations); but the usual period of residence required for an alien, previous to admission, has been five years,--which is also the present requirement (1913). The present law (passed in 1906) requires also a two years' previous "notice of intention," and excludes all who cannot "speak" English (unless homesteaders), all polygamists, and all who disbelieve in "organized government." Some States, however, permit aliens to vote after receiving their "first papers,"--_i.e._, after making the preliminary "declaration of intention," before a clerk of court. The final admission rests with a judge,--who _may_ make his examination of the applicant rigid or a mere matter of form. The power has been sometimes abused for political purposes, both in excluding and in admitting unfit aliens.

[174] For comment and reference, see _American History and Government_, ## 204 _b_, 222, 280 _b_. Cf. also with enumeration of powers in Articles of Confederation.

[175] Modified, so far as "direct" income taxes are concerned, by the Sixteenth Amendment.

[176] With what clause in Section 8 might this paragraph have been combined?

[177] Additional prohibitions upon the States are contained in the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, just as certain additional prohibitions upon Congress are contained in Amendments 1-8. Compare with Section 10 the summary of prohibitions upon the State in the Articles of Confederation.

[178] Superseded by Twelfth Amendment, which might have been _substituted_ for this paragraph in the body of the document.

[179] In 1792, Congress provided that the president pro tem of the Senate should be next in succession, and after him the Speaker of the House. In 1886 (Jan. 19), this undesirable law was supplanted by a new one, placing the succession (after the Vice President) in the following order: Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, Attorney-General, Postmaster-General, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Interior. Cannot the student see on what ground these officers are named in this order? Cf. _American History and Government_, # 215 and note. This provides securely against any interregnum, and (what is almost as important) against a transfer by accident to an opposite political party.

[180] What is the antecedent of "them"? The salary of George Washington was fixed by the First Congress at $25,000. This amount remained unchanged until 1871, when it was made $50,000. In 1909, the salary was raised to $75,000. Large allowances are made also, in these latter days, for expenses of various sorts,--one item of $25,000 for instance, for traveling expenses,--which is the reason the salary is commonly referred to as $100,000.

[181] For the development of the "Cabinet," cf. _American History and Government_, # 215.

[182] _Ib._, # 214, for different views, at the beginning of the government, as to this clause, and for the settlement in practice.

[183] Limited by the Eleventh Amendment to cases begun by a State as plaintiff. Cf. _American History and Government_, # 218.

[184] The last three paragraphs of this section might have been included advantageously in a "bill of rights." What preceding paragraphs might have been so disposed of?

[185] Extended by Fourteenth Amendment.

[186] Superseded by Thirteenth Amendment so far as it relates to slaves.

[187] On the significance of this language as to Territory, cf. _American History and Government_, # 260 _c_.

[188] Article V, as far as to the brackets, should be committed to memory. Note the _four_ varieties of amendment provided. Only one has ever been used (1913). Congress has always proposed, and State legislatures ratified. On the amending clause in general, cf. index to _American History and Government_.

[189] On the history of this clause, cf. # 207 _a_.

[190] Originally, the first twelve amendments were not numbered in the official manuscripts.

[191] These first ten amendments were in force after November 3, 1791. Cf. comment in _American History and Government_, # 216. They are usually referred to as the Bill of Rights. It is a suggestive exercise to rewrite the "bill of rights," incorporating all those features of that character which are included in the body of the Constitution.

[192] Proclaimed to be in force January 8, 1798. For the history, cf. _Ib._, # 217.

[193] Proclaimed in force September 25, 1804. Cf. _Ib._, # 241.

[194] Proclaimed in force December 18, 1865. On Amendments Thirteen to Fifteen inclusive, cf. _Ib._, ##377, 385 ff.

[195] Proclaimed in force July 28, 1868.

[196] Proclaimed in force March 30, 1870.

[197] Ratified in 1913, while these pages were at press.

[198] Ratified in 1913, while these pages were at press.

INDEX OF SOURCES

The _Writings_ of statesmen or the _Records_ of a colony are sometimes indexed twice,--once by title, under the name of the subject, and once by the name of the editor. The latter is done, however, only in cases where it is customary to quote the work with the editor's name, as with =Hening's= _Statutes_. Authors' and editors' names, when standing first, are in =heavy-faced type=. Titles, even when the work is indexed by title rather than by editor, are in _italics_. Each entry closes with a list of the selections in this volume which are based upon it. In many cases the introduction to the first number in each such list contains additional bibliographical material, when it seems worth while to present such material anywhere.

_Adams, John, The Works of_ (Boston; 10 vols.; edited by Charles Francis Adams). Nos. 130 _a_, _b_, _c_, 146.

_Adams, John, Letters of, addressed to his Wife_ (Boston; 2 vols.). No. 138 _b_.

=Arber, Edward= (editor), _The Story of the Pilgrim Fathers_ (London). No. 48 _a_.

=Arnold, Samuel Greene=, _History of Rhode Island_ (Providence; 2 vols.). No. 90.

"Aspinwall Papers," the, in _Massachusetts Historical Society Collections_, 4th series, IX. No. 31 _b_.

=Bacon= (editor), _The Laws of Maryland_. See _Maryland_.

=Bancroft, George=, _History of the Constitution_ (New York, 2 vols.). No. 162.

=Besse, Joseph=, _A Collection of the Sufferings of the People called Quakers_ (London; 1753). No. 88.

_Boston Town Records_ (Report of the Record Commissioners for 1887). No. 122.

=Bradford, William=, _Plymouth Plantation_ ("Original Narratives" edition). Nos. 43, 44, 45.

=British Record Office=, The manuscript _Charter_ of the Company of Westminster for the Plantation of Providence Isle. No. 55.

=Brown, Alexander=, _The First Republic in America_ (Houghton). No. 3, note.

---- _Genesis of the United States_ (Houghton; 2 vols.). Nos. 4, 5, 7, 10, 18, 22.

=Burroughs, Edward=, _A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of Quakers in New England_ (London; 1660). No. 88 _b_.

_Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, 1574-1660_ (W. Noel Sainsbury, editor). No. 55.

=Calvin, John=, _Institutes_ (the translation of 1813, London). No. 61.

_Congress, Journals of the Continental_ (Ford edition). Nos. 130 _c_, _d_, 138 _a_, 140, 141. Ib. (Philadelphia edition, 1801). No. 148, _a_, _b_.

_Connecticut, Colonial Records of_ (Hartford; 15 vols.). Nos. 93, 97.

_Documentary History of the Constitution_, (Washington; Government Printing Office; 4 vols.). No. 153.

_Dorchester Town Records_ (edited by the Boston Record Commissioners). Nos. 66, 81.

=Drayton, Michael=, _Poems_ (London; 1619). No. 4.

=Eddes, William=, _Letters from America_ (London; 1792). No. 116.

_Federal Convention, The Records of the_ (edited by Farrand). 3 vols. Nos. 155, 156, 157, 158, 160, 163.

=Force, Peter= (editor), _American Archives, Fourth Series_ (Washington; 6 vols.). Nos. 125 _a_, 127, 128 _a_, _b_, _c_, 129 _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, _e_, 131, 132 _a_, _b_, 134, 135.

---- _Historical Tracts_ (Washington; 1836; 4 vols.). Nos. 6, 9, 23, 26, 62 _c_.

_Franklin, Benjamin, The Works of_ (Smyth edition; Putnam's; 10 vols.). No. 114 _a_.

"Goodspeed to Virginia" (in Brown's _Genesis of the United States_). No. 5.

=Gorges, Sir Ferdinando=, "Briefe Narration," _Massachusetts Historical Society Collections_, 3d series, VI. Nos. 51 _a_, 53 note.

=Hakluyt, Richard=, _Voyages ... and Discoveries of the English Nation_ (published in 1589; quoted here from the Goldschmid edition). Nos. 2, 15.

---- _A Discourse on Western Planting_ (republished in the _Maine Historical Society Collections_, 2d series, II). No. 3.

_Hamilton, Alexander, The Works of_ (Federalist edition; Putnam's; 12 vols.). No. 159.

=Hazard, Ebenezer= (editor), _Historical Collections of State Papers_. (Commonly quoted as Hazard's _State Papers_. Washington, 1792; 2 vols.). Nos. 29, 30, 39 _a_, _b_, 42, 46 addendum, 51 _a_.

=Hazard, Samuel= (editor); _Annals of Pennsylvania_ (Philadelphia). No. 103.

=Hening, William W.= (editor), _Statutes at Large, being a Collection of the Laws of Virginia_. (Richmond, 1823; 13 vols.) Nos. 17, 31, 33, 34, 35, 105, 106, 109.

=Higginson, Francis=, "Relation of New England's Plantation" (1629; reprinted in Young's _Chronicles of Massachusetts Bay_). No. 59 _d_.

=Holinshed, Raphael=, _Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland_ (London; 1577). No. 1.

=Hutchinson, Thomas= (editor), _Collection of Original Papers_ (published as a third volume, in the nature of an appendix, of his _History of Massachusetts Bay_). Nos. 53, 58 _b_, 59 _a_, 76 _a_, 86, 110.

---- _History of Massachusetts Bay_ (London; 1769). Nos. 60 _a_, 75, 76 _b_, 92.

_Jefferson, Thomas, The Writings of_ (Ford edition; Putnams; 10 vols.). Nos. 123 _a_, 136 addendum.

_Jefferson, Thomas, The Works of_ (Washington edition; 9 vols.). No. 125 _b_.

=Johnson, Captain Edward=, _The Wonder-working Providence of Sions Saviour in New England_ (London; 1654). No. 54 _b_.

=Kingsbury, Susan= (editor), _Records of the Virginia Company of London_ (Washington, 1906). See _Virginia_.

=Lechford, Thomas=, _Plaine Dealing_ (1641; republished in _Massachusetts Historical Society Collections_). No. 85.

=Madison, James=, _Journal of the Philadelphia Convention_ (also in =Farrand's= _Records of the Federal Convention_). Nos. 159, 161.

=Marston, John=, _Eastward Hoe!_ (London; 1605). No. 8.

_Maryland, Proceedings of the Conventions of_ (Baltimore). No. 139.

_Mason, George, Life and Correspondence of_ (by Kate Mason Rowland; 2 vols.). Nos. 121 note, 136 addendum, 162.

_Massachusetts, Colonial Records of_ (Boston; 7 vols.; edited by Nathaniel Shurtleff). Nos. 53, 57, 58 _a_, _c_, 65, 72, 75 _b_, 80 addendum, 82.

_Massachusetts, Historical Society Collections._ Nos. 31 _b_, 41, 47, 53, 85, 107.

_Massachusetts Bay, Acts and Resolves of the Province of_ (Boston; 7 vols.) 110 _b_.

=Minot, George Richards=, _History of the Insurrections in Massachusetts in the Year MDCCLXXXVI_ (Worcester; 1788). No. 151 _b_.

=Moore, Frank= (editor), _Diary of the American Revolution_ (Scribner's; 2 vols.). No. 142 _b_.

_Morris, Gouverneur, Life and Writings of_ (Sparks' edition; 3 vols.). No. 150.

=Neill, Edward D.=, _The Virginia Company_ (Albany, N. Y.; 1869). No. 18.

---- _Virginia and Virginiola_ (Albany, N. Y.; 1878). No. 11.

_New Hampshire, Provincial Papers of_ (Concord; by a series of editors). No. 110.

_New Haven, Colonial Records of_ (Hartford, 2 vols.). No. 94.

_New Jersey Archives, First Series, Vols. XXV and XXVII_ ("Newspaper Extracts" for 1769-1770 and 1770-1771). Nos. 117, 120 _d_.

_New York, Documents relative to the Colonial History of_ (by a series of editors). Nos. 99, 101, 111 _d_, 114 _b_.

=Niles, Hezekiah=, _Principles and Acts of the Revolution in America_ (Baltimore; 1822). No. 142 _c_.

_North Carolina, Colonial Records of_ (Raleigh; 10 vols.; edited by W. L. Saunders). No. 111 _a_.

_Nova Britannia_ (London; 1609; republished in Force's _Historical Tracts_). Nos. 6, 20.

=Peckham, Sir George=, _True Report_ [of Gilbert's Voyage], (1582; republished in Hakluyt's _Voyages_). No. 2.

_Pennsylvania, Charters and Laws of_ (Harrisburg; 1879). No. 102.

_Plymouth Colony, Records of_ (Boston; 12 vols.). Nos. 94, 95, 96.

=Poore, Benjamin Perley= (editor), _Charters and Constitutions_ (Washington; Government Printing Office). No. 15.

=Purchas, Samuel=, _Purchas his Pilgrimes_ (1625; London; 4 vols.). No. 19 _a_.

=Ramsey, David=, _History of the American Revolution_ (1789; 2 vols.). No. 145.

_Rhode Island, Colonial Records of_ (Providence; 10 vols.). Nos. 91, 98.

=Rowland, Kate Mason=, _Life and Correspondence of George Mason_ (New York; 2 vols.). See _George Mason_.

=Scharf, J. Thomas=, _History of Maryland_ (Philadelphia; 3 vols.). Nos. 36, 38.

=Scharf and Westcott=, _History of Philadelphia_ (Philadelphia; 3 vols.). Nos. 124, 143.

_Smith, Captain John, Complete Works of_ (Birmingham edition). Nos. 13, 14, 48 _b_, 60 _b_.

_Statutes at Large, from Magna Carta to 1869_ (Cambridge, 110 vols.; commonly quoted, from the editor, as Pickering's _Statutes_). Nos. 100 _c_, 118, 119.

=Stith, William=, _History of Virginia_, (1747; edited by Sabin and reprinted in 1865). Nos. 16, 20, 21.

=Thorpe, Francis= (editor), _American Charters and Constitutions_ (Washington; Government Printing Office; 7 vols.). No. 15.

=Tyler, Moses Coit=, _Literary History of the American Revolution_ (Putnam's; 2 vols.). 144.

_United States, Revised Statutes of_ (1878). No. 147.

_Virginia, Calendar of State Papers of_ (Richmond; 11 vols.). No. 133.

_Virginia, Colonial Records of_ (edited by Wynne and Gilman). No. 25.

_Virginia, Journals of the House of Burgesses of_ (Putnam's; 10 vols.). Nos. 120 _a_, _b_, _c_, 123 _b_, 125 _c_, _d_, _e_, _f_.

_Virginia Company of London, Records of the_ (Washington; 1906; 2 vols.; edited by Susan Kingsbury). Nos. 12, 24, 26, 28.

_Virginia Magazine of History and Biography_ (Richmond). Nos. 31 _b_, 37 _a_, _b_, _c_, 108.

=Ward, Nathaniel=, _The Simple Cobbler of Aggawamm_ (London; 1647). No. 84 _a_.

_Washington, George, The Writings of_ (Washington edition). Nos. 121 _b_, 151 _b_.

_Watertown, Records of the Town of._ No. 83.

=White, John=, _Brief Relation_ (1630; reprinted in Young's _Chronicles_). No. 56.

=Whitmore, W. H.=, _Bibliographical Sketch of the Laws of the Massachusetts Colony_ (Boston). No. 78.

=Winthrop, John=, _History of New England_ ("Original Narratives" edition). Nos. 62, 64, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 77, 79, 80.

_Winthrop, John, Life and Letters of_ (Boston; 2 vols.; edited by Robert C. Winthrop). Nos. 59 _a_, _b_, _c_, 62 _b_.

_Writings of Lace_ (a series of letters from Federalists attacking John Hancock in the campaign of 1789). No. 164.

=Young, Alexander= (editor), _Chronicles of Massachusetts_ (Boston; 1846). Nos. 56, 59 _d_.

=Zenger, John Peter=, _Brief Narrative of the Case and Tryall of John Peter Zenger_ (New York; 1738). No. 113.

SUBJECT INDEX

_The references are to the numbers of selections, not to pages._

=Adams, John=, account of debates in Continental Congress, 130 _a_; impressions of First Continental Congress, 130 _b_; on resolution of Congress of May 15, 1776, for State governments 138 _b_; on first independent government in South Carolina, _ib._; on anti-social tendencies of pre-Revolutionary measures (the horse-jockey client), 142.

=Aggawamm=, the Simple Cobbler of, see _Ward_.

=Albany Plan=, the, for union of colonies, 114 _a_ and _b_.

=Albion, Charter of the Province of= (1634), representative feature, 39.

=Annapolis Convention=, the, regarded as part of an aristocratic plot, 152; its call for the Federal Convention, 153.

=Avalon, Baltimore's colony of=, 36; charter the first royal grant recognizing popular government, 38, 39.

=Bacon, Nathaniel=, Rebellion, 106-109; "Bacon's laws," 106; Bacon's Proclamation, 107; causes of rebellion, 108; reforms of, abolished, 109.

=Ballot=, used by London Company in England, 23, 28 (2), 28 (3); used in Massachusetts first, 67 _a_, note; adopted legally for general elections in Massachusetts General Court, 70; used for secrecy in a Boston town election, 71; develops from "proxies,", 73.

=Baltimore, First Lord=, the, letter from Avalon to Charles I, 36.

=Berkeley, Sir William=, Commission of 1641 authorizing the Assembly, 32 _a_; report of 1671 on conditions in Virginia, 104. See _Bacon_.

=Bill of Rights=, the first, in Virginia (June, 1776), 136.

"=Body of Liberties=," the (of Massachusetts), 77, 78.

=Boston Port Bill=, effect in Virginia, 125.

=Boston town meeting=, and colonial politics, 111 _c_; 122.

=Bradford, William=, charter from New England Council, 49; surrender of charter to colonists, 50.

=Cambridge Agreement=, the, 58 _b_.

=Charter colonies=, recommendation of Board of Trade to abolish, 111 _a_.

=Charters=, _Royal to Proprietors_; Gilbert's, of 1578 (and Raleigh's of 1584), 15; Baltimore's for Maryland, 37; for Avalon, 38; for New Albion and Maine, 39; Duke of York's for New York, 101; Penn's for Pennsylvania, 102. _Royal to proprietary corporations in England_: First Virginia Charter (to London and Plymouth branches of a colonizing company), 16; Second Charter, 20; Third Charter, 21; to New England Council (1620), 42; to Massachusetts Bay Company, 53; to Company of Westminster for Providence Isle, 55. _Royal to "corporations upon the place"_: parliamentary to Williams in 1648, 91; Connecticut Charter of 1662, 97; Rhode Island (1663), 98;

Massachusetts (1691), 110. _From proprietary corporations or proprietors to settlers_: Virginia Company of London to Virginians, 25, 27; to intending Pilgrim settlers (Wincob charter), 43, 45; New England Council to Pierce for Plymouth, 47; to Bradford, 49; to Robert Gorges as proprietor in Massachusetts, 51; Penn's grants to Pennsylvanians--Laws agreed upon in England, 103 _a_; Charter of 1701, 103 _b_.

=Child, Robert=, demand for the franchise in Massachusetts for Presbyterians, 86.

=Christison, Wenlock=, trial as a Quaker, 88 _b_.

=Colonial Department= (English), established, 99.

=Colonization=, hardships, of Baltimore in Avalon, 36; at Jamestown, 19; in Massachusetts Bay, 62 _a_, _b_, _c_.

=Committees of Correspondence= (Revolutionary), towns in Massachusetts, 122; intercolonial--Jefferson's account of creation, 123; resolution of Virginia, Burgesses for, 123 _b_; correspondence of, 123 _c_; and regarding call for Continental Congress, 125 _f_.

=Confederation=, New England, 94, 95, 96; Franklin's "Albany Plan," 114; Continental Congress, 125 ff.; debates in Congress regarding character of, 146; the Articles, 147; anarchy under, 150, 151.

=Connecticut=, Fundamental Orders, 93; charter, 97; refusal to accept a royal commander of militia, 111 _d_.

=Connecticut Compromise=, in the Federal Convention, 161.

=Constitution, the Federal=, Annapolis Convention, 152; call for Philadelphia Convention, 153; credentials of delegates, 154; George Mason on preliminaries and on aristocratic forces in, 155, 157; Virginia Plan, 156; New Jersey Plan, 158; Hamilton's Plan, 159; the critical day's debate on the Connecticut Compromise, 161; ratification, 162 ff.; document and amendments, 165.

=Continental Congress, the First=, proposed by Virginia ex-Burgesses, 125 _e_; Rhode Island appoints delegates, 125 _f_; "called" by Massachusetts, 126; suggested also by Virginia county, 127; method of voting decided, 130 _a_; Adams' impressions of, 130 _b_; Declaration of Rights, 130 _c_; and the Association, 130 _d_.

=Cotton, Rev. John=, denounces democracy, 67 _a_, 71, 75 (addendum); letter to English lords on Massachusetts conditions, 75; on rules of fair trade, 79; against toleration, 84 _c_.

=Crashaw=, "Daily Prayer," for use in Virginia, 9; sermon before Delaware's expedition (on players), 10.

=Cushman, Robert=, to Pastor Robinson, 43.

=Dale, Sir Thomas=, to London Company, on glories of Virginia, 12.

=Dates=, New Style and Old, 21.

=Democracy=, decried by Puritan leaders: Calvin, 61; Cotton and Winthrop, 67 _a_, 71, 75 (addendum), 77, 80; and sumptuary legislation in Massachusetts, 75 _b_; denounced by Hamilton in Federal Convention, 159; establishes government by town meeting, 66.

=Dorchester=, school code, 81.

=Drayton=, _Ode to the Virginian Voyage_, 4.

=Ducking stool=, the, 115.

=Dudley, Thomas=, to Countess of Lincoln on first winter in Massachusetts, 62 _c_.

"=Eastward Hoe!=", 8.

=Exeter=, "Combination of Settlers" at, 46 (addendum).

=Fairfax County= (Virginia), resolutions for First Continental Congress, 129 _b_; for Revolutionary militia, 132.

=Fauquier, Francis= (Governor of Virginia), to Lords of Trade, on resignation of Mercer, Stamp Distributor, 120 _c_.

=Fletcher= (Governor of New York), and Connecticut militia, 111 _d_.

=Franchise=, in Virginia, 35, 105, 107, 109; in Massachusetts, denied to Presbyterians, 86.

=Frankland, State of=, 148.

=Franklin, Benjamin=, Albany plan of, 114 _a_ and _b_; characterized in Federal Convention by Pierce, 160.

=Free speech=, denied in Massachusetts in 1635, 69, 77; vindicated in New York in Zenger trial, 113.

=French Alliance=, the Conservatives' fear of, 144.

"=Gentlemen=," in 16th century England, 1; in early Virginia, 19 _b_; in colonial Massachusetts, 75 _a_ and _b_.

=Georgia=, credentials of delegates to Federal Convention, 154.

=Gilbert, Sir Humphrey=, charter, 15.

"=Goodspeed to Virginia=," on motives for colonization, 5.

=Gorges, Sir Ferdinando=, and grant of Massachusetts, 39 _b_; and reorganization of Plymouth Council, 42; "Briefe Narration" of, 51 _a_, 53 note.

=Gorges, Robert=, grant from Plymouth Council (representative features), 51 _a_, 53 note.

=Hakluyt, Rev. Richard=, on motives for colonization, 3.

=Hamilton, Alexander=, plan for the Constitution (denunciation of democracy), 159; character sketch of, in Federal Convention, 160.

=Hamilton, James=, and the Zenger trial, 113.

=Hancock, John=, and inducement to favor the Constitution, 164.

=Harvey, Sir John=, "Propositions for Virginia," suggesting restoration of the Assembly, 32 _a_.

=Henry, Patrick=, Stamp Act Resolutions, 120 _a_; creation of Committees of Correspondence, 123 _a_; and call for First Continental Congress, 125 _b_; in debates in Congress ("I am not a Virginian"), 130 _a_.

=Higginson, Rev. Francis=, Agreement with Massachusetts Company, 56; _Relation_, 59 _d_.

=Higginson, Stephen=, on John Hancock and ratification of Constitution, 164.

=Hutchinson, Thomas=, and Boston town meeting, 122.

=Indentured servants=, see _White servants_.

=Independence=, Virginia county instructions for, 134; Virginia Convention, instructions for, 135; Virginia Declaration of, 137; Congressional resolutions for independent State governments, 138 _a_ and _b_; State instructions against, 139; Lee's motion for in Congress, 140; the Declaration, 140; sets free social forces, 145.

=Industry in common=, in early Virginia, 17, 18; in Plymouth, 44.

=James I=, instructions to Jamestown expedition, 17; attempts to control elections in London Company, 28.

=Jefferson, Thomas=, proposition for the franchise in first Virginia constitution, 136 (addendum); and Virginia declaration of independence, 137; and Declaration of July 4, 141; and Ordinance of 1784, 148 _a_.

=Keayne, Captain Robert=, and exorbitant trading profits, 79; and the "sow business" in Massachusetts, 80.

=Laborers=, in England, 1; in Massachusetts and wage legislation, 65; condition of White servants in 1774, 116, 117.

=Laws=, of Virginia in 1619, 25; Plymouth code of 1636, 50; of early Massachusetts, 65; sumptuary discrimination against classes below the gentry, 75; the "Body of Liberties," 78; later Virginian, 105, 106; late colonial, regarding White servants, 117.

=Lee, Richard Henry=, and county resolutions against Stamp Act, 120 _b_; and creation of Committees of Correspondence, 123 _a_; and call for First Continental Congress, 125 _b_; and Westmoreland County resolutions, 129 _a_; and motion for independence, 140.

=Local Government=, see _Town meeting_.

=London Company=, see _Virginia Company_.

=Loyalists= (in Revolution), parody "to sign or not to sign," 142 _b_; correspondence with a committee of safety, 143; pretended diary to show danger in French alliance, 144. See _Mob violence_.

=Maine=, grant of to Gorges (representative government), 39 _b_.

=Maryland=, early, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40; Second Provincial Convention of, a government, 132 (introduction); instructions against independence, 139.

=Mason, George=, and Virginia non-importation agreement of 1769, 121 _b_, note; declares the Third Virginia Convention a government, 133 _c_; and Virginia Bill of Rights, 136 (addendum); on democratic and aristocratic forces in the Federal Convention, 155, 157; objections to signing the Constitution, 162, 163.

=Massachusetts=, to 1660, 41 ff.; early beginnings at Salem, 52; charter of 1629, 53; docket of charter, 54; question of transfer of charter to America, 55 (and addendum); decision to transfer the charter, 58; decision of Puritan gentlemen to remove to Massachusetts, 59; early hardships and religious matters, 62; oligarchic usurpations, 63; Watertown protest and some democratic gains, 64; aristocratic legislation, 65; beginning of town government, 66; establishment of representative government, 67; religious controversies, 74; social conditions, 75; danger of English interference, 76; demand for written laws, 77; social conditions as shown in town legislation, 83; and religious persecution, 84, 85, 86, 88; English relations after 1660, 100; charter of 1691, 110 _b_; in the Revolution, 122 ff. (See Table of Contents.)

=Mayflower Compact=, the, 46.

=Mercer, Colonel=, induced to resign as Stamp Distributor, 120 _c_.

=Ministers in Virginia=, not to "give themselves to excesse of drinking," 33.

=Mob violence=, pre-Revolutionary, 120 _c_, _d_, 124; after Declaration of Independence, 142 _a_, _b_, _c_.

=Morris, Gouverneur=, on the hope for a military dictator, 150; character sketch in Federal Convention, 160.

=Navigation Acts=, 100 _a_, _b_, _c_; 118.

=New England Confederation=, constitution, 94; Massachusetts demands more weight in, 95; nullification by Massachusetts, 96.

=New England Council=, 42. See _Plymouth Council_.

=New Hampshire=, commission of royal governor of, 112.

=New Jersey=, advertisements for runaway (White) servants, 117.

=New Jersey Plan=, in Federal Convention, 158.

"=New Style=," in dates, 21, note.

=New York=, charter to Duke of York, 101.

=North Sea passage=, to be sought for by first Virginia expedition, 18.

=Northwest Ordinance=, the, 149 _b_.

=Nullification=, in New England Confederation, 96.

"=Old Style=," dates, 21, note.

=Ordinance of 1621=, for Virginia, 27.

=Ordinance of 1784=, for organizing the National Domain, 149 _a_.

=Ordinance of 1789=, for the Northwest, 149 _b_.

=Otto, Louis Guillaume=, to Vergennes, on Annapolis Convention as a plot of the aristocratic classes, 152.

=Parody=, a Tory's, on Hamlet's soliloquy, 142 _b_.

=Peirce, John=, charter for Plymouth, 47.

=Penn, William=, grant of Pennsylvania, 102; grants to the settlers, 103 _a_ and _b_.

=Percy, Master George=, "Discourse," on first weeks in Jamestown, 19 _a_.

=Pierce, William=, character sketches by, of men of the Federal Convention, 160.

=Pillory=, the, 115.

=Plymouth Council=, a branch of the first Virginia Company, 16 (section v); reorganized by charter of 1620, 42; grants, to the Pilgrims, 47, 49; to Gorges, for Massachusetts, 51.

=Plymouth Plantation=, delay in securing Wincob charter, 43; articles of partnership with London merchants, 44; a "body politic" before sailing, 45; Mayflower Compact, 46; the Peirce charter, 47; early history, 48 _a_ and _b_; the Bradford charter, 49; surrender of the same to the colony, 50; first code of laws, 50.

=Presbyterians=, excluded from the franchise in early Massachusetts, 86.

=Providence Isle=, charter to Company of Westminster for plantation of, 55.

=Puritans= (Massachusetts), political principles of, 61; not Separatists, 52, 60, 62.

=Quakers=, persecution in Massachusetts, 88; and Rhode Island, 92.

=Randolph, Edmund=, _Report_ of 1676 on Massachusetts, 110.

=Religious freedom=, toleration in Maryland, 40; persecution in Massachusetts, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88; freedom in Rhode Island, 89, 90, 91, 92; in Pennsylvania, 103.

=Representative government=, first representative assembly (Virginia), 25; preserved in Virginia against James and Charles, 29, 30, 31, 32; first royal authorization of (Maryland charter), 37; also in charters for Avalon and Maine, 38, 39; in Gorges grant of 1623, 51; established in Massachusetts, 61-67.

=Revolution=, the, pre-Revolutionary agitation, 114-124; rise of Revolutionary governments, 125-133; Independence, 134-144; social forces set free by, 145.

=Rhode Island=, religious freedom, 89-92.

=Robinson, Pastor John=, on the terms of partnership between Pilgrims and London merchants, 44, note; farewell letter, 45.

=Rogers, Rev. Ezekiel=, champion of democracy in Early Massachusetts, 77 (addendum).

=Sabbath in Virginia=, no traveling on, 33 (4).

=Salem=, White's _Relation_ of the beginning of, 52.

=Saltonstall, Richard=, signer of Cambridge Agreement, 58 _b_; letter urging religious freedom, 84 _c_.

=Sandys, Sir Edwin=, letter to stockholders of London Company, 11; and the Company's Declaration of 1620, 26; and interference of King James against reëlection, 28 (1); and Plymouth Colony, 43.

=Schools=, in Massachusetts: Dorchester regulations, 81; compulsory education, 82 _a_; State system, 82 _b_. In Virginia (Berkeley's _Report_), 104.

=Selectmen=, first established at Dorchester, 66.

"=Servants=," see _White servants_.

=Shays' Rebellion=, Hampshire County Grievances, 151 _a_; and Washington's alarm, 151 _b_.

=Smith, Captain John=, on the London Company (not mercenary), 13; last plea for colonization (for Massachusetts), 14; on "gentlemen" in Virginia, 19 _b_; on Plymouth in 1624, 48 _b_; Massachusetts Puritans not Separatists, 60 _b_.

=Spain=, and English colonization, 3 (ch. v.), 5, 6; danger of Spanish attack on Jamestown, 22.

=Stamp Act=, the, 119; reception in America: Henry's resolutions, 120 _a_; Virginia county resolutions against, 120 b; Virginia Stamp Distributor induced to resign, 120 _c_; mob violence, 120 _d_.

=Stoughton, Israel=, disfranchised for criticizing Massachusetts government, 69.

=Sugar Act=, of 1733, 100 _c_; of 1764, 118.

=Sydney, Sir Philip=, on American colonization, 3, note.

=Tea riots=, 124.

=Town meeting=, establishment at Dorchester, 66, and at Watertown, 83; use of ballot in, 73 _b_; recognized in "Body of Liberties," 78; typical records of from Watertown (illustrating New England society), 83; at Boston, political activity in affairs of the province, 111 _c_, and pre-Revolutionary (town committees of correspondence), 122.

=Two-House legislature=, evolution of in Massachusetts, 68, 69, 80.

=Virginia=, motives for colonization, patriotic and religious, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14; ridiculed (_Eastward Hoe_), 8; praised by Dale, 12; classes of colonists, 7; "gentlemen" in, 19 _b_; under King and Company, 16-19; Charter of 1609 (under the Company), 20; Charter of 1612, 21; danger from Spain, 22; under the liberal London Company (which see), 23-28; first Representative Assembly, 25; a royal province, 29-33; royal commissions ignoring Assembly, 29, 30; Assembly's declaration, "No taxation without representation," 31 _a_; protests in favor of Assembly, 31 _b_; restoration of Assembly, 32; legislation, moral and financial, 33; under the Commonwealth, 34-35; franchise, 35, 105, 106, 109; under the second Stuarts--Bacon's Rebellion and suppression of reforms, 105-109; in pre-Revolutionary agitation, 121 ff.; non-importation agreement, 121 _a_ and _b_; originates intercolonial Committees, 123 _a_ and _b_; suggests Continental Congress, 125 _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, _e_, _f_, _g_; calls provincial convention, 128 _a_ and _b_; county meetings--instructions to delegates to provincial convention, 128 _c_, 129 _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, _e_; county approval of Continental Congress' Associations, 131; county conventions become governments (Fairfax County), 132, 133 _a_; Second Provincial Convention a government de facto, 133 _b_; Third Convention (July, 1775), a government in form also, 133 _c_; Charlotte County instructions for independence, 134; Convention instructs delegates in Continental Congress to move for independence, 135; resolves upon an independent State constitution, _ib._; Bill of Rights, 136; State declaration of independence, 137.

=Virginia Company=, the, pamphlets in favor of, 5, 6; "True and Sincere Declaration" of, 7; Smith's vindication of, 13; charter of 1606, 15; instructions from King James, 17; instructions from the Council in England, 18; charter of 1609, 20; charter of 1612, 21; rules adopted by the liberal management in 1619, 23; "Order" recognizing right of settlers to share in government, 24; first charter to settlers (noticed in records of Assembly), 25; "Declaration" of 1620, 26; Ordinance of 1621, 27; struggle with the King for right of free election, 28.

=Virginia Plan=, the, in Federal Convention, 156.

=Ward, Rev. Nathaniel=, argument against religious toleration, 84.

=Washington, George=, and Virginia's non-importation association of 1769, 121 _b_, note; and Fairfax County resolutions of 1774, 129 _b_; and Fairfax County organization of Revolutionary militia, 132; and Shays' Rebellion, 151 _b_.

=Watertown Protest=, the, 64.

=Watertown Records=, extracts from, illustrating social conditions, 83.

=Western territory=, debates on in Continental Congress, 146; desire for Statehood, 148; Ordinance of 1784, 149 _a_; Northwest Ordinance, 149 _b_.

=Weymouth, Captain George=, record of voyage to Maine, 41.

=Wheelwright, Rev. John=, and petition for free speech, 74.

=White, Rev. John=, account of beginnings of Massachusetts, 52.

=White "servants,"= corporal punishment, 65; classified (in 1774), 116; advertisements for runaways (1769, 1774), 117.

=Williams, Roger=, on religious freedom, 90.

=Winslow, Edward=, letter to friend in England on the beginnings of Plymouth, 48 _a_.

=Winthrop, John=, signer of Cambridge Agreement, 58 _b_; argument for making Massachusetts a Puritan settlement, 59; reasons for coming to America, 59 _b_; farewell letter to the Church of England, 60 _a_; on early hardships in the colony, 62 _a_ and _b_; decries democracy, 64, 67, 71, 73, 77; denies free speech, 69; denies right of petition, 77.

=Winthrop, John, Jr.=, decision to come to Massachusetts, 59 _c_.

=Wise, Rev. John=, on Englishmen's dislike for arbitrary government, 111 _b_.

=Written laws=, demand for in Massachusetts, 77.

=Yeardley, Sir George=, and Virginia Representative Assembly, 25.

=Yeomen=, English, in 16th century, 1.

=Zenger, John Peter=, and free speech, 113.

Transcriber's Notes:

Simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors were corrected.

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P. 273 changed the date January 14/24, 1348/9 to January 14/24, 1638/9.