Journals of the Continental Congress,
SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 1778
...POWERS OF THE STATES TO THEIR DELEGATES, TO RATIFY THE
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION.2
[Note 2: 2 None of these powers were inserted in the original Journal, but they are found in the corrected Journal, and in No. 9 (History of the Confederation) of the Papers of the Continental Congress. The originals are not in the Library of Congress. See entry under July 9, 1778, post.]
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE:
In the House of Representatives, March 4th 1778.
The House took into consideration the thirteen Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the thirteen United States of America, as agreed to by the Honourable Congress of said States, and came to the following Resolution thereon, viz.
Resolved, That we do agree to said Articles of Confederation, perpetual Union, &c. &c. and do, for ourselves and constituents, engage that the same shall be inviolably observed by this State: and the delegates of this State for the time being, at the Congress aforesaid, are hereby empowered and instructed to ratify the same in behalf of this State.
Sent up for concurrence,
John Dudley, Speaker pro tem.
In Council, the same day, read and concurred.
E. Thompson, Secretary.
Copy. Attest,Meshech Weare, President.
MASSACHUSETTS BAY:
Council Chamber, Boston, March 10th 1778.
The General Court of the State of Massachusetts Bay, having attentively considered the Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the United States of America, recommended to our attention by the Honorable the Congress, do approve of them, in general, as well calculated to Secure the Freedom, Sovereignty, and Independence of the United States. Perhaps no plan could have been proposed better adapted to the circumstances of all. We, therefore, the Council and House of Representatives of this State, in General Court assembled, do, in the name and behalf of the good people of this State, instruct you, their delegates, to subscribe said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union as they were recommended by Congress, unless the following alterations, or such as may be proposed by the other States, can be received and adopted without endangering the Union proposed.
In the name and behalf of the general assembly,
Jeremiah Powell, President.
To the delegates of the State of Massachusetts Bay, in Congress.
RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS:
By his Excellency Nicholas Cooke, Esq. Governor, Captain General, and Commander in Chief, in and over the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
Be it known, that Henry Ward, Esq. who hath under his hand Certified that the annexed Copy, purporting an Act of the General Assembly of the State aforesaid, empowering the delegates of the said State in Congress to accede to and sign the Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the thirteen United States, is a true Copy, is Secretary of the said State, duly elected and engaged according to Law. Wherefore, unto his Certificate, of that matter, full faith and absolute Credit is, and ought to be universally rendered.
[L. S.] Given under my hand and the Seal of the said State, at Providence, this 18th day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy eight.
Nicholas Cooke.
By his Excellency's Command,Henry Ward, Secretary.
At the general assembly of the Governor and Company of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, begun and holden by adjournment at East Greenwich, within and for the State aforesaid, on the 2d Monday in February, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy eight: This Assembly having taken into consideration the Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusets Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, transmitted by Congress to this State, and having had them repeatedly read, and having maturely weighed and most seriously deliberated upon them as their importance to this and the other States, and to posterity, deserves; and considering also the pressing Necessity of compleating the Union as a measure essential to the preservation of the Independence and safety of the said States, do vote and Resolve, and it is voted and resolved, that the Hon. Stephen Hopkins, Esq. William Ellery, Esq. and Henry Marchant, Esq. the Delegates to represent this State in Congress, or any one of them be, and they are hereby, fully authorized and empowered, on the part and behalf of this State, to accede to and sign the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, in such solemn form and manner as Congress shall think best adapted to a transaction so important to the present and future generations; provided, that the same be acceded to by eight of the other States: and in case any alterations in, or additions to, the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, shall be made by nine of the said States in Congress assembled, that the said Delegates or any one of them be, and they are hereby authorized and empowered, in like manner, to accede to and sign the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, with the alterations and additions that shall be so made. It is further voted and Resolved, that this Assembly will and do hereby, in behalf of the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in the most solemn manner, pledge the faith of the said State to hold and consider the Acts of the said Delegates or any one of them, in so acceding to and signing the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, as valid and binding upon the said State in all future time. And it is further voted and resolved, that a fair Copy of this Act be made and authenticated under the public Seal of this State, with the Signature of His Excellency the Governor, and be transmitted to the Delegates;
and that the same shall be sufficient warrant and authority to the said Delegates or any one of them for the purposes aforesaid.
A true Copy duly examined,
Witness,Henry Ward, Secretary.
CONNECTICUT:
At a General Assembly of the Governor and Company of the State of Connecticut, holden at Hartford, by adjournment, on the 19th day of February, 1778.
The Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, proposed by Congress to be entered into by the thirteen United States of America, being laid before this Assembly by his Excellency the Governor, were read and maturely considered; Whereupon,
Resolved, That the Delegates of this State, who shall be present in Congress, be, and they are hereby fully authorized and empowered, in behalf of this State, to agree to and ratify the said Articles of Confederation, with such Amendments, if any be, as by them, in conjunction of the Delegates of the other States in Congress, shall be thought proper.
A true Copy of Record,
Examined byGeorge Wyllys, Secretary.
NEW YORK
The people of the State of New York, one of the United States of America, by the grace of God, free and Independent, to their brethren of the other of the said United States, in Congress Assembled, and to all others who shall see these our letters patent, send Greeting:
Know ye, That among the Acts of our Senate and Assembly of our said State, we have inspected a certain Act of the said Senate and Assembly, the tenor whereof is as follows, to wit: "An Act of Accession to and approbation of certain proposed Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, between the United States of America, and to authorize the delegates of the State of New York to ratify the same on the part and behalf of this State in the Congress of the said United States. Whereas, the freedom, Sovereignty, and Independence of the said States, which, with a Magnanimity, fortitude, Constancy, and love of liberty, hitherto unparalleled, they have asserted and maintained against their cruel and unrelenting enemies, the King and parliament of the realm of Great Britain, will, for their lasting and unshaken security, in a great measure depend, under God, on a wise and well concerted, intimate and equal confederation of the said United States: and whereas, the honorable the Congress of the said United States have transmitted, for the consideration of the Legislature of this State, and for ratification in case they should approve of the same, the following Articles of Confederation, to wit:
(Here the Articles are recited verbatim.)
And whereas the Senate and Assembly of this State of New York, in Legislature convened, have separately taken the said Articles of Confederation into their respective most deliberate and mature consideration, and by their several and respective resolutions, deliberately made and entered into for the purpose, have fully and entirely approved of the same. In order, therefore, that such approval may be published and made known to the whole world, with all the solemnities of Law, and that all the subjects of this State, and others inhabiting and residing therein, from time to time, and at all times thereafter, as long as the said Confederation shall subsist and endure, may be bound by and held to the due observance of the said Articles of Confederation, as a law of this state, if the same shall be duly ratified by all the said United States, in Congress assembled, be it enacted and declared by the people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that the said several above recited Articles of Confederation, and, all and singular, the clauses, matters and things in the same contained, be, and the same are hereby, fully accepted, received and approved of, for and in behalf of the people of this State. And to the end that the same may, with all due form and solemnity, be ratified and confirmed by this State in Congress, be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the delegates of this State in the said Congress of the United States of America, or any two of the said delegates, shall be, and hereby are, fully authorized, empowered, and required, wholly, entirely, and absolutely, for and in behalf of the people of this State, and in such manner, under such formalities, as shall be determined in Congress, to ratify and confirm all and every of the said above recited Articles of Confederation, and, all and singular, the clauses, matters and things in the same contained; and an exemplification of this act, tested by his Excellency the Governor, or the Lieutenant Governor, or President of the Senate of the State for the time being, administering the Government, and authenticated with the great Seal of this State, shall be full and conclusive evidence of this Act. Provided, always, that nothing in this Act, or the said above recited Articles of Confederation, contained, nor any act, matter or thing to be done and transacted by the delegates of this State in Congress, in and concerning the premises, or any part thereof, shall bind, or oblige, or be deemed, construed or esteemed to bind or oblige the Government, Legislature, people, Subjects, inhabitants, or residents of this State, until the said above recited Articles have been duly ratified and confirmed by or in behalf of all the said United States, in Congress Assembled; any thing herein, or in the said above recited Articles of Confederation contained to the contrary thereof in any wise nothwithstanding. At the bottom of which act we find the following Certificates, to wit: "In senate, Thursday, January 29th., 1778. This bill having been read three times, Resolved, that the bill do pass. By order of the Senate, Pierre Van Cortlandt, President. In Assembly, Tuesday, February 3d., 1778. This bill having been read three times, Resolved, that the bill do pass. By order of the assembly, Walter Lavingston, speaker." And on the back of the said Bill, we find the following endorsement in writing, to wit: "In the Council for revising all bills about to be passed into Laws by the Legislature of the State of New York, on Friday, the 6th day of February, 1778. Resolved, that it does not appear improper to this Council, that the bill, entitled "An act of accession to, and approbation of, certain proposed Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the United States of America, and to authorize the delegates of the State of New York to ratify the same on the part and behalf of this State, in the Congress of the United States, should become a Law of this State. George Clinton." In testimony whereof, we, the said people of the State of New York, have caused the said Act of our said Senate and assembly to be exemplifyed by these presents, and our great Seal of our said State to be hereunto appended.
Witness our trusty and well beloved George Clinton, Esq. our Governor of our said State, general and Commander in Chief of all the Militia, and admiral of our Navy of the same, the 16th day of February, in the second year of our Independence and sovereignty, and in the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and seventy eight.
George Clinton.
By his excellency's command.
Richard Hatfield, Secretary.
PENNSYLVANIA:
The representatives of the freemen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in general Assembly met, to the Hon Benjamin Franklin, Doctor of Laws, Robert Morris, Esq. Daniel Roberdeau, Esq. Jonathan B. Smith, Esq. James Smith, Esq of York town, William Clingan, Esq. Joseph Reed, Esq Delegates for the said Commonwealth in the Congress of the United States of America, send Greeting:
Know ye, That we the said Representatives having taken into our most serious and weighty consideration and deliberation, the Articles of Confederation 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, lately transmitted to us by the Hon. Henry Laurens, Esq. President of the said Congress, do by this present instrument, signed by our Speaker, and scaled with the Seal of the Laws of this Commonwealth, accede to, ratify, confirm and agree to the said Articles; which said Articles are as follows, to wit:
(Here the Articles are recited verbatim.)
And we the said Representatives do hereby authorize, empower, require, and enjoin you, the said Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, Daniel Roberdeau, Jonathan B. Smith, James Smith, William Clingan, and Joseph Reed, or any two of you, in the Name of the said Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to accede to, ratify, confirm, and agree to the said Articles of Confederation. In testimony whereof, we have caused the Seal of the Laws of Pennsylvania to be hereunto affixed, in general Assembly, at Lancaster, the 5th day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and seventy eight.
(Seal appended.)
John Bayard, Speaker.
VIRGINIA.
In General Assembly, December 15, 1778.
Resolved, Nemine contradicente, That a speedy ratification of the Articles of Confederation between the United States of America, will confound the devices of their foreign, and frustrate the machinations of their domestic enemies; encourage their firm friends, and fix the wavering; contribute much to the support of their public Credit and the restoration of the value of their paper Money; produce Unanimity in their Councils at home, and add weight to their Negotiations abroad; and compleating the Independence of their Country, establish the best foundation of its prosperity.
Resolved, Nemine contradicente, That the Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, proposed by Congress the 7th day of November last, 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, and referred for approbation to the consideration of the several Legislatures of the said States, be approved and ratified on the part of this Commonwealth, and that our Delegates in Congress be accordingly authorized and instructed to ratify the same, in the name and on the behalf of this Commonwealth, and that they attend, for that purpose, on or before the Tenth day of March next.
Archibald Cary, Speaker of the Senate,
G. Wythe, Speaker of the House of Delegates.
NORTH CAROLINA:
State of North Carolina. In Senate, 25th of April, 1778.
To his Excellency Richard Caswell, Esquire, Captain General, Governor, and Commander in Chief, &c. &c.
Sir: The two houses of the general Assembly have taken into consideration the Confederacy proposed to the United States by the Continental Congress, and have Unanimously acceded thereto, and request your Excellency will be pleased to inform the president of the Continental Congress thereof by the earliest opportunity.
Whitmill Hill, S. S.
John Williams, S. C.
By order,J. Sitgreaves, C. S.
SOUTH CAROLINA:
In the General Assembly,
the 4th day of February, 1778.
Resolved, Nemine contradicente, That the delegates of this State in the Continental Congress, or any three of then, be, and they are hereby authorized, on the part of this State, to agree to and ratify Articles of Confederation between the United States of America.
Ordered, That the foregoing Resolution be sent to the Hon. the Legislative Council for their concurrence, and to his Excellency the President for his assent.
By order of the House,Thomas Bee, Speaker.
In the Legislative Council,
the 5th day of February, 1778.
Read the foregoing Resolution of the general Assembly.
Resolved, That this house do concur with the general Assembly in the said Resolution.
Ordered, That it be sent to his Excellency the President for his Assent.
Assented to, February 5th, 1778.J. Rutledge.
By order of the House,
Hugh Rutledge, Speaker.
GEORGIA:
House of Assembly,
Thursday, February 26th, 1778.
The house resolved itself into a Committee of the whole house, to take into consideration the Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, and after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the Chair, and Mr. Whitefield, from the Committee of the whole, reported, they had taken the said Articles into consideration and gone through the same, and made several amendments thereto, which were read and agreed to.
Extract from the Minutes,
George Cuthbert, Clerk.
Report of the amendments to the Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union:
4th article, 4th page, 4th line, add the words "white inhabitants:" 6th line, between the words "vagabonds and" add "all persons who refuse to bear Arms in defence of the State to which they belong, and all persons who have been or shall be attainted and Judged guilty of high treason in any of the United States."*
9th article, 20th page, 20th line, between the words "emitted to" add "and the expenditure of the same:"
11th article, 25th page, between the words "Canada acceding" add "and the colonies of East and West Florida."
A true Copy from the Original, taken the 24th May, and examined by
George Cuthbert, C. H. A.
House of Assembly,
Thursday, February 26th, 1778
Resolved, That the Delegates for this State be authorized and required to lay before the general Congress of the United States the several alterations proposed and agreed upon by this house this day in the Articles of Confederation and that they do use their exertions to have such alterations agreed to and confirmed in Congress.
Resolved, That in case all or none of such alterations shall be agreed to and confirmed in Congress, that then and notwithstanding, they be empowered and required in behalf of this State, to sign, ratify, and confirm the several Articles of the Confederation recommended to the respective Legislatures of the United States by Congress, or any other plan of a general Confederation which shall be agreed upon by nine of the United States.
George Cuthbert, Clerk.
The following is what was determined two days previous to the above;
"...7. The 9 article also provides, that the requisition for land forces to be furnished by the several states shall be proportioned to the number of white inhabitants in each. In the act of independence we find the following declaration: "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, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness:" of this doctrine it is not a very remote consequence, that all the inhabitants of every society, be the colour of their complexion what it may, are bound to promote the interest thereof, according to their respective abilities. They ought therefore to be brought into the account on this occasion. But, admitting necessity or expediency to justify the refusal of liberty in certain circumstances to persons of a particular colour, we think it unequal to reckon nothing upon such in this case. Should it be improper, for special local reasons, to admit them in arms for the defence of the nation, yet we conceive the proportion of forces to be embodied ought to be fixed according to the whole number of inhabitants in the State, from whatever class they may be raised...."
"...1. In article 4th, between the words "free inhabitants," to insert "white:"
"Passed in the negative, 2 ayes, 8 noes, 1 divided."
"2. In the next line, after "these states," insert "those who refuse to take up arms in defence of the confederacy:""
"Passed in the negative, 3 ayes, 8 noes."
[Note - This is what Congress had indicated less than a year later; "Resolved, That congress will make provision for paying the proprietors of such negroes as shall be inlisted for the service of the United States during the war, a full compensation for the property at a rate not exceeding one thousand dollars for each active able bodied negro man of standard size, not exceeding thirty five years of age, who shall be so inlisted and pass muster." "That no pay or bounty be allowed to the said negroes, but that they be cloathed and subsisted at the expence of the United States." "That every negro who shall well and faithfully serve as a soldier to the end of the present war, and shall then return his arms, be emancipated and receive the sum of fifty dollars." - Journals of the Continental Congress, MONDAY, MARCH 29, 1779.]
- Journals of the Continental Congress, THURSDAY, JUNE, 25, 1778.
* - And so we see that the call for infringement and restrictions began even before the Confederation was ratified. This helps shine a whole new light on the meaning of shall not be infringed, doesn't it? In that, many of the people that had objections to the Constitution proposed later (1787). Which Constitution, was being considered due to the ineffectiveness of the above Confederation. And this, in part, because that the Confederated government had failed to secure the blessings of liberty and rights of the people.
This certainly helps to provide clarity as to the reasons why the dissenters to the 1787 Constitution. Explicitly demanded that the right to keep and bear arms was placed beyond the ability of government to infringe upon.
This contention is based on the following facts. First of which, is an 1783 address that Mr. James Madison made to the states. To Wit;
Let it be remembered finally, that it has ever been the pride and boast of America, that the rights for which she contended, were the rights of human nature. By the blessing of the author of these rights, on the means exerted for their defence, they have prevailed against all opposition, and form at this time the basis of thirteen independent states. No instance has heretofore occurred, nor can any instance be expected hereafter to occur, in which the unadulterated forms of Republican government can pretend to so fair an opportunity of justifying themselves by their fruits. In this view the citizens of the United States are responsible for the greatest trust ever confided to a political society. If justice, good faith, honor, gratitude and all the other virtues qualities which ennoble the character of a nation, and fulfil the ends of government, be the fruits of our establishments, the cause of liberty will acquire a dignity and lustre which it has never yet enjoyed; and an example will be set which cannot fail to but have the most favourable influence on the rights of mankind. If on the other side, our governments should be unfortunately blotted with the reverse of these cardinal and essential qualities virtues, the great cause which we have engaged to vindicate will be dishonored and betrayed; the last and fairest experiment in favour of the rights of human nature will be turned against them, and their patrons and friends exposed to be insulted and silenced by the sycophants votaries of tyranny and usurpation."
- James Madison, Journals of the Continental Congress, Address to the States, by the United States Congress Assembled. April 26, 1783
Does not the very fact that Mr. Madison hinted at tyranny and usurpation indicate that there was already concern, as well as signs of it?
It must have been, because that is precisely what happened. To Wit;
...He particularly and pathetically intreated Congs. to consider that it was in agitation and probably would be determined by the Legis. of Massts. not only to bring to due punishment the more active & leading offenders, but to disarm & disfranchise for a limited time the great body of them; that for the policy of this measure he would not undertake to vouch, being sensible that there were great & illustrious examples agst. it, that His confidence however in the prudence of that Govt. would not permit him to call their determinations into question; that what the effect of these rigors might be it was impossible to foresee. He dwelt much on the sympathy which they probably would excite in behalf of the stigmatized party, scarce a man was without a father, a brother, a friend in the mass of the people...
- Mr. King, Journals of the Continental Congress, Feb.y. 19. 1787.
...The great War in Massachusetts is near a close---; but the people of that Government are by no means satisfied. The Legislature have it is thought carried their triumph too far. An Act to disarm* and Disfranchise for three years, all those who took up arms has passed it is thought the number is about 14,000---;outlaws. The numbers really disaffected by these measures will be three fold as all the near relations and particular friends to those disfranchised will feel sore. If this calculation & reasoning is Just---;is it not to be feared that insurgency will soon again raise its head? These troubles have doubtless had bad effect on the Recruiting . . . Under the present Government it is much to be feared---;that insurgency---;& Rebellion---;may pervade more States than Massachusetts. The people of Maryland are at this moment in great ferment about paper money, some are Violent for & others as much against it. The Assembly were generally for---;and the Sennate unanimously against. Such was the Animosity that an Adjournment took place for the purpose of appealing to the people. They are soon to meet again when I hope they will accommodate....
- William Irvine, Feb. 27 1787 letter to Josiah Harmar. [Letters of Delegates to Congress: Volume 24.]
Massachusetts have passed a Law---;which disfranchises---;and disarms all the insurgents, the chief object of which appears to be to prevent their voting at the next general Election in May. I have seen Gentlemen who lately passed through that Country---;that say this act has created more universal disgust than any other of Government and that the risings which was so nearly suppressed are rather more likely to begin again than the assembly had an Idea of....
- William Irvine, March 6 1787 letter to James Wilson. [Letters of Delegates to Congress: Volume 24.]
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.
- George Mason, May 20, 1787 letter to George Mason, Jr. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 [Farrand's Records, Volume 3]
...Mr. Gerry. Much depends on the mode of election. In England, the people will probably lose their liberty from the smallness of the proportion having a right of suffrage. Our danger arises from the opposite extreme: hence in Massts. the worst men get into the Legislature....
...Mr. Wilson. He wished for vigor in the Govt. but he wished that vigorous authority to flow immediately from the legitimate source of all authority. The Govt. ought to possess not only 1st. the force but 2ndly. the mind or sense of the people at large....
...Col. Mason. Under the existing Confederacy, Congs. represent the States not the people of the States: their acts operate on the States not on the individuals. The case will be changed in the new plan of Govt. The people will be represented; they ought therefore to choose the Representatives. The requisites in actual representation are that the Reps. should sympathize with their constituents; shd. think as they think, & feel as they feel; and that for these purposes shd. even be residents among them. Much he sd. had been alledged agst. democratic elections. He admitted that much might be said; but it was to be considered that no Govt. was free from imperfections & evils; and that improper elections in many instances, were inseparable from Republican Govts. But compare these with the advantage of this Form in favor of the rights of the people, in favor of human nature....
...Mr. Madison considered an election of one branch at least of the Legislature by the people immediately, as a clear principle of free Govt. and that this mode under proper regulations had the additional advantage of securing better representatives, as well as of avoiding too great an agency of the State Governments in the General one.--He differed from the member from Connecticut (Mr. Sherman) in thinking the objects mentioned to be all the principal ones that required a National Govt. Those were certainly important and necessary objects; but he combined with them the necessity, of providing more effectually for the security of private rights, and the steady dispensation of Justice. Interferences with these were evils which had more perhaps than any thing else, produced this convention. Was it to be supposed that republican liberty could long exist under the abuses of it practiced in <some of> the States. The gentleman (Mr. Sherman) had admitted that in a very small State, faction & oppression wd. prevail. It was to be inferred then that wherever these prevailed the State was too small. Had they not prevailed in the largest as well as the smallest tho' less than in the smallest; and were we not thence admonished to enlarge the sphere as far as the nature of the Govt. would admit. This was the only defence agst. the inconveniences of democracy consistent with the democratic form of Govt. All civilized Societies would be divided into different Sects, Factions, & interests, as they happened to consist of rich & poor, debtors & creditors, the landed the manufacturing, the commercial interests, the inhabitants of this district, or that district, the followers of this political leader or that political leader, the disciples of this religious sect or that religious sect. In all cases where a majority are united by a common interest or passion, the rights of the minority are in danger. What motives are to restrain them? A prudent regard to the maxim that honesty is the best policy is found by experience to be as little regarded by bodies of men as by individuals....
- The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 [Farrand's Records, Volume 1] MADISON Wednesday June 6th. In Committee of the whole
And, according to Mr. Madison, our rights were supposedly secured here;
"It is a fortunate thing that the objection to the Government has been made on the ground I stated; because it will be practicable, on that ground, to obviate the objection, so far as to satisfy the public mind that their liberties will be perpetual, and this without endangering any part of the Constitution, which is considered as essential to the existence of the Government by those who promoted its adoption...."
"In some instances they assert those rights which are exercised by the people in forming and establishing a plan of Government. In other instances, they specify those rights which are retained when particular powers are given up to be exercised by the Legislature. In other instances, they specify positive rights, which may seem to result from the nature of the compact. Trial by jury cannot be considered as a natural right, but a right resulting from a social compact which regulates the action of the community, but is as essential to secure the liberty of the people as any one of the pre-existent rights of nature."
- James Madison, June 8, 1789 House of Representatives, Amendments to the Constitution 8 June.
It has long been held that Self-Preservation is the First Law of Nature, as well as the Palladium of Liberty. In fact, it was the very reason given for instituting the new Constitution, (See Federalist #43). In which Mr. Madison declares;
"...The first question is answered at once by recurring to the absolute necessity of the case; to the great principle of self-preservation; to the transcendent law of nature and of nature's God, which declares that the safety and happiness of society are the objects at which all political institutions aim, and to which all such institutions must be sacrificed. Perhaps, also, an answer may be found without searching beyond the principles of the compact itself...."
...It is one of those cases which must be left to provide for itself. In general, it may be observed, that although no political relation can subsist between the assenting and dissenting States, yet the moral relations will remain uncancelled. The claims of justice, both on one side and on the other, will be in force, and must be fulfilled; the rights of humanity must in all cases be duly and mutually respected....
And Mr. Madison definitively states the clear intention as to the role of the militia;
"Mr. MADISON thought the regulation of the militia naturally appertaining to the authority charged with the public defence...."
- August 18. (1787), The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution [Elliot's Debates, Vol. 5]
How can it possibly be held that the people whom framed our Constitution. In part, to secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Possibly leave it upto the states to continue infringing upon the very objects meant to be secured? I contend that it is an impossibility. That the majority of governments in the United States are NOT operating as intended. And. they are now defeating the very purposes for which they were instituted to begin with. In effect, they have become sycophants votaries of tyranny and usurpation."
Or, as George Washington put it;
"No, surely, No! they meant to drive us into what they termed rebellion, that they might be furnished with a pretext to disarm and then strip us of the rights and privileges of Englishmen and Citizens."
- George Washington, Valley forge, March 1, 1778.
It is my contention, that not only was the federal government intended to be prevented from infringement upon our inalienable right. But, that the state and local governments were equally forbidden as well. To Wit;
"...I wish also, in revising the Constitution, we may throw into that section, which interdicts the abuse of certain powers in the State Legislatures, some other provisions of equal, if not greater importance than those already made. The words, "No State shall pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law," &c. were wise and proper restrictions in the Constitution. I think there is more danger of those powers being abused by the State Governments than by the Government of the United States. The same may be said of other powers which they possess, if not controlled by the general principle, that laws are unconstitutional which infringe the rights of the community. I should therefore wish to extend this interdiction, and add, as I have stated in the 5th resolution, that no State shall violate the equal right of conscience, freedom of the press, or trial by jury in criminal cases; because it is proper that every Government should be disarmed of powers which trench upon those particular rights. I know, in some of the State constitutions, the power of the Government is controlled by such a declaration; but others are not. I cannot see any reason against obtaining even a double security on those points; and nothing can give a more sincere proof of the attachment of those who opposed this Constitution to these great and important rights, than to see them join in obtaining the security I have now proposed; because it must be admitted, on all hands, that the State Governments are as liable to attack these invaluable privileges as the General Government is, and therefore ought to be as cautiously guarded against...."
- James Madison, House of Representatives, Debates on Amendments, June 8th, 1789
If that which is contended above is not the case. Then why would We The People form the new Constitution in place of the old Confederation? What useful purpose would it have served to do so?
From all appearances, it certainly seems that we are regressing as a nation, rather than progressing, doesn't it?
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