Articles of Confederation and the Constitution Transcripts

Articles of Confederation (1777)

Introduction

  • The Articles of Confederation represent the first constitutional framework for the United States, agreed upon by delegates from the Thirteen States as of November 15, 1777.

  • This document establishes a confederation and a perpetual union among the states.

Preamble

  • States the intent to provide a framework for governance among the states.

  • Expresses a commitment to mutual defense, security, and welfare for the collective states.

Article I: Name of Confederacy

  • Declares that the name of this confederacy shall be "The United States of America."

Article II: State Sovereignty

  • Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence.

  • States maintain all rights not expressly delegated to the Congress assembled.

Article III: League of Friendship

  • The states form a firm league of friendship for their common defense and welfare.

  • States bind themselves to assist one another against forces or attacks related to religion, sovereignty, trade, or any pretense.

Article IV: Privileges and Immunities

  • Free inhabitants of each state are entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in other states, excluding paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice.

  • Residents have the right to free ingress and egress between states and engage in trade and commerce.

    • Restrictions on trade must not impede the removal of property imported into one state to another where the owner resides.

    • No state shall impose duties or restrictions on property belonging to the United States or any state therein.

Article V: Delegates and Representation

  • Each state legislates the appointment process for delegates, who meet annually in Congress on the first Monday of November.

  • States have the right to recall their delegates at any time within the year.

  • Each state must send between two to seven delegates, with each state receiving one vote.

  • Freedom of speech and debate in Congress is protected from being questioned in any court.

Article VI: Limitations on State Power

  • No state can send or receive embassies or enter agreements without the consent of the U.S. Congress.

  • State officials cannot accept gifts or titles from foreign states.

  • No treaties can be made without the approval of Congress; states cannot maintain war vessels in peacetime, nor engage in war without consent unless invaded.

Article VIII: Common Treasury

  • All costs for wars and common expenses are to be covered from a common treasury funded by the states proportionally to the value of land therein.

Article IX: Powers of Congress

  • Congress holds the exclusive rights to decide on matters of peace and war, sending representations abroad, entering treaties, etc.

Article XI: Admission of Canada

  • Canada can join the Confederation and will receive the same benefits as the original states; other colonies require the agreement of nine states for admission.

Article XII: Financial Obligations

  • Any debts incurred under the Articles of Confederation prior to its establishment are recognized as obligations of the United States.

Article XIII: Observance of Articles

  • All states must abide by Congress's decisions and the Articles themselves remain inviolable unless amended by the unanimous consent of Congress and state legislatures.

Constitution of the United States (1787)

Preamble

  • Establishes that the Constitution aims to form a more perfect union, ensure justice, promote welfare, and secure liberties for future generations.

Article I: Legislative Branch

  • Section 1: Grants legislative powers to a bicameral Congress consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives.

  • House of Representatives:

    • Elected every two years by the people.

    • Must be at least 25 years old and a citizen for seven years.

    • Representation and taxation are based on population, using the three-fifths compromise for enslaved individuals.

    • House has the exclusive power to impeach.

  • Senate:

    • Composed of two senators from each state, serving six-year terms.

    • Senators must be at least 30 years old and a citizen for nine years.

    • The Vice President acts as President of the Senate but votes only in case of ties.

    • The Senate has exclusive power to conduct impeachment trials.

Section 6: Legislative Privileges

  • Senators and Representatives are compensated for their services and have privileges from arrest during legislative sessions, along with protections for their speech.

Section 7: Legislative Process

  • Revenue Bills: Must originate in the House, but the Senate can propose amendments.

  • After both houses pass a bill, it must go to the President, who can approve or veto it, with a defined process for override by Congress.

Section 8: Powers of Congress

  • Congress can impose and collect taxes, regulate commerce, and raise and support armies among other duties. Specific duties discussed include:

    • Promoting science and arts by enabling rights for authors and inventors.

    • Granting letters of marque, declaring war, and making rules for military forces.

Section 9: Restrictions on Federal Power

  • Congress cannot prohibit migration or the importation of certain persons until 1808 but may impose a tax on importation. Specific rights and privileges are protected against suspension unless warranted by rebellion or invasion.

Section 10: Restrictions on State Trade

  • States cannot enter into treaties, coin money, or impose duties on imports without Congressional consent.

    • Other specific prohibitions are enacted against states for legal consistency.

Article II: Executive Branch

  • Section 1: Vests executive power in the President, serving four-year terms; established the electoral process.

  • Citizenship and Age Requirements: Must be a natural-born citizen, and at least 35 years old.

    • Presidential salary cannot be raised or lowered during their term, with an oath required before entering office.

  • Section 2: Designates the President as Commander in Chief, and grants powers related to making treaties and appointing judges.

  • Section 3: The President must address Congress on the state of the union and recommend legislative measures.

  • Section 4: Defines conditions leading to impeachment of the President or other officials for high crimes.

Article III: Judicial Branch

  • Section 1: Establishes judicial power within a Supreme Court and inferior courts set by Congress.

    • Judicial terms are for good behavior with financial standing secured during service.

  • Section 2: Judicial power extends to various types of cases and mandates jury trials for crimes.

  • Section 3: Outlines definitions and consequences of treason against the U.S.

Article IV: States’ Powers and Limits

  • Section 1: Full faith and credit must be given to the public acts and records of other states.

  • Section 2: Citizens granted privileges across states; provision for return of escaped laborers.

  • Section 3 & 4: Congress has the authority for admission of new states; guarantees a republican form of government for all states.

Article V: Amendment Process

  • Amendments can be proposed by two-thirds of Congress or through state legislatures and must be ratified by three-fourths of the states.

Article VI: Supremacy Clause

  • Affirms debts under the Articles remain valid; establishes the Constitution and federal laws as the supreme law of the land.

Article VII: Ratification

  • Requires ratification from nine states for the Constitution to be effective.

The Bill of Rights (1791)

Preamble

  • States the intentions to add precautions and protections of the Constitution.

Individual Amendments

  • Amendment I: Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.

  • Amendment II: Right to bear arms for a regulated militia.

  • Amendment III: Protection from quartering soldiers in private homes.

  • Amendment IV: Protection against unreasonable searches and seizures without probable cause.

  • Amendment V: Rights regarding legal proceedings including indictments, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and due process.

  • Amendment VI: Guarantees rights to a fair trial and legal counsel.

  • Amendment VII: Preservation of the right to trial by jury in civil cases.

  • Amendment VIII: Prohibits excessive bail, fines, and cruel unusual punishment.

  • Amendment IX: Affirms that enumerated rights do not limit other rights retained by the people.

  • Amendment X: States that powers not granted to the Federal Government nor prohibited to the States are reserved to the States or the people.

The foundational documents of the United States—the Articles of Confederation, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights—reflect a critical political moment where society grappled with defining belonging and rights, primarily through the lens of legislative bodies. While limited in their immediate scope to specific groups (e.g., excluding women, enslaved individuals, and Native Americans), these texts laid down the framework for citizenship and governance that continuously shaped subsequent debates over inclusion. They reflect a society moving towards self-governance, yet still heavily influenced by existing social hierarchies and power structures.

  1. Reflection on Belonging and Rights: These legislative documents, created by (predominantly white, male, property-owning) representatives, implicitly defined who belonged in society by determining who held political power and whose rights were protected. For instance, the Articles of Confederation established a "league of friendship" among sovereign states, with Article IV extending "privileges and immunities of free citizens" primarily between the existing states, without universalizing citizenship or rights beyond these classifications. The U.S. Constitution, while aiming for a "more perfect union," explicitly counted enslaved persons as "three-fifths of all other Persons" for representation (Article I, Section 2), deeply reflecting a moment where the belonging of an entire demographic was contentious and codified as less than full. The Bill of Rights (e.g., Amendment I on freedom of speech, Amendment II on the right to bear arms) enumerated rights for "the people," but the application of these rights was historically and legally constrained to specific groups, illustrating an ongoing internal reflection on the practical scope of these seemingly universal principles.

  2. Proposed Distribution of Rights: Each document, through its arguments and structures, proposed a distinct distribution of rights:

    • Articles of Confederation: Article II, declaring "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence," argued for a primary distribution of rights and powers at the state level. This meant that the scope of individual rights often depended on state laws, proposing a decentralized distribution where national identity was secondary to state affiliation. For example, Article IV only guaranteed privileges and immunities to "free inhabitants" between states, explicitly excluding groups like "paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice," which meant certain segments of society already deemed undesirable by individual states would not be protected.

    • U.S. Constitution: The Constitution proposed a more centralized, yet still divided, distribution. While creating a national government, it maintained aspects of state power. For rights, Article I, Section 2's "three-fifths compromise" explicitly proposed a distribution by denying full personhood and political voice to enslaved individuals, demonstrating that rights were, for some, not inherent but subject to legal and racial categorization. Conversely, the broad powers granted to Congress in Section 8 (e.g., "Promoting science and arts by enabling rights for authors and inventors") suggested a national role in encouraging certain liberties and progress for specific citizens.

    • The Bill of Rights: This collection of amendments directly argued for fundamental individual rights against federal government encroachment. Amendment I, guaranteeing "freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition," proposed that these specific liberties were inherent to individuals and should not be abridged by the state. Amendment X further clarified the distribution, asserting that powers not delegated to the federal government nor prohibited to the states "are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people," thereby arguing for a residual and dual layer of rights and powers, protecting both state autonomy and undefined individual rights.

  3. American Revolution's Impact on Rights and Inclusion: Based on these readings, the American Revolution significantly revolutionized the idea of rights and political inclusion by establishing the principle of popular sovereignty and enumerating certain individual liberties within a republican framework. The move from a monarchical system to one based on a written constitution and elected representation marked a profound shift in political thought, empowering citizens in theory and laying the groundwork for future expansions of rights. The Bill of Rights, in particular, enshrined crucial individual protections previously absent. However, the Revolution's impact on actual widespread inclusion was incremental and deeply flawed by modern standards. The documents reflect existing prejudices and economic necessities (e.g., slavery), limiting full citizenship and rights to white, property-owning men. While the framework for thinking about rights was revolutionized—moving towards inherent rights and a government accountable to the people—the application of these rights was not immediately universal. It created a powerful precedent and a language of rights that successive generations would use to fight for greater inclusion, but it did not, in itself, fully actualize a society where all people belonged with equal rights from its inception.