Chapter 3 (1)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1777 (June).
Vermont denied admission to the Union.

See VERMONT; A. D. 1777-1778.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1777 (July).
The coming of Lafayette.

"La Fayette, barely nineteen years old, was in garrison at
Metz, when he was invited to a dinner that his commander, the
Count de Broglie, gave to the brother of the king of England,
the Duke of Gloucester, then on his way through the city. News
had just been received of the proclamation of the independence
of the United States, and, the conversation having naturally
fallen on this subject, La Fayette plied the duke with
questions to acquaint himself with the events, entirely new to
him, which were happening in America. Before the end of the
dinner he had made his decision, and, from that moment, he no
longer thought of anything else except setting out for the new
world.
{3249}
He went to Paris and confided his project to his friends, the
Count de Segur and the Viscount de Noailles, who were to
accompany him. The Count de Broglie, whom he also informed,
tried to turn him from his design. 'I saw your uncle die in
Italy,' he said to him, 'and your father at Min·den, and I do
not wish to contribute to the ruin of your family by allowing
you to go.' Nevertheless, he put La Fayette in communication
with the former agent of Choiseul in Canada, the Baron de
Kalb, who became his friend. De Kalb presented him to Silas
Deane, who, considering him too young, wished to dissuade him
from his project. But the news of the disasters experienced by
the Americans before New York, at White Plains and in New
Jersey, confirmed La Fayette in his resolution. He bought and
fitted out a vessel at his own expense, and disguised his
preparations by making a journey to London. Nevertheless his
design was disclosed at Court. His family became angry with
him. He was forbidden to go to America, and, to render this
order effective, a lettre de cachet was issued against him.
Nevertheless he left Paris with an officer named Mauroy,
disguised himself as a courier, went on board his ship at
Passage in Spain, and set sail April the 26th, 1777. He had
several officers on board. La Fayette successfully avoided the
English cruisers and the French vessels sent in pursuit of
him. Finally, after a hazardous passage of seven weeks, he
reached Georgetown, and, furnished with letters of
recommendation from Deane, he reported to Congress."

_T. Balch,
The French in America during the War of Independence,
chapter 7._

In consideration of the great personal sacrifice he had made
in quitting France, and his offer to serve the American cause
at his own expense and without pay, Congress, with hesitation,
conferred on the young marquis the rank of Major General, but
without command. He succeeded, too, in procuring a like
commission for Baron de Kalb, who had accompanied him. While
Lafayette was still busy with these arrangements, Washington
came to Philadelphia, and they met at a dinner party. They
seem to have been drawn to one another at the first exchange
of words, and a friendship began which lasted through their
lives. Lafayette was soon invited to become a member of the
military family of the commander-in-chief.

_B. Tuckerman,
Life of General Lafayette,
chapter 2._

ALSO IN:
_C. Tower, Jr.,
The Marquis de La Fayette in the American Revolution,
volume 1, chapter 1._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1777 (July-October).
The struggle for the Hudson.
Burgoyne's expedition from Canada.
His surrender at Saratoga.

Early in the summer of 1777 a formidable expedition under
General Burgoyne was set in motion from Canada toward Lake
Champlain. "It was a part of Burgoyne's plan, not merely to
take Ticonderoga, but to advance thence upon Albany, and, with
the co-operation of the troops at New York, to get possession
also of the posts in the Highlands. The British would then
command the Hudson through its whole extent, and New England,
the head of the rebellion, would be completely cut off from
the middle and southern colonies. Burgoyne started on this
expedition with a brilliant army of 8,000 men, partly British
and partly Germans, besides a large number of Canadian
boatmen, laborers and skirmishers. On the western shore of
Lake Champlain, near Crown Point, he met the Six Nations in
council, and after a feast and a speech, some 400 of their
warriors joined this army. His next step was to issue a
proclamation … threatening with all the extremities of war all
who should presume to resist his arms. Two days after the
issue of this proclamation, Burgoyne appeared [July 1] before
Ticonderoga." The commander of that important fort, General
St. Clair, found defense impracticable and evacuated the
place. He was vigorously pursued in his retreat and only
escaped with the loss of most of his bag·gage and stores,
besides several hundred men, in killed, wounded, and
prisoners. "After a seven days' march, he joined Schuyler at
Fort Edward, on the Hudson. Here was assembled the whole force
of the northern army, amounting to about 5,000 men; but a
considerable part were militia hastily called in; many were
without arms; there was a great deficiency of ammunition and
provisions; and the whole force was quite disorganized. The
region between Skenesborough [now Whitehall, where Burgoyne
had halted] and the Hudson was an almost unbroken wilderness.
Wood Creek was navigable as far as Fort Anne [which the
Americans had fired and abandoned]; from Fort Anne to the
Hudson, over an exceedingly rough country, … extended a single
military road. While Burgoyne halted a few days at
Skenesborough to put his forces in order, and to bring up the
necessary supplies, Schuyler hastened to destroy the
navigation of Wood Creek," and to make the road from Fort Anne
as nearly impassable as a wilderness road can be made. "All
the stock in the neighborhood was driven off, and the militia
of New England was summoned to the rescue. … The advance from
Skenesborough cost the British infinite labor and fatigue; but
… [the] impediments were at length overcome; and Burgoyne,
with his troops, artillery, and baggage, presently appeared
[July 29] on the banks of the Hudson. … Fort Edward was
untenable. As the British approached, the Americans crossed
the river, and retired, first to Saratoga, and then to
Stillwater, a short distance above the mouth of the Mohawk.
Hardly had Schuyler taken up this position, when news arrived
of another disaster and a new danger. While moving up Lake
Champlain, Burgoyne had detached Colonel St. Leger, with 200
regulars, Sir John Johnson's Royal Greens, some Canadian
Rangers, and a body of Indians under Brant, to harass the New
York frontier from the west. St. Leger laid siege to Fort
Schuyler, late Fort Stanwix, near the head of the Mohawk, then
the extreme western post of the State of New York. General
Herkimer raised the militia of Tryon county, and advanced to
the relief of this important post, which was held by
Gansevoort and Willett, with two New York regiments. About six
miles from the fort [near Oriskany, August 6], owing to want
of proper precaution, Herkimer fell into an ambush. Mortally
wounded, he supported himself against a stump, and encouraged
his men to the fight. By the aid of a successful sally by
Willett, they succeeded at last in repulsing the assailants,
but not without a loss of 400, including many of the leading
patriots of that region, who met with no mercy at the hands of
the Indians and refugees. Tryon county, which included the
whole district west of Albany, abounded with Tories.
{3250}
It was absolutely necessary to relieve Fort Schuyler." General
Arnold was accordingly despatched thither, with three
regiments, and on his approach St. Leger, deserted by most of
his Indian allies, retreated precipitately, leaving most of
his stores and baggage behind. Meantime, Burgoyne was
beginning to find his situation serious. To feed and otherwise
supply his army was the chief difficulty. He could bring
enough of stores to the head of Lake George, by the water
carriage which he commanded, from Canada; but to transport
them thence to the Hudson, though the distance was only
eighteen miles, proved nearly impracticable. "The roads were
so bad, and the supply of draft cattle so small, that, after a
fortnight's hard labor, the British army had only four days'
provision in advance." To improve his supplies, and partly,
moreover, in the hope of finding discontent among the settlers
of the New Hampshire Grants, Burgoyne sent 800 men, under
Colonel Baum, into Vermont, They were defeated [August 16] at
Bennington by the New Hampshire and Vermont militia under
Colonel John Stark, and again defeated a second time the same
day, after reinforcements had been sent to them. "Besides the
killed, about 200 in number, the Americans took near 600
prisoners, 1,000 stand of arms, as many swords, and four
pieces of artillery. … The American loss was only 14 killed
and 42 wounded. … The victory of Stark had a magical effect in
reviving the spirits of the people and the courage of the
soldiers."

_R. Hildreth,
History of the United States,
chapter 36 (volume 3)._

"Burgoyne's position was by this time very dangerous. His
Indians were leaving him; many of his best men had been killed
or captured; and he was getting short of provisions. The army
opposed to him was increasing: Congress was hurrying men up
the Hudson; and the country militia were coming in rapidly.
Burgoyne, therefore, desperately attempted to force his way
through the American army. He crossed the Hudson, and moved
slowly down its west bank toward the Mohawk. About the same
time, Gates, who had been sent by Congress to take Schuyler's
place, felt strong enough to move up the west bank of the
Hudson, away from the Mohawk. The two armies met [September
19] at Bemis Heights, between Saratoga Lake and the Hudson.
The battle which followed [called by some writers the battle
of Freeman's Farm] was not decisive: the British held the
ground; but the Americans had shown that Burgoyne could not
break through."

_A. Johnston,
History of the United States for Schools,
sections 222-223._

"Burgoyne now halted again, and strengthened his position by
field-works and redoubts; and the Americans also improved
their defences. The two armies remained nearly within
cannon-shot of each other for a considerable time, during
which Burgoyne was anxiously looking for intelligence of the
promised expedition from New York, which, according to the
original plan, ought by this time to have been approaching
Albany from the south. At last, a messenger from Clinton made
his way, with great difficulty, to Burgoyne's camp, and
brought the information that Clinton was on his way up the
Hudson to attack the American forts which barred the passage
up that river to Albany. Burgoyne, in reply, on the 30th of
September, urged Clinton to attack the forts as speedily as
possible, stating that the effect of such an attack, or even
the semblance of it, would be to move the American army from
its position before his own troops. By another messenger, who
reached Clinton on the 5th of October, Burgoyne informed his
brother general that he had lost his communications with
Canada, but had provisions which would last him till the 20th.
Burgoyne described himself as strongly posted, and stated that
though the Americans in front of him [at Stillwater] were
strongly posted also, he made no doubt of being able to force
them, and making his way to Albany; but that he doubted
whether he could subsist there, as the country was drained of
provisions. He wished Clinton to meet him there, and to keep
open a communication with New York. Burgoyne had
over-estimated his resources, and in the very beginning of
October found difficulty and distress pressing him hard. The
Indians and Canadians began to desert him; while, on the other
hand, Gates's army was continually reinforced by fresh bodies
of the militia. … Finding the number and spirit of the enemy
to increase daily, and his own stores of provisions to
diminish, Burgoyne determined on attacking the Americans in
front of him, and by dislodging them from their position, to
gain the means of moving upon Albany, or at least of relieving
his troops from the straitened position in which they were
cooped up. Burgoyne's force was now reduced to less than 6,000
men. The right of his camp was on some high ground a little to
the west of the river; thence his entrenchments extended along
the lower ground to the bank of the Hudson, the line of their
front being nearly at a right angle with the course of the
stream. The lines were fortified with redoubts and
field-works. … The numerical force of the Americans was now
greater than the British, even in regular troops, and the
numbers of the militia and volunteers which had joined Gates
and Arnold were greater still. General Lincoln, with 2,000 New
England troops, had reached the American camp on the 29th of
September. Gates gave him the command of the right wing, and
took in person the command of the left wing, which was
composed of two brigades under Generals Poor and Leonard, of
Colonel Morgan's rifle corps, and part of the fresh New
England Militia. The whole of the American lines had been ably
fortified under the direction of the celebrated Polish
General, Kosciusko, who was now serving as a volunteer in
Gates's army. The right of the American position, that is to
say, the part of it nearest to the river, was too strong to be
assailed with any prospect of success: and Burgoyne therefore
determined to endeavour to force their left. For this purpose
he formed a column of 1,500 regular troops, with two
twelve-pounders, two howitzers, and six six-pounders. He
headed this in person, having Generals Philips, Riedesel; and
Fraser under him. The enemy's force immediately in front of
his lines was so strong that he dared not weaken the troops
who guarded them, by detaching any more to strengthen his
column of attack. It was on the 7th of October that Burgoyne
led his column forward; and on the preceding day, the 6th,
Clinton had successfully executed a brilliant enterprise
against the two American forts which barred his progress up
the Hudson.
{3251}
He had captured them both, with severe loss to the American
forces opposed to him; he had destroyed the fleet which the
Americans had been forming on the Hudson, under the protection
of their forts; and the upward river was laid open to his
squadron. He had also, with admirable skill and industry,
collected in small vessels, such as could float within a few
miles of Albany, provisions sufficient to supply Burgoyne's
army for six months. He was now only 156 miles distant from
Burgoyne; and a detachment of 1,700 men actually advanced
within 40 miles of Albany. Unfortunately Burgoyne and Clinton
were each ignorant of the other's movements; but if Burgoyne
had won his battle on the 7th, he must on advancing have soon
learned the tidings of Clinton's success, and Clinton would
have heard of his. A junction would soon have been made of the
two victorious armies, and the great objects of the campaign
might yet have been accomplished. All depended on the fortune
of the column with which Burgoyne, on the eventful 7th of
October, 1777, advanced against the American position." It
failed in the attempt to break the American line. Arnold, who
bad been deprived of his command by Gates, rushed into the
fight at its fiercest stage and assumed a lead, without
authority, which contributed greatly to the result. General
Fraser, on the British side, was wounded mortally by a
sharp-shooter under Morgan's command. Burgoyne's whole force
was driven back, with heavy losses in killed and wounded,
leaving six cannon behind them, and the Americans, pursuing,
carried part of their entrenchments by storm. By this success,
the latter "acquired the means of completely turning the right
flank of the British, and gaining their rear. To prevent this
calamity, Burgoyne effected during the night an entire change
of position. With great skill he removed his whole army to
some heights near the river, a little northward of the former
camp, and he there drew up his men, expecting to be attacked
on the following day. But Gates was resolved not to risk the
certain triumph which his success had already secured for him.
He harassed the English with skirmishes, but attempted no
regular attack. Meanwhile he detached bodies of troops on both
sides of the Hudson to prevent the British from recrossing
that river, and to bar their retreat. When night fell, it
became absolutely necessary for Burgoyne to retire again, and,
accordingly, the troops were marched through a stormy and
rainy night towards Saratoga, abandoning their sick and
wounded, and the greater part of their baggage, to the enemy.
… Burgoyne now took up his last position on the heights near
Saratoga; and hemmed in by the enemy, who refused any
encounter, and baffled in all his attempts at finding a path
of escape, he there lingered until famine compelled him to
capitulate. The fortitude of the British army during this
melancholy period has been justly eulogised by many native
historians, but I prefer quoting the testimony of a foreign
writer, as free from all possibility of partiality. Botta
says: 'It exceeds the power of words to describe the pitiable
condition to which the British army was now reduced. The
troops were worn down by a series of toil, privation,
sickness, and desperate fighting. They were abandoned by the
Indians and Canadians; and the effective force of the whole
army was now diminished by repeated and heavy losses, which
had principally fallen on the best soldiers and the most
distinguished officers, from 10,000 combatants to less than
one-half that number. Of this remnant, little more than 3,000
were English. In these circumstances, and thus weakened, they
were invested by an army of four times their own number, whose
position extended three parts of a circle round them; who
refused to fight them, as knowing their weakness, and who,
from the nature of the ground, could not be attacked in any
part. In this helpless condition, obliged to be constantly
under arms, while the enemy's cannon played on every part of
their camp, and even the American rifle-balls whistled in many
parts of the lines, the troops of Burgoyne retained their
customary firmness, and while sinking under a hard necessity,
they showed themselves worthy of a better fate. They could not
be reproached with an action or a word, which betrayed a want
of temper or of fortitude.' At length the 13th of October
arrived, and as no prospect of assistance appeared, and the
provisions were nearly exhausted, Burgoyne, by the unanimous
advice of a council of war, sent a messenger to the American
camp to treat of a convention. General Gates in the first
instance demanded that the royal army should surrender
prisoners of war. He also proposed that the British should
ground their arms. Burgoyne replied, 'This article is
inadmissible in every extremity; sooner than this army will
consent to ground their arms in their encampment, they will
rush on the enemy, determined to take no quarter.' After
various messages, a convention for the surrender of the army
was settled, which provided that 'The troops under General
Burgoyne were to march out of their camp with the honours of
war, and the artillery of the intrenchments, to the verge of
the river, where the arms and artillery were to be left. The
arms to be piled by word of command from their own officers. A
free passage was to be granted to the army under
Lieutenant-General Burgoyne to Great Britain, upon condition
of not serving again in North America during the present
contest.' The articles of capitulation were settled on the
15th of October; and on that very evening a messenger arrived
from Clinton with an account of his successes, and with the
tidings that part of his force had penetrated as far as
Esopus, within 50 miles of Burgoyne's camp. But it was too
late. The public faith was pledged; and the army was, indeed,
too debilitated by fatigue and hunger to resist an attack if
made; and Gates certainly would have made it, if the
convention had been broken off. Accordingly, on the 17th, the
convention of Saratoga was carried into effect. By this
convention 5,790 men surrendered themselves as prisoners. The
sick and wounded left in the camp when the British retreated
to Saratoga, together with the numbers of the British, German,
and Canadian troops, who were killed, wounded, or taken, and
who had deserted in the preceding part of the expedition, were
reckoned to be 4,689. The British sick and wounded who had
fallen into the hands of the Americans after the battle of the
7th, were treated with exemplary humanity; and when the
convention was executed, General Gates showed a noble delicacy
of feeling, which deserves the highest degree of honour. Every
circumstance was avoided which could give the appearance of
triumph.
{3252}
The American troops remained within their lines until the
British had piled their arms; and when this was done, the
vanquished officers and soldiers were received with friendly
kindness by their victors, and their immediate wants were
promptly and liberally supplied. Discussions and disputes
afterwards arose as to some of the terms of the convention;
and the American Congress refused for a long time to carry
into effect the article which provided for the return of
Burgoyne's men to Europe; but no blame was imputable to
General Gates or his army, who showed themselves to be
generous as they had proved themselves to be brave."

_Sir E. Creasy,
Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World,
chapter 13_.

ALSO IN:
_General J. Burgoyne,
State of the Expedition from Canada._

_S. A. Drake,
Burgoyne's Invasion._

_W. L. Stone,
Campaign of Burgoyne._

_M. von Eelking,
Memoir of General Riedesel,
volume 1, pages 88-218._

_B. J. Lossing,
Life and Times of Philip Schuyler,
volume 2, chapters 6-21._

_Colonel M. Willett,
Narrative of Military Actions,
chapter 5._

_C. Stark,
Memoir of General John Stark,
pages 46-140._

_T. Dwight,
Travels in New England and New York,
volume 3, pages 220-233._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1777-1778.
The British in Philadelphia.
Their gay winter.

See PHILADELPHIA: A. D. 1777-1778.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1777-1778.
The Conway Cabal.

The capitulation of Burgoyne at Saratoga "was an all-important
event in its influence on the progress of the war; but its
immediate effect was unpropitious to the reputation of the
Commander-in-chief, who was compelled, at the close of the
year, to place his army in a state of almost total destitution
in winter-quarters at Valley Forge. The brilliant success of
General Gates at Saratoga, in contrast with the reverses which
had befallen the American Army under the immediate command of
Washington, encouraged the operations of a cabal against him,
which had been formed by certain disaffected officers of the
army, and was countenanced by a party in Congress. The design
was, by a succession of measures implying a want of
confidence, to drive Washington to retire from the service in
disgust: and, when this object was effected, to give the
command of the army to General Gates, who lent a willing ear
to these discreditable intrigues. A foreign officer in the
American Army, of the name of Conway, was the most active
promoter of the project, which was discovered by the
accidental disclosure of a part of his correspondence with
Gates. Washington bore himself on this occasion with his usual
dignity, and allowed the parties concerned, in the army and in
Congress, to take refuge in explanations, disclaimers, and
apologies, by which those who made them gained no credit, and
those who accepted them were not deceived. A part of the
machinery of this wretched cabal was the publication, in
London, and the republication in New York of [a] collection of
forged letters … bearing the name of Washington, and intended
to prove his insincerity in the cause of the Revolution.
Nothing perhaps more plainly illustrates his conscious
strength of character, than the disdainful silence with which
he allowed this miserable fabrication to remain for twenty
years without exposure. It was only in the year 1796, and when
about to retire from the Presidency, that he filed, in the
department of Slate, a denial of its authenticity."

_E. Everett,
Life of Washington,
chapter 6._

In a letter written May 30, 1778, addressed to Landon Carter,
from the camp at Valley Forge, Washington alluded to the
subject of the cabal as follows: "With great truth I think I
can assure you, that the information you received from a
gentleman at Sabine Hall, respecting a disposition in the
northern officers to see me superseded in my command by
General G--s is without the least foundation. I have very
sufficient reasons to think, that no officers in the army are
more attached to me, than those from the northward, and of
those, none more so than the gentlemen, who were under the
immediate command of G--s last campaign. That there was a
scheme of this sort on foot, last fall, admits of no doubt:
but it originated in another quarter; with three men who
wanted to aggrandize themselves; but finding no support, on
the contrary, that their conduct and views, when seen into,
were likely to undergo severe reprehension, they slunk back,
disavowed the measure, and professed themselves my warmest
admirers. Thus stands the matter at present. Whether any
members of Congress were privy to this scheme, and inclined to
aid and abet it, I shall not take upon me to say; but am well
informed, that no whisper of the kind was ever heard in
Congress."

_George Washington,
Writings,
edited by W. C. Ford,
volume 7, page 39._

ALSO IN:
_W. Irving,
Life of Washington,
volume 3, chapters 28-30._

_J. C. Hamilton,
History of the United States
in the Writings of Alexander Hamilton,
volume 1, chapters 13-14._

_J. Sparks,
Life of Gouverneur Morris,
volume 1, chapter 10._

_W. V. Wells,
Life of Samuel Adams,
chapter 46 (volume 2)._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1777-1781.
Adoption and ratification of the Articles of Confederation.

"On the 11th of June, 1776, the same day on which the
committee for preparing the declaration of independence was
appointed, congress resolved, that 'a committee be appointed
to prepare and digest the form of a confederation to be
entered into between these colonies'; and on the next day a
committee was accordingly appointed, consisting of a member
from each colony. Nearly a year before this period (viz. on
the 21st of July, 1775), Dr. Franklin had submitted to
congress a sketch of articles of confederation, which does
not, however, appear to have been acted on. … On the 12th of
July, 1776, the committee appointed to prepare articles of
confederation presented a draft, which was in the hand-writing
of Mr. Dickenson, one of the committee, and a delegate from
Pennsylvania. The draft, so reported, was debated from the 22d
to the 31st of July, and on several days between the 5th and
20th of August, 1776. On this last day, congress, in committee
of the whole, reported a new draft, which was ordered to be
printed for the use of the members. The subject seems not
again to have been touched until the 8th of April, 1777, and
the articles were debated at several times between that time
and the 15th of November of the same year. On this last day
the articles were reported with sundry amendments, and finally
adopted by congress. A committee was then appointed to draft,
and they accordingly drafted, a circular letter, requesting
the states respectively to authorize their delegates in
congress to subscribe the same in behalf of the state. … It
carried, however, very slowly conviction to the minds of the
local legislatures. Many objections were stated, and many
amendments were proposed.
{3253}
All of them, however, were rejected by congress, not probably
because they were all deemed inexpedient or improper in
themselves; but from the danger of sending the instrument back
again to all the states, for reconsideration. Accordingly, on
the 26th of June, 1778, a copy, engrossed for ratification,
was prepared, and the ratification begun on the 9th day of
July following. It was ratified by all the states, except
Delaware and Maryland, in 1778; by Delaware in 1779, and by
Maryland on the 1st of March, 1781, from which last date its
final ratification took effect, and was joyfully announced by
congress. In reviewing the objections taken by the various
states to the adoption of the confederation in the form in
which it was presented to them, … that which seemed to be of
paramount importance, and which, indeed, protracted the
ratification of the confederation to so late a period, was the
alarming controversy in respect to the boundaries of some of
the states, and the public lands, held by the crown, within
these reputed boundaries."

_J. Story,
Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States,
book 2, chapter 2 (volume 1)._

The following is the text of the Articles of Confederation:

"Article I.
The style of this Confederacy shall be,
'The United States of America.'

Article 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.

Article III.
The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of
friendship with each other, for their common defense, 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
pretense whatever.

Article IV.
The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and
intercourse among the people of the different States in this
Union, the free inhabitants of each of these States, paupers,
vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted, shall be
entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in
the several States; and the people 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 offense. 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 interests 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 any 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 imprisonment
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 defense 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 defense 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.

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Article VII.
When land forces are raised by any State for the common
defense, 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 State which first made the appointment.

Article VIII.
All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be
incurred for the common defense, or general 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.
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 whatever; of establishing rules for
deciding, in all cases, what captures on land and 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:
Whenever the legislative or executive authority, or lawful
agent of any State in controversy with another, shall present
a petition to Congress, stating the matter in question, and
praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order
of Congress to the legislative or executive authority of the
other State in controversy, and a day assigned for the
appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who shall
then be directed to appoint, by joint consent, commissioners
or judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining
the matter in question; but if they cannot agree, Congress
shall name three persons out of each of the United States, and
from the list of such persons each party shall alternately
strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number
shall be reduced to thirteen; and from that number not less
than seven nor more than nine names, as Congress shall direct,
shall, in the presence of Congress, be drawn out by lot; and
the persons whose names shall be so drawn, or any five of
them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally
determine the controversy, so always as a major part of the
judges who shall hear the cause shall agree in the
determination; and if either party shall neglect to attend at
the day appointed, without showing reasons which Congress
shall judge sufficient, or being present, shall refuse to
strike, the Congress shall proceed to nominate three persons
out of each State, and the secretary of Congress shall strike
in behalf of such party absent or refusing; and the judgment
and sentence of the court, to be appointed in the manner
before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive; and if any
of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority of such
court, or to appear or defend their claim or cause, the court
shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence or judgment,
which shall in like manner be final and decisive; the judgment
or sentence and other proceedings being in either case
transmitted to Congress, and lodged among the acts of Congress
for the security of the parties concerned; provided, that
every commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an
oath, to be administered by one of the judges of the supreme
or superior court of the State where the cause shall be tried,
'well and truly to hear and determine the matter in question,
according to the best of his judgment, without favor,
affection, or hope of reward.' Provided, also, that no State
shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United
States. All controversies concerning the private right of soil
claimed under different grants of two or more States, whose
jurisdictions, as they may respect such lands, and the States
which passed such grants are adjusted, the said grants or
either of them being at the same time claimed to have
originated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction,
shall, on the petition of either party to the Congress of the
United States, be finally determined, as near as may be, in
the same manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes
respecting territorial jurisdiction between different States.
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;
{3255}
establishing and regulating post-offices from one State to
another, throughout all the United States, and exacting such
postage on the papers passing through 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 managing 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 can not 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
defense 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 the 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, moneys 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.
{3256}
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."

"Under these Articles of Confederation the treaty of peace
with England was concluded and the American nation was
governed until the final adoption of the Constitution of the
United States. The main defect of the Articles of
Confederation was, that although powers sufficiently adequate
to create a government were ceded, there was no power to raise
revenue, to levy taxes, or to enforce the law, except with the
consent of nine States; and although the government had power
to contract debts, there were no means by which to discharge
them. The government had power to raise armies and navies, but
no means wherewith to pay them, unless the means were voted by
the States themselves; they could make treaties with foreign
powers, but had no means to coerce a State to obey such
treaty. In short, it was a government which had the power to
make laws, but no power to punish infractions thereof.
Washington himself said: 'The Confederation appears to me to
be little more than the shadow without the substance, and
Congress a nugatory body.' Chief Justice Story, in summing up
the leading defects of the Articles of Confederation, says:
'There was an utter want of all coercive authority to carry
into effect its own constitutional measures; this of itself
was sufficient to destroy its whole efficiency as a
superintendent government, if that may be called a government
which possessed no one solid attribute of power. In truth,
Congress possessed only the power of recommendation. Congress
had no power to exact obedience or punish disobedience of its
ordinances; they could neither impose fines nor direct
imprisonments, nor divest privileges, nor declare forfeitures,
nor suspend refractory officers. There was no power to
exercise force.'"

_S. Sterne,
Constitutional History of the United States,
chapter 1._

"The individual states had attributed to themselves, in the
Articles of Confederation, no powers which could place them in
relation to foreign nations in the light of sovereign states.
They felt that all such claims would be considered ridiculous,
because back of these claims there was no real corresponding
power. Congress therefore remained, as heretofore, the sole
outward representative of sovereignty. But the power to
exercise the prerogatives was taken from it, and this without
placing it in any other hands. The changes effected by the
Articles of Confederation were rather of a negative than of a
positive nature. They did not give the State which was just
coming into being a definite form, but they began the work of
its dissolution. … The practical result … was that the United
States tended more and more to split up into thirteen
independent republics, and … virtually ceased to be a member
of the family of nations bound together by the 'jus gentium.'"

_H. von Holst,
Constitutional and Political History of the United States,
volume 1, chapter 1._

ALSO IN:
_G. Bancroft,
History of the Formation of the Constitution,
volume 1, chapter 1._

_D. R. Goodloe,
The Birth of the Republic,
pages 353-366._

_H. W. Preston,
Documents illustrative of American History,
pages 218-231._

On the operation and failure of the Articles of Confederation.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1783-1787.

On the question of the western territorial claims of several
of the States, and the obstacle which it brought in the way of
the ratification of the Articles of Confederation.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 1781-1786.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1778 (February).
The Treaty with France.