bell on Carpenter's Hall, whose reputed ringing announced the passage of the Declaration, bore the Biblical inscription, "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."

The main features of the Declaration are as Main follows:

Features

of the

(1) A Preamble, or introduction, telling why the DeclaraDeclaration is publicly issued.

(2) A statement of the rights of men, the reasons

for establishing governments, and the circum-
stances under which changes in government
are justifiable.

(3) A statement of the unjust acts of the king.
(4) A statement of the remonstrances of the colo-
nists thereto.

(5) The Conclusion, or the Declaration of Colonial
Independence:

"We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America . . . do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare,

"That these colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."

To the Pupil:

(1) Memorize the first three sentences of the Declaration. (2) Mention the specific act or acts on which each of the twenty-seven charges of injustice is based.

(3) Mention the places where specific reference is made to any of the six great rights claimed by English Colonists in America.

(4) Memorize the Conclusion, or Declaration of Colonial Independence.

tion.

Why
Adopted.

Prin

cipal Features.

THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION-1781

At the time of the meeting of the Second Continental Congress in 1775, the situation was critical, and prompt action was necessary. Naturally, Congress took control of affairs and acted for the colonies as best it could. While no definite authority had been delegated to it by the colonies, the presence of a common danger compelled united action, and the colonies looked to Congress to act for them. Soon realizing that its power was limited to advising measures without power to enforce them, Congress appointed a committee (at the same time that it appointed a committee to draft the Declaration of Independence) to draft "The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union." Congress adopted these Articles on November 15, 1777, and sent them to the several states for approval and ratification, with the understanding that they were not to go into operation until ratified by every state. The last state ratified them March 1, 1781, and they at once went into effect.

The principal features of the articles of Confederation were as follows:

(1) The Confederation was a league of states, each state retaining its own sovereignty.

(2) The legislative department consisted of a Congress of one house, composed of not less than two and not more than seven delegates from each state, each state paying its own delegates.

(3) All questions were to be decided by states, each state having one vote, and to all important measures the consent of nine states was necessary.

(4) The executive department was vested in a "Committee of the States," composed of one delegate from each state.

(5) Congress had charge of all war matters, finances, Indian affairs, relations with foreign nations, and some other matters.

(6) The Articles could be amended only by the unanimous consent of the states.

While this government was better than no gov- Chief ernment at all, yet its power was so little that it Defects. was really a government in name rather than in fact. The chief defects were as follows:

had no

Real

The great weakness of the Articles was that Con- Congress gress had no power to compel obedience to its decrees. It could levy taxes, but could not collect Power. them; it could make laws, but could not compel obedience to them; it could make treaties, but could not enforce them. "In short, it could declare everything, but could do nothing." The government represented the American states, and not the American people. It "operated upon states, and not upon individuals." When an individual defies the law, you can lock him up in jail, or levy an execution on his property. The immense force of the community is arrayed against him, and he is as helpless as a straw on the billows of the ocean. He cannot raise a militia to protect himself. But when a law is defied by a state, it is quite otherwise. “You

Commerce

Uncontrolled.

Equal Power of States.

Minority too

Powerful.

No Executive Head.

No

cannot put a state in jail, nor seize its goods; you can only make war on it."

Congress had no power to regulate commerce. Trade with foreign nations and between the states was wholly in the hands of the individual states. This prevented Congress from raising a revenue by means of import duties, and allowed each state to levy duties in such a manner as to profit at the expense of its neighbors. The states without seaports were at the mercy of those possessing good harbors. Each state also frequently laid excessive taxes on goods brought in from adjoining states.

As all questions were decided by states, the smaller and weaker states were placed upon a level with the larger and stronger states. Rhode Island, for example, was as powerful in all matters of legislation as the state of Pennsylvania with a population more than six times as great.

The requirement that no measure of importance could be passed without the consent of nine states gave the minority a vastly greater power in legislation than it ought to possess.

The government had no real head. Leaving the management of affairs to a "Committee of the States" during the time Congress was not in session, was simply a confession that the states distrusted each other, and were unwilling to trust the executive power to a single person.

There was no judiciary or system of courts for Judiciary. securing justice to the states in their relations to the general government and to each other.

culty of

Amendment was possible only by the unanimous Diffi consent of the states. This requirement enabled a Amendsingle state by its refusal to agree to any change to ing. nullify the wishes of the other twelve.

After the Revolution the Articles of Confedera- Critical Condition

tion appeared more defective than ever, and it was after generally admitted that as a form of government the Revothey were totally inadequate. With no power to lution. preserve order, to control commerce, to establish a uniform currency, or to raise money to pay its debts, Congress soon fell into disrepute both at home and abroad. Powerless to interfere, Congress witnessed the constant quarreling of the states over their boundaries, their incessant strife over commercial affairs, and their ever-growing jealousy of each other. Emboldened by the serious differences among the states, and by the inability of Congress to carry out the terms of the treaty of peace, England deliberately refused to comply with all the provisions of the treaty of 1783, hoping that the states would become so disunited that one by one she might be able to secure control of them again. In this crisis Congress several times proposed to the states the amendment of the Articles, giving Congress power to levy and collect taxes on imports. The refusal of one or two of the states each time to agree to this plan, however, prevented the amendment, and the government fell into greater contempt than ever. Washington, Hamilton, Madison, Franklin, and others had early seen the fatal defects