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crown of Great Britain, existed in full force, and was established for the sole purpose of opposing the usurpation of the British parliament, and was intended to expire on a reconcilation with Great Britain, which it was then apprehended would soon take place, but is now considered as remote and uncertain.

And whereas many and great inconveniences attended the said mode of government by congress and committees, as of necessity, in many instances, legislative, judicial and executive powers have been vested therein, especially since the dissolution of the former government, by the abdication of the late governor, and the exclusion of this colony from the protection of the king of Great Britain.

That constitution continued in force until 1821, and was in some respects the best of all the American constitutions.

A constitution for Georgia was adopted, and a state government organized, in 1777.

The first constitution of Massachusetts was adopted in 1780. The executive powers of the colony and state were exercised by the council and legislative committees, as they were in New York, for more than five years.

SEC. 12.

ACTION OF THE GOVERNMENT, AND CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY UNDER THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION.

The government went into operation under the articles of confederation, in March, 1781, and four executive departments were soon organized under it, each with a secretary at its head,-called the departments of Foreign Affairs, War, Marine, and Finance. Administrative duties had been previously performed by committees of congress, and by boards of commissioners established by congress, and the President of congress had represented the sovereignty of the nation. The organization of executive departments gave the confederation more the form of a regular government; but congress had no more power under it, than they had exercised by common consent during a period of six years.

Congress had no power of taxation, no powers over commerce and navigation, and very little credit. Bills of credit and treasury certificates to the amount of more than two hundred millions of dollars, had been issued and had supported the government and

enabled it to carry on the war several years; but they had depre ciated to almost nothing, and became nearly worthless. Georgia had been overrun by British troops, subdued, and the royal government re-established. Charleston had been taken, a large portion of the Carolinas had been subdued, and all the colonies were greatly exhausted; the people had become disheartened, the government and the whole country were on the verge of bankruptcy, and nothing but the aid of France, Spain, and Holland, finally saved the United States from British conquest and dominion.

Spain became involved in the war against Great Britain, June, 1779, and Holland in December, 1780. The aid of these powers and of France, assisted in keeping up the drooping spirits of the Americans, and to prolong the contest, until the capitulation of Cornwallis, at Yorktown, in Virginia, in October, 1781. The war was long, expensive, and exhausting to the British government and people, as well as to the Americans. A series of reverses termininating in the great victory over Cornwallis, disheartened the British government and people from the further prosecution of the war, and that subsequently put an end to the struggle. Negotiations for peace were entered upon a few months afterwards, and a preliminary treaty of peace signed, November 30, 1782.

The articles of confederation were in force eight years, from March, 1781, until the government was organized and went iuto effect under the constitution, on the 4th of March, 1789. But the people of the United States were greatly disappointed in their ex-> pectations of the efficiency of the government under them. The government was crippled and powerless in several particulars. It had no power over commerce and navigation, and no power of taxation, and was entirely dependent on the states for revenueswithout any power to coerce the state governments to answer the requisitions of congress to pay their respective portions of the national expenses and the national debt.

The levy of duties on foreign goods and products imported into a country, has been the easiest, and most advantageous and efficient mode of taxation and of raising national revenues, of any system ever devised. It has been one of the principal modes of raising revenue adopted and in use among the nations of Europe during the last two hundred years. It is the system of taxation

which has furnished nearly all the revenues for the support of our national government, since the year 1789; and it has contributed largely to the prosperity of the country, by incidentally encouraging aud promoting mechanical, manufacturing, and mining inindustry, and domestic industry of all kinds. Under the confederation, congress had no such powers, and enjoyed no such advantages. Each state regulated foreign commerce for itself, and levied duties for its own benefit. Commercial strife be tween the states grew up immediately on the return of peace. Each state levied low duties to invite commerce to its own sea-ports. The object was to attract and increase commerce, and not to foster domestic industry. The advantages of the latter seemed to be entirely lost sight of, by the most of our public men of that day.

Each state retaining the whole taxing power, and the power to regulate foreign as well as domestic commerce, the states were independent of each other and of the confederate government upon all such subjects. The states on the sea-board could and did levy duties for their own exclusive benefit, on imported goods finally sold to, and consumed in, the interior agricultural states. This was taxing the people of one state for the benefit of those of another -which was clearly unjust, but unavoidable under the system of government then existing. The system itself occasioned a multiplicity of different laws, and different rates of duty in the several states-each state striving to promote the interests of its own people-and all the states competing with each other, to encourage commerce to their respective ports. The effiect was great commercial strife and confusion; generally very low duties, large imports in proportion to the ability of the people to pay; and the debt of the country for foreign goods and products was increased and rolled up, until the credit of the merchants and the people became exhausted, and imports were checked by that cause alone. Many small furnaces, forges, and factories, for the manufacture of pig and bar iron, edge tools, and cloth of various kinds, had sprung up during the war, and having then the entire command of the home market, they had flourished; but were soon ruined and their operations suspended, when the markets were supplied and glutted by foreign goods of a similar character.

The states and the people of all classes were deeply involved in debt, and greatly impoverished by the war, and the depreciation and utter worthlessness of the continenlal money. Under the discordant system adopted by the several states of regulating commerce and encouraging foreign imports, on the return of peace, the country was immediately flooded with foreign goods; the debts of the people and of the merchants were greatly increased; the infant manufactures of the country which had grown up during the war were deprived of their domestic markets, and soon utterly prostrated; and the industry of the people of all the states was more or less paralized. Hence peace brought no relief to the people; and the country was nearly as much exhausted during the seven year's peace, under the articles of confederation, as by the previous seven year's war. It was more prostrated in its industry and condition in 1789, than it was in 1782, and much more weighed down with debt.

SEC. 13. REASONS FOR FORMING THE CONSTITUTION OF THE

UNITED STATES.

The commercial and financial embarrassments of the country, and the conflicting laws of the several states upon the subject of commerce, entirely satisfied the people of the utter inefficiency of the government under the articles of confederation, to answer the purposes for which it was established. They were the principal causes, more potent than all others, which satisfied the people of the necessity of conferring on congress unlimited powers of taxation, for the purpose of carrying on the government, and also power to regulate foreign commerce, and commerce between the states. They were the principal, and almost the only causes which induced the calling of a national convention, and the formation and adoption of the present constitution of the United States. With these exceptions, and power over the militia, the constitution confers on congress no more powers than the articles of confederation did. This the reader will see, by comparing the two carefully together. By adding these powers to the powers held by congress under the confederation, and creating a national judiciary, and a chief national executive officer, the convention established in connection with the state governments, the most perfect government ever formed upon the earth.

The union was intended to be perpetual, as appears by the preamble to the articles of confederation, and the 13th article thereof. The constitution was intended to establish a more perfect union, and a stronger and more complete government than the confederation.

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

PREAMBLE.

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.

ARTICLE I.

Of the Legislature.

SECTION I.

1. All legislative powers herein granted, shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

SECTION II.

1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states; and the electors of each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature.

2. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabtant of that state in which he shall be chosen.

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and including Indians not taxed, threefifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the

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