CHAPTER I DIFFICULTIES UNDER THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION WHEN, on July 1, 1776, Congress adopted the famous resolutions of Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, declaring "the United Colonies free and independent States," it became necessary for that body to provide some form of government to take the place of the authority of Great Britain which had been thus cast aside. These epochmaking resolutions were introduced into the Continental Congress by Mr. Lee, acting under instructions from his State, on the 7th of June, 1776. It was evident to most men of the time that things had gone too far for a reconciliation with the mother country. The spirit of independence was strong, and it was plain that the resolutions of Lee would pass. This being the case, committees were appointed on June 11th to formulate a declaration of independence and "to prepare and digest the form of a confederation to be entered into between these Colonies." On the 12th of July, 1776, the committee appointed to draft a form of government made its report to Congress through its chairman, John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania. This report embodied the substance of the now well-known "Articles of Confederation." The report of the committee was debated in Congress at intervals until November 15, 1777, at which time it was adopted with some amendments. It still remained for the States to ratify. There was no little opposition to the new plan in some localities, and the Articles of Confederation were not finally adopted by the States ༢ until March 1, 1781. Maryland was the last State to ratify, its opposition being due largely to the ownership of public lands in the northwest by several of the States. This, then, was the origin of the form of government under which the people of the United States were living at the time when our narrative begins. That period of American history preceding the adoption of the Constitution was one of turbulence and disorder of various kinds; and if we would appreciate to the fullest extent the critical nature of the epoch, we must make an analysis of the Articles of Confederation and note the extent to which they were instrumental in bringing about this widespread disorder. The Articles of Confederation were based by the committee upon a plan of government submitted by Franklin to the Continental Congress on July 21, 1775. Although this plan was never acted upon by Congress, it was of material assistance to Dickinson and his committee in the performance of their task. The general outlines of the two plans are the same, and in many instances the exact words of Franklin were used by the later committee. The Dickinson plan consists of thirteen sections and is styled: "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union 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." The above States entered "into a firm league of friendship with each other," and retained their "sovereignty, freedom and independence." The Congress of the Confederation consisted of one House, though as the bicameral system had long been in use both in Europe and America we might naturally expect it to have been a feature of the Articles of Confederation. The presence of the unicameral system was largely due to the influence of Franklin. He was always enamored of the simplicity of a Congress consisting of one House and was instrumental in the introduction of that system into the |