The Articles of Confederation (Abridged)
Nov. 15, 1777
To all to whom these Presents shall come,
we the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting.
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.
I. The Stile of this Confederacy shall be "The United States of America".
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
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.
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 free ingress
and regress 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.
V. ***
No State shall be represented in
Congress by less than two, nor 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 a meeting of the States, and while they act as members of the committee of
the States.
In determining questions in the
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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 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 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 judgement 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
accoutered, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public
stores, a due number of filed 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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VIII. All charges of war, and all other
expenses that shall be incurred for the common defense or general welfare, and
allowed by the
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 whatsoever -- of establishing rules for deciding in all cases, what
captures on land or 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 commited 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 causes 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 …
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 standards 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 -- establishing or
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 members 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 cloath, arm and equip them in a solid-like manner, at the
expense of the United States …
The United States in Congress assembled shall never engage in a war, nor grant
letters of marque or 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 the
majority of the United States in Congress assembled.
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 the 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 be requisite.
XI. Canada acceding to this
confederation, and adjoining 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.
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XIII.
Every State shall abide by the determination of the
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Agreed to by Congress 15
November 1777
In
force after ratification by