Where did our Nation-States begin to go wrong?

Have you ever read the Anti-Federalist Papers? These lesser known writings were written by men like Richard Henry Lee and others whom I do not even know there names yet because they wrote in "pen names" to protect themselves from the powerful Tory Federalists of their day. People that wake up to the scam that has been pulled on them by the U.S. CONstitution, usually begin to identify themselves with the Anti-Federalist Papers. That is good, but did you know that Richard Henry Lee of Virgina also first proposed the establishment of a confederation in the Congress on June 7, 1776? Hmmmmm.. very interesting. The man who argued against the accumulation of too much power in a central government was the first to propose the establishment of a confederation in Congress? So Richard Henry Lee, we find, wasn't blameless either. Hmmmm. I wonder if Richard Henry Lee was also a Freemason? Was a Confederation of States really necessary in the fight for independence of the nation-states from the English Crown? Or were there really other motives of an American aristocracy involved?

Also isn't it interesting that Richard Henry Lee proposed a confederation in Congress even before July 4, 1776, the date on the final draft of the Declaration of Independence? Wasn't Thomas Jefferson working on the draft of the Declaration of Independence during the month of June, 1776? And didn't Thomas Jefferson hold individuals under unjust slavery? How could such a man write such a document as the Declaration of Independence, while yet holding individuals in unjust servitude? Did Thomas Jefferson have an ulterior motive? Didn't Thomas Jefferson enjoy the office of President of a government illegitimately formed under the CONstitution for the United States (Slaves) of America? Why is it that high school students are being taught that George Washington was the first President of the United States of America when it is not true?

Articles of Confederation was the agreement under which the 13 original colonies established a government of states in 1781. They called their confederation the United States of America, continuing the name used in the Declaration of Independence. The Articles served as the basic law of the new nation until the Constitution of the United States went into effect in 1788. The Congress of the Confederation operated the government under the Articles of Confederation.

The Articles reflected the distrust that many colonists had for a powerful central government. The document guaranteed each state's sovereignty and independence and gave the states all powers not specifically granted Congress. Each state had one vote in Congress regardless of its size and population. Congress could not levy taxes, regulate trade, or interfere with the states or their citizens. However, Congress did have many powers that were later included in the Constitution of the United States. It could declare war and peace, manage foreign relations, establish an army and navy, issue and borrow money, and control Indian affairs.

The Second Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation. Richard Henry Lee of Virginia first proposed the establishment of a confederation in the Congress on June 7, 1776. Congress appointed a committee to draw up a plan of union. Within a month, John Dickinson of Delaware prepared the first draft. But Congress delayed adopting the Articles because of disagreements and problems of war. The delegates argued about how to share the costs of government and about the number of votes each state would have in Congress.

On Nov. 15, 1777, Congress finally agreed to a draft for the Articles of Confederation. Twelve states soon ratified it. But Maryland objected to the western land claims of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. After these states consented to give up their land claims to the United States, Maryland signed the Articles on March 1, 1781. The Articles became effective on that date.

George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and other national leaders became dissatisfied with the Articles of Confederation. But amendments were difficult to make because all of the 13 states had to approve them. A demand grew for a convention to revise the Articles. In 1786, delegates from five states, meeting at Annapolis, Md., proposed that a convention be called to reform the Articles. The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787. It abandoned the Articles, and wrote the Constitution of the United States. -- Merrill Jensen

See also Annapolis Convention; Congress of the Confederation; Constitution of the United States; Continental Congress.

Additional resources

Greene, Jack P., comp. Colonies to Nation, 1763-1789, McGraw, 1967.
Jensen Merrill. The Articles of Confederation: An Interpretation of the Social-Constitutional History of the American Revolution, 1774-1781. Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 1940. The New Nation: A History of the United States During the Confederation, 1781-1789. Univ. Press of New England, 1981. Reprint of 1950 edition.
McLaughlin, Andrew C. Confederation and Constitution. Harper, 1905. A standard work.
Morgan, Edmund S. The Birth of the Republic, 1763-1789. Rev. ed. Univ. of Chicago Press, 1977.