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CHAPTER 4: THE FORMATION OF A NATIONAL GOVERNMENTOUTLINE OF U.S. HISTORY“Every man, andevery body of men on Earth,possesses the right ofself-government.”STATE CONSTITUTIONSThe success of the Revolution gaveAmericans the opportunity to givelegal form to their ideals as expressedin the Declaration of Independence,and to remedy some of their grievancesthrough state constitutions.As early as May 10, 1776, Congresshad passed a resolution advisingthe colonies to form new governments“such as shall best conduceto the happiness and safety of theirconstituents.” Some of them hadalready done so, and within a yearafter the Declaration of Independence,all but three had drawn upconstitutions.The new constitutions showedthe impact of democratic ideas.None made any drastic break withthe past, since all were built on theDrafter of the Declaration of IndependenceThomas Jefferson, 1790solid foundation of colonial experienceand English practice. But eachwas also animated by the spirit ofrepublicanism, an ideal that hadlong been praised by Enlightenmentphilosophers.Naturally, the first objective ofthe framers of the state constitutionswas to secure those “unalienablerights” whose violation had causedthe former colonies to repudiatetheir connection with Britain. Thus,each constitution began with a declarationor bill of rights. Virginia’s,which served as a model for all theothers, included a declaration ofprinciples: popular sovereignty, rotationin office, freedom of elections,and an enumeration of fundamentalliberties: moderate bail and humanepunishment, speedy trial by jury,freedom of the press and of con-science, and the right of the majorityto reform or alter the government.Other states enlarged the list ofliberties to freedom of speech, of assembly,and of petition. Their constitutionsfrequently included suchprovisions as the right to bear arms,to a writ of habeas corpus, to inviolabilityof domicile, and to equal protectionunder the law. Moreover, allprescribed a three-branch structureof government —executive, legislative,and judiciary — each checkedand balanced by the others.Pennsylvania’s constitution wasthe most radical. In that state, Philadelphiaartisans, Scots-Irish frontiersmen,and German-speakingfarmers had taken control. The provincialcongress adopted a constitutionthat permitted every male taxpayerand his sons to vote, requiredrotation in office (no one could serveas a representative more than fouryears out of every seven), and set upa single-chamber legislature.The state constitutions had someglaring limitations, particularly bymore recent standards. Constitutionsestablished to guarantee peopletheir natural rights did not securefor everyone the most fundamentalnatural right — equality. The coloniessouth of Pennsylvania excludedtheir slave populations from theirinalienable rights as human beings.Women had no political rights. Nostate went so far as to permit universalmale suffrage, and even in thosestates that permitted all taxpayers tovote (Delaware, North Carolina, andGeorgia, in addition to Pennsylvania),office-holders were required toown a certain amount of property.THE ARTICLES OFCONFEDERATIONThe struggle with England haddone much to change colonial attitudes.Local assemblies had rejectedthe Albany Plan of Union in1754, refusing to surrender even thesmallest part of their autonomy toany other body, even one they themselveshad elected. But in the courseof the Revolution, mutual aid hadproved effective, and the fear of relinquishingindividual authority hadlessened to a large degree.John Dickinson produced the“Articles of Confederation and PerpetualUnion” in 1776. The ContinentalCongress adopted them inNovember 1777, and they went intoeffect in 1781, having been ratified byall the states. Reflecting the fragilityof a nascent sense of nationhood,the Articles provided only for a veryloose union. The national governmentlacked the authority to set uptariffs, to regulate commerce, and tolevy taxes. It possessed scant controlof international relations: A numberof states had begun their own negotiationswith foreign countries. Ninestates had their own armies, severaltheir own navies. In the absence ofa sound common currency, the newnation conducted its commerce witha curious hodgepodge of coins and abewildering variety of state and nationalpaper bills, all fast depreciatingin value.6869