Trust Agreement PDF

Compact easement summary and Public Notice
Restoration of the general post office letter

and Public Notice of compact easement
agreement by and between the original
general post office, the Universal Postal
Union and The United States Postal Service:
For the office of the post master general of The United States of America;
The restoration of the general post office letter is to inform you that the original general post
office for The United States of America has been restored by claiming the original boundaries for
The United States of America that were removed by the Treaty of Oregon in the year eighteen
hundred and forty six. Detailed information about the Treaty of Oregon can be obtained at
www.countyrangers.org. Furthermore, the boundaries claimed are also attached to this email in
the form of a Declaration of Land Patent. If you would like a hard copy of these documents
please contact stewards@greatregistrypost.org. In the general post office treaty, posted on
www.countyrangers.org, the original rural free delivery routes headed by the office of the post
master general of the commercial Post Office Department have been claimed by the general post
office, in the name of yahweh, with the intent to establish a private, neutral, non-combatant,
non-commercial jurisdiction so as to thwart off constant attacks by the foreign corporations
through commercial addresses against private civilians. These constant commercial attacks on
private civilians have all but stopped private services, the effects of which are crippling the
economic condition of the International United States and The United States of America National
Government. We do not believe that the United Postal Union, the United States Postal Service
nor the general post office were intended to be used as an economic weapon against private
civilians by officers of foreign corporations. According to the United States Postal Service manual,
a condition for private, non-commercial, neutral and non-combatant addresses exists:
1
Private survey
1: MAN AGEMENT OF RURAL
DELIVERY SERVICES
Methods Handbook, Series M-38 July 1, 1980
2: on the world wide web:
http://pe.usps.gov/text/pub28/pub28c2_toc.htm
245 Additional Designations
There should be no additional designations, such as town or street names, on the Delivery
Address Line of rural route addresses. Because street names used together with route and box
numbers can create potential matching difficulty, mailers are encouraged to use only one style of
addressing. If secondary name information is used, however, place it above the Delivery Address
Line.
The men and women with the original general post office find it difficult to communicate with
the chiefs in the United States Postal Service, as we can find no particular form that would not
cause us to trespass on the commercial side of the United Postal Union. We do not wish to reinvent the wheel by starting our own deliveries to these private locations. If it is within your
power and authority to assist the original general post office in establishing delivery service to
our private locations with the United States Postal Service without a trespass on either venue
please let us know by e-mail, stewards@greatregistrypost.org. A bilateral compact agreement by
and between the private original general post office, the public United States Post Office and the
international United Postal Union can be achieved through the granting of easements by and
between all parties involved to restore all three parties to a respectable and dignified condition.
The current format we will use is;
Public and international interface from the private:
Smith
RR2
todds point [always outside of cities or towns]
Kentucky republic
Private side:
Smith
general-post office
rural route 2
todds point
Kentucky republic.
2
Private survey
The compact easement agreement by and between the original general post office, the
Universal Postal Union, also known as the UPU, and The United States Postal Service, also
known as the USPS, is a bilateral compact easement agreement wherein one party cannot
change the agreement without the consent of the other. The compact easement agreement
will serve the purpose of all three involved. The men and women within The United States of
America have a private venue to trade in as they see fit without any interference from any
other venue. The condition of The United States of America relieves the United States of
regulatory burdens and The United States Postal Service will have exclusive easement to deliver
private mail which will assist and improve their condition. The Universal Postal Union suffered
a misnomer in the original offer, but this has since been corrected. The Universal Postal Union
will have increased business worldwide as the relief of the private venue upon the men and
women in The United States of America will give them greater buying power which will result in
jump starting world commerce. The compact easement agreement is for the delivery of private
mail only to the men and women within The United States of America by the United States
Postal Service through the general post office. The general post office is an inherent right of the
people, meaning all men and women, and is not an exclusive agreement of keith-edward and
sam-germain. The general post office is private only. The simple move of embracing the
private venue by all parties involved frees the men and women within The United States of
America to choose, and serves to end all hostilities by and between the people and the
regulatory agencies of the United States by separating the two. The metes, bounds and
boundaries of The United States of America separates the United States, The United States of
America and the people thereof, living in peace by and between each other.
So posted and agreed upon on the second day in the year of yahweh six-thousand and thirteen.
general post-master; sam-germain
general post-master; keith-edward
The electronic autographs are not to be used on any other document without the
express consent of the men keith-edward and sam-germain.
3
Private survey
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
The Articles of Association was one of the major accomplishments of the First Continental
Congress, which convened on September 5, 1774, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the Articles
were dated on October 20 of that year. Peyton Randolph, as President of the Congress, was the
lead signatory.
The main impetus for both the formation of the Continental Congress and the drafting of the
Articles was the passage in 1774 of the "Intolerable Acts". These were a series of acts passed by
the British Parliament to secure greater control over the colonies and to punish them (the
Massachusetts Bay Colony in particular) for rebellious behavior.
Though there had been previous "articles of association" circulated within some colonies that had
prohibited trade with Britain, the 1774 Articles were an expression of the growing union among
the Colonies against Britain and were the immediate precursor to the Declaration of
Independence. The Articles served as much as a pact between the colonies themselves to
recognize common problems and adhere to a common course of action as a petition against
British policies. Of the original Thirteen Colonies, all were represented by the Articles except for
the Province of Georgia, which did not send delegates to the Congress until 1775. The Articles
refer collectively to the colonies as "America" (only once as "British-America"), and their people
as "American subjects."
As a sign of the desire still prevalent at the time to avoid open revolution, the Articles notably
opened with a profession of allegiance to the king, and they placed the blame for "a ruinous
system of colony administration" upon lower British officials rather than the king directly. The
Articles alleged that this system was "evidently calculated for enslaving these colonies, and, with
them, the British Empire."
The Articles of Association; October 20, 1774

We, his majesty's most loyal subjects, the delegates of the several colonies of New-Hampshire,
Massachusetts-Bay, Rhode-Island, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, the three
lower counties of Newcastle, Kent and Sussex on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina,
and South-Carolina, deputed to represent them in a continental Congress, held in the city of
Philadelphia, on the 5th day of September, 1774, avowing our allegiance to his majesty, our
affection and regard for our fellow-subjects in Great-Britain and elsewhere, affected with the
deepest anxiety, and most alarming apprehensions, at those grievances and distresses, with which
his Majesty's American subjects are oppressed; and having taken under our most serious
deliberation, the state of the whole continent, find, that the present unhappy situation of our
affairs is occasioned by a ruinous system of colony administration, adopted by the British
ministry about the year 1763, evidently calculated for enslaving these colonies, and, with them,
the British Empire. In prosecution of which system, various acts of parliament have been passed,
for raising a revenue in America, for depriving the American subjects, in many instances, of the
constitutional trial by jury, exposing their lives to danger, by directing a new and illegal trial
beyond the seas, for crimes alleged to have been committed in America: And in prosecution of
the same system, several late, cruel, and oppressive acts have been passed, respecting the town of
Boston and the Massachusetts-Bay, and also an act for extending the province of Quebec, so as
to border on the western frontiers of these colonies, establishing an arbitrary government therein,
and discouraging the settlement of British subjects in that wide extended country; thus, by the
influence of civil principles and ancient prejudices, to dispose the inhabitants to act with hostility
against the free Protestant colonies, whenever a wicked ministry shall chose so to direct them.
To obtain redress of these grievances, which threaten destruction to the lives liberty, and
property of his majesty's subjects, in North-America, we are of opinion, that a non-importation,
non-consumption, and non-exportation agreement, faithfully adhered to, will prove the most
speedy, effectual, and peaceable measure: And, therefore, we do, for ourselves, and the
inhabitants of the several colonies, whom we represent, firmly agree and associate, under the
sacred ties of virtue, honour and love of our country, as follows:
1. That from and after the first day of December next, we will not import, into British America,
from Great-Britain or Ireland, any goods, wares, or merchandise whatsoever, or from any other
place, any such goods, wares, or merchandise, as shall have been exported from Great-Britain or
Ireland; nor will we, after that day, import any East-India tea from any part of the world; nor any
molasses, syrups, paneles, coffee, or pimento, from the British plantations or from Dominica; nor
wines from Madeira, or the Western Islands; nor foreign indigo.
2. We will neither import nor purchase, any slave imported after the first day of December next;
after which time, we will wholly discontinue the slave trade, and will neither be concerned in it
ourselves, nor will we hire our vessels, nor sell our commodities or manufactures to those who
are concerned in it.
3. As a non-consumption agreement, strictly adhered to, will be an effectual security for the
observation of the non-importation, we, as above, solemnly agree and associate, that from this
day, we will not purchase or use any tea, imported on account of the East-India company, or any
on which a duty bath been or shall be paid; and from and after the first day of March next, we
will not purchase or use any East-India tea whatever; nor will we, nor shall any person for or
under us, purchase or use any of those goods, wares, or merchandise, we have agreed not to
import, which we shall know, or have cause to suspect, were imported after the first day of
December, except such as come under the rules and directions of the tenth article hereafter
mentioned.
4. The earnest desire we have not to injure our fellow-subjects in Great-Britain, Ireland, or the
West-Indies, induces us to suspend a non-exportation, until the tenth day of September, 1775; at
which time, if the said acts and parts of acts of the British parliament herein after mentioned, ate
not repealed, we will not directly or indirectly, export any merchandise or commodity
whatsoever to Great-Britain, Ireland, or the West-Indies, except rice to Europe.
5. Such as are merchants, and use the British and Irish trade, will give orders, as soon as
possible, to their factors, agents and correspondents, in Great-Britain and Ireland, not to ship any
goods to them, on any pretence whatsoever, as they cannot be received in America; and if any
merchant, residing in Great-Britain or Ireland, shall directly or indirectly ship any goods, wares
or merchandize, for America, in order to break the said non-importation agreement, or in any
manner contravene the same, on such unworthy conduct being well attested, it ought to be made
public; and, on the same being so done, we will not, from thenceforth, have any commercial
connexion with such merchant.
6. That such as are owners of vessels will give positive orders to their captains, or masters, not to
receive on board their vessels any goods prohibited by the said non-importation agreement, on
pain of immediate dismission from their service.
7. We will use our utmost endeavours to improve the breed of sheep, and increase their number
to the greatest extent; and to that end, we will kill them as seldom as may be, especially those of
the most profitable kind; nor will we export any to the West-Indies or elsewhere; and those of us,
who are or may become overstocked with, or can conveniently spare any sheep, will dispose of
them to our neighbours, especially to the poorer sort, on moderate terms.
8. We will, in our several stations, encourage frugality, economy, and industry, and promote
agriculture, arts and the manufactures of this country, especially that of wool; and will
discountenance and discourage every species of extravagance and dissipation, especially all
horse-racing, and all kinds of games, cock fighting, exhibitions of shews, plays, and other
expensive diversions and entertainments; and on the death of any relation or friend, none of us,
or any of our families will go into any further mourning-dress, than a black crepe or ribbon on
the arm or hat, for gentlemen, and a black ribbon and necklace for ladies, and we will
discontinue the giving of gloves and scarves at funerals.
9. Such as are venders of goods or merchandize will not take advantage of the scarcity of goods,
that may be occasioned by this association, but will sell the same at the rates we have been
respectively accustomed to do, for twelve months last past. -And if any vender of goods or
merchandise shall sell such goods on higher terms, or shall, in any manner, or by any device
whatsoever, violate or depart from this agreement, no person ought, nor will any of us deal with
any such person, or his or her factor or agent, at any time thereafter, for any commodity
whatever.
10. In case any merchant, trader, or other person, shall import any goods or merchandize, after
the first day of December, and before the first day of February next, the same ought forthwith, at
the election of the owner, to be either re-shipped or delivered up to the committee of the country
or town, wherein they shall be imported, to be stored at the risque of the importer, until the nonimportation agreement shall cease, or be sold under the direction of the committee aforesaid; and
in the last-mentioned case, the owner or owners of such goods shall be reimbursed out of the
sales, the first cost and charges, the profit, if any, to be applied towards relieving and employing
such poor inhabitants of the town of Boston, as are immediate sufferers by the Boston port-bill;
and a particular account of all goods so returned, stored, or sold, to be inserted in the public
papers; and if any goods or merchandizes shall be imported after the said first day of February,
the same ought forthwith to be sent back again, without breaking any of the packages thereof.
11. That a committee be chosen in every county, city, and town, by those who are qualified to
vote for representatives in the legislature, whose business it shall be attentively to observe the
conduct of all persons touching this association; and when it shall be made to appear, to the
satisfaction of a majority of any such committee, that any person within the limits of their
appointment has violated this association, that such majority do forthwith cause the truth of the
case to be published in the gazette; to the end, that all such foes to the rights of British-America
may be publicly known, and universally contemned as the enemies of American liberty; and
thenceforth we respectively will break off all dealings with him or her.
12. That the committee of correspondence, in the respective colonies, do frequently inspect the
entries of their customhouses, and inform each other, from time to time, of the true state thereof,
and of every other material circumstance that may occur relative to this association.
13. That all manufactures of this country be sold at reasonable prices, so- that no undue
advantage be taken of a future scarcity of goods.
14. And we do further agree and resolve that we will have no trade, commerce, dealings or
intercourse whatsoever, with any colony or province, in North-America, which shall not accede
to, or which shall hereafter violate this association, but will hold them as unworthy of the rights
of freemen, and as inimical to the liberties of their country.
And we do solemnly bind ourselves and our constituents, under the ties aforesaid, to adhere to
this association, until such parts of the several acts of parliament passed since the close of the last
war, as impose or continue duties on tea, wine, molasses, syrups paneles, coffee, sugar, pimento,
indigo, foreign paper, glass, and painters' colours, imported into America, and extend the powers
of the admiralty courts beyond their ancient limits, deprive the American subject of trial by jury,
authorize the judge's certificate to indemnify the prosecutor from damages, that he might
otherwise be liable to from a trial by his peers, require oppressive security from a claimant of
ships or goods seized, before he shall be allowed to defend his property, are repealed.-And until
that part of the act of the 12 G. 3. ch. 24, entitled "An act for the better securing his majesty's
dock-yards magazines, ships, ammunition, and stores," by which any persons charged with
committing any of the offenses therein described, in America, may be tried in any shire or county
within the realm, is repealed-and until the four acts, passed the last session of parliament, viz.
that for stopping the port and blocking up the harbour of Boston-that for altering the charter and
government of the Massachusetts-Bay-and that which is entitled "An act for the better
administration of justice, &c."-and that "for extending the limits of Quebec, &c." are repealed.
And we recommend it to the provincial conventions, and to the committees in the respective
colonies, to establish such farther regulations as they may think proper, for carrying into
execution this association.
The foregoing association being determined upon by the Congress, was ordered to be subscribed
by the several members thereof; and thereupon, we have hereunto set our respective names
accordingly.
IN CONGRESS, PHILADELPHIA, October 20, 1774.
Signed, PEYTON RANDOLPH, President.
The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the
political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the
earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle
them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes
which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to
institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in
such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence,
indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and
transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to
suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they
are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same
Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty,
to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has
been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains
them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great
Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the
establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a
candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless
suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has
utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless
those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable
to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the
depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with
his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his
invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the
Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their
exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from
without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the
Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations
hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing
Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount
and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our
people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our
legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and
unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should
commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein
an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and
fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the
Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate
for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against
us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our
people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of
death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely
paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their
Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their
Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the
inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an
undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms:
Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is
thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from
time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We
have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have
appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our
common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our
connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of
consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation,
and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress,
Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do,
in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and
declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States;
that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection
between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free
and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances,
establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right
do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
Column 4
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
UNITED STATES CODE ANNOTATED

THE ORGANIC LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Current through P.L. 104-98, approved 1-16-96
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 1777

< To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the
undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our
Names send greeting >
Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congress assembled did on
the fifteenth day of November in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and
Seventyseven, and in the Second Year of the Independence of America agree to certain
articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of Newhampshire,
Massachusetts-bay, Rhodeisland and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina and
Georgia in the Words following, viz.
< Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the
States of Newhampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhodeisland and
Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina,
South-Carolina and Georgia. >
Article I. The stile of this confederacy shall be "The United States of America."
Article 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
United States, in Congress assembled.
Article III. The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with
each other, for their common defence, 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 pretence whatever.
Article 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 have 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.
Article V. For the more convenient management of the general interests of the United
States, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legislature of each State
shall direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a
power reserved to each State, to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any time within the
year, and to send others in their stead, for the remainder of the year.
No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by 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 United States, in Congress assembled, each State
shall have one vote.
Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached or questioned in
any court, or place out of Congress, and the members of Congress shall be protected in their
persons from arrests and imprisonments, during the time of their going to and from, and
attendance on Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.
Article 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 of 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 State shall lay any imposts or duties, which may interfere with any stipulations in
treaties, entered into by the United States in Congress assembled, with any king, prince or
state, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by Congress, to the courts of France
and Spain.
No vessels 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
defence 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 judgment of the United States, in Congress
assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the defence 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 field 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.
Article VII. When land-forces are raised by any State for the common defence, all
officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by the Legislature of each State
respectively by whom such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such State shall
direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by the State which first made the appointment.
Article VIII. All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the
common defence or general welfare, and allowed by the United States in Congress
assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the
several States, in proportion to the value of all land within each State, granted to or surveyed
for any person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated
according to such mode as the United States in Congress assembled, shall from time to time
direct and appoint.
The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and
direction of the Legislatures of the several States within the time agreed upon by the United
States in Congress assembled.
Article 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 committed 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 cause 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, so always as a major part of the judges who shall hear the
cause shall agree in the determination: and if either party shall neglect to attend at the day
appointed, without showing reasons, which Congress shall judge sufficient, or being present
shall refuse to strike, the Congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each
State, and the Secretary of Congress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing;
and the judgment and sentence of the court to be appointed, in the manner before
prescribed, shall be final and conclusive; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to
the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or cause, the court shall
nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, or judgment, which shall in like manner be final
and decisive, the judgment or sentence and other proceedings being in either case
transmitted to Congress, and lodged among the acts of Congress for the security of the
parties concerned: provided that every commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take
an oath to be administered by one of the judges of the supreme or superior court of the State
where the cause shall be tried, "well and truly to hear and determine the matter in question,
according to the best of his judgment, without favour, affection or hope of reward:" provided
also that no State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States.
All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under different grants of
two or more States, whose jurisdiction as they may respect such lands, and the States which
passed such grants are adjusted, the said grants or either of them being at the same time
claimed to have originated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, shall on the petition
of either party to the Congress of the United States, be finally determined as near as may be
in the same manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial
jurisdiction between different States.
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 standard 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 and regulating post-offices from one State to another, throughout all
the United States, and exacting such postage on the papers passing thro' 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 number 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 soldier like manner, at the expense of the
United States; and the officers and men so cloathed, armed and equipped shall march to the
place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled:
but if the United States
in Congress assembled shall, on consideration of circumstances judge proper that any State
should not raise men, or should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any other
State should raise a greater number of men than the quota thereof, such extra number shall
be raised, officered, cloathed, armed and equipped in the same manner as the quota of such
State, unless the legislature of such State shall judge that such extra number cannot be
safely spared out of the same, in which case they shall raise officer, cloath, arm and equip as
many of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared. And the officers and men so
cloathed, armed and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within the time
agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled.
The United States in Congress assembled shall never engage in a war, nor grant
letters of marque and 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 defence 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 a majority of the United States in Congress assembled.
The Congress of the United States shall have power to adjourn to any time within the
year, and to any place within the United States, so that no period of adjournment be for a
longer duration than the space of six months, and shall publish the journal of their
proceedings monthly, except such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances or military
operations, as in their judgment require secresy; and the yeas and nays of the delegates of
each State on any question shall be entered on the journal, when it is desired by any
delegate; and the delegates of a State, or any of them, at his or their request shall be
furnished with a transcript of the said journal, except such parts as are above excepted, to lay
before the Legislatures of the several States.
Article 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 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 is requisite.
Article XI. Canada acceding to this confederation, and joining 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.
Article XII. All bills of credit emitted, monies borrowed and debts contracted by, or
under the authority of Congress, before the assembling of the United States, in pursuance of
the present confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge against the United
States, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said United States, and the public faith are
hereby solemnly pledged.
Article XIII. Every State shall abide by the determinations of the United States in
Congress assembled, on all questions which by this confederation are submitted to them.
And the articles of this confederation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and the
Union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of
them; unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and be
afterwards confirmed by the Legislatures of every State.
And whereas it has pleased the Great Governor of the world to incline the hearts of the
Legislatures we respectively represent in Congress, to approve of, and to authorize us to
ratify the said articles of confederation and perpetual union. Know ye that we the
undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that purpose, do
by these presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely
ratify and confirm each and every of the said articles of confederation and perpetual union,
and all and singular the matters and things therein contained: and we do further solemnly
plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the
determinations of the United States in Congress assembled, on all questions, which by the
said confederation are submitted to them. And that the articles thereof shall be inviolably
observed by the States we re[s]pectively represent, and that the Union shall be perpetual.
In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in Congress. Done at Philadelphia in the
State of Pennsylvania the ninth day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand seven
hundred and seventy-eight, and in the third year of the independence of America. [FN1]
On the part and behalf of the State of New Hampshire
JOSIAH BARTLETT,
JOHN WENTWORTH, Junr.,
August 8th, 1778.
On the part and behalf of the State of Massachusetts Bay
JOHN HANCOCK,
FRANCIS DANA,
SAMUEL ADAMS,
JAMES LOVELL,
ELBRIDGE GERRY,
SAMUEL HOLTEN.
On the part and behalf of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
WILLIAM ELLERY,
JOHN COLLINS.
HENRY MARCHANT,
On the part and behalf of the State of Connecticut
ROGER SHERMAN,
TITUS HOSMER,
SAMUEL HUNTINGTON,
ANDREW ADAMS.
OLIVER WOLCOTT,
On the part and behalf of the State of New York
JAS. DUANE,
WM. DUER,
FRA. LEWIS,
GOUV. MORRIS.
On the part and in behalf of the State of New Jersey, Novr. 26, 1778
JNO. WITHERSPOON,
NATHL. SCUDDER.
On the part and behalf of the State of Pennsylvania
ROBT. MORRIS,
WILLIAM CLINGAN,
DANIEL ROBERDEAU,
JOSEPH REED,
JONA. BAYARD SMITH,
22d July, 1778.
On the part & behalf of the State of Delaware
THO. M'KEAN, Feby. 12, 1779.
NICHOLAS VAN DYKE.
JOHN DICKINSON, May 5th, 1779
On the part and behalf of the State of Maryland
JOHN HANSON,
DANIEL CARROLL,
March 1, 1781.
Mar. 1, 1781.
On the part and behalf of the State of Virginia
RICHARD HENRY LEE,
JNO. HARVIE,
JOHN BANISTER,
FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE.
THOMAS ADAMS,
On the part and behalf of the State of No. Carolina
JOHN PENN, July 21st, 1778.
JNO. WILLIAMS.
CORNS. HARNETT,
On the part & behalf of the State of South Carolina
HENRY LAURENS,
RICHD. HUTSON,
WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON,
THOS. HEYWARD, Junr.
JNO. MATHEWS,
On the part & behalf of the State of Georgia
JNO. WALTON, 24th July, 1778.
EDWD. LANGWORTHY.
EDWD. TELFAIR,
[FN1] From the circumstances of delegates from the same State having signed the
Articles of Confederation at different times, as appears by the dates, it is probable they
affixed their names as they happened to be present in Congress, after they had been
authorized by their constituents.
HISTORICAL NOTES
Congress Resolved, on the 11th of June, 1776, that a committee should be appointed
to prepare and digest the form of a confederation to be entered into between the Colonies;
and on the day following, after it had been determined that the committee should consist of a
member from each Colony, the following persons were appointed to perform that duty, to wit:
Mr. Bartlett, Mr. S. Adams, Mr. Hopkins, Mr. Sherman, Mr. R.R. Livingston, Mr. Dickinson, Mr.
M'Kean, Mr. Stone, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Hewes, Mr. E. Rutledge, and Mr. Gwinnett. Upon the
report of this committee, the subject was, from time to time, debated, until the 15th of
November, 1777, when a copy of the confederation being made out, and sundry
amendments made in the diction, without altering the sense, the same was finally agreed to.
Congress, at the same time, directed that the articles should be proposed to the legislatures
of all the United States, to be considered, and if approved of by them, they were advised to
authorize their delegates to ratify the same in the Congress of the United States; which being
done, the same should become conclusive. Three hundred copies of the Articles of
Confederation were ordered to be printed for the use of Congress; and on the 17th of
November, the form of a circular letter to accompany them was brought in by a committee
appointed to prepare it, and being agreed to, thirteen copies of it were ordered to be made
out, to be signed by the president and forwarded to the several States, with copies of the
confederation. On the 29th of November ensuing, a committee of three was appointed, to
procure a translation of the articles to be made into the French language, and to report an
address to the inhabitants of Canada, & c. On the 26th of June, 1778, the form of a
ratification of the Articles of Confederation was adopted, and, it having been engrossed on
parchment, it was signed on the 9th of July on the part and in behalf of their respective
States, by the delegates of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and
Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina,
agreeably to the powers vested in them. The delegates of North Carolina signed on the 21st
of July, those of Georgia on the 24th of July, and those of New Jersey on the 26th of
November following. On the 5th of May, 1779, Mr. Dickinson and Mr. Van Dyke signed in
behalf of the State of Delaware, Mr. M'Kean having previously signed in February, at which
time he produced a power to that effect. Maryland did not ratify until the year 1781. She had
instructed her delegates, on the 15th of December, 1778, not to agree to the confederation
until matters respecting the western lands should be settled on principles of equity and sound
policy; but, on the 30th of January, 1781, finding that the enemies of the country took
advantage of the circumstance to disseminate opinions of an ultimate dissolution of the
Union, the legislature of the State passed an act to empower their delegates to subscribe and
ratify the articles, which was accordingly done by Mr. Hanson and Mr. Carroll, on the 1st of
March of that year, which completed the ratifications of the act; and Congress assembled on
the 2d of March under the new powers.
The proof of this document, as published above, was read by Mr. Ferdinand Jefferson,
the Keeper of the Rolls of the Department of State, at Washington, who compared it with the
original in his custody. He says: "The initial letters of many of the words in the original of this
instrument are capitals, but as no system appears to have been observed, the same words
sometimes beginning with a capital and sometimes with a small letter, I have thought it best
not to undertake to follow the original in this particular. Moreover, there are three forms of the
letter s: the capital s, the small s, and the long f, the last being used indiscriminately to words
that should begin with a capital and those that should begin with a small s."
regulatory burdens and The United States Postal Service will have easement to deliver private
mail which will assist and improve their condition. The Universal Postal Union suffered a
misnomer in the original offer, but this has since been corrected. The Universal Postal Union
will have increased business worldwide as the relief of the private venue upon the men
andwomen in The United States of America will give them greater buying power which will
result in jump starting world commerce. The compact easement agreement is for the delivery
of private mail only to the men and women within The United States of America by the
United States Postal Service through the general post office. The general post office is an
inherent right of the people, meaning all men and women, and is not an exclusive agreement
of keith-edward and sam-germain. The general post office is private only. The simple
move of embracing the private venue by all parties involved frees the men and women
within The United States of America to choose, and serves to end all hostilities by and
between the people and the regulatory agencies of the United States by separating the
two. The metes, bounds and boundaries of The United States of America separates the
United States, The United States of America and the people thereof, living in peace by and
between each other.
general post -master;

general post-master;
sam-germain
keith-edward
The electronic autographs are not to be used on any other document without the express
consent of the men keith-edward and sam-germain.
1
Private survey
Compact easement agreement republic notice as amended
The republic notice has been amended by removing the word exclusive for the reasons
that a Public officer of The United States Postal Service, located at Simpsonville, Ky. has
already refused mail delivery to a private rural route for reasons unknown. The private,
non-commercial, neutral, non-combatants have been forced to seek remedy elsewhere.
We regret having to go elsewhere and do not understand the commercial violence
inflicted upon neutral, non-combatants and towards the general post office within The
United States of America by a Public Officer of the United States. The future of both the
United States, and The United States of America republic, and the people thereof are in
question. We had hoped that the remedy offered here would be met with cooperation.
The Universal Postal Union remains neutral and indirectly cooperated. The removal of the
word exclusive does not affect in any way the original existing compact easement
agreement by and between the general post office, the United States Postal Union, and
the Universal Postal Union, other than removing the negative influence of a few that could
de-stabilize an already deteriorating economic condition for all. If the Universal postal
Union or the United States Postal Service do not agree with the change, please notify the
general post office as soon as possible otherwise we can all move on with our daily
business.
So amended on the sixth day in the year six thousand and thirteen.
general post -master;
sam-germain
general post-master;
keith-edward
regulatory burdens and The United States Postal Service will have exclusive easement to deliver
private mail which will assist and improve their condition. The Universal Postal Union suffered
a misnomer in the original offer, but this has since been corrected. The Universal Postal Union
will have increased business worldwide as the relief of the private venue upon the men and
women in The United States of America will give them greater buying power which will result in
jump starting world commerce. The compact easement agreement is for the delivery of private
mail only to the men and women within The United States of America by the United States
Postal Service through the general post office. The general post office is an inherent right of the
people, meaning all men and women, and is not an exclusive agreement of keith-edward and
sam-germain. The general post office is private only. The simple move of embracing the
private venue by all parties involved frees the men and women within The United States of
America to choose, and serves to end all hostilities by and between the people and the
regulatory agencies of the United States by separating the two. The metes, bounds and
boundaries of The United States of America separates the United States, The United States of
America and the people thereof, living in peace by and between each other.
general post-master; sam-germain
general post-master; keith-edward
The electronic autographs are not to be used on any other document without the
express consent of the men keith-edward and sam-germain.
1
Private survey
2
Article IV. The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and private trade,
support and investment among the people of the different general posts in private union, the
free patrons within the boundaries and borders of each of these general posts, paupers,
vagabonds and fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and
immunities of the customers of the United States Postal Union, and the corporations of the
Universal Postal Union; and the patrons of each general post shall have free ingress and
regress easement to and from any State of the United States, and any U.S. state and shall
enjoy therein all the privileges of private trade and commerce, and shall have the authority to
invest the trust funds in the name of Yahweh, privately, and un-encumbered by the
customers of the United States Postal Union, and the corporations of the Universal Postal
Union, and
If any man or woman guilty of, or charged with treason, felony, or other high
misdemeanor in any republic, shall flee from justice, and be found in any of the United States,
he or she shall upon demand of any general post master, upon the Governor of the State
where he or she fled, be delivered up and removed to the general post, or the patrons
assembly thereof having jurisdiction of his or her crime, and
Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these general posts and the patrons
thereof for the records, acts and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of every
other general post, and patrons in assembly, and
Article V. For the more convenient management of the general interests of The United
States of America, assemblies of the patrons shall convene monthly within their counties, free
and un-encumbered, with the powers of survey of condemned houses, and redistribute the
houses to able bodied men and women for restoration purposes, and with the claim of sweat
equity, redeem the condemned houses and private property to land patent status allocated to
the able bodied men and women upon proof of claim of sweat equity, paid in advance bills,
negotiable instruments paid in advance, commerce and trade, and Bills of Exchange to
create offices to serve their public interests and fulfill their private family obligations and
anything else that is not in conflict with the Gutenberg Bible and The Scripture trust
agreement, and
Any and all costs to maintain the patrons in assembly shall be paid in advance through
the Gutenberg Bible and The Scripture trust agreement, and
Certificate of Authority
A Private Maritime contract of Original Jurisdiction, organic venue, originating from a nonindependent postal zone under the jurisdiction of the Universal Postal Union, with all Right and
Authority of a sovereign nation in the name of yahweh.
the offices of the general post masters for the general post for The United States of America, and
keith-edward@generalpost.org
sam-germain@generalpost.org
3
Any objection within these patron assemblies shall be met and provided a solution
when objection is made by any patron, otherwise the agreements are considered unanimous,
and all unanimous agreements cannot be finalized until three days have passed, and
Freedom of speech and debate in the patrons in assembly shall not be impeached or
questioned in any office, or place out of the patrons assembly, and the patrons shall be
protected in their obligation of assembly from arrests and imprisonments, during the time of
their going to and from, and attendance in assembly, except for treason, felony, or breach of
the peace, and
Article VI. No general post without the consent of three general post masters
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 anyone
holding any private office of profit or trust, or any of them, accept of any present, emolument,
office or title of any kind whatever from any king, prince or foreign state; nor shall the patrons
in assembly, or any of them, grant any title of nobility nor accept any place of honour, and
No two or more general posts masters shall enter into any treaty, confederation or
alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the three general post masters
assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the same is to be entered into, and
how long it shall continue, and in no way, will affect the rest of the perpetual union, as far as
the perpetuity, private, non-commercial, neutral, and non-combatant status thereof, and
No customer within the United States Postal Service, or corporation within the
Universal Postal Union, shall lay any imposts or duties, upon any patron within the
boundaries and borders of The United States of America, and
No patrons in assembly shall engage in any war, whether by and between other
patrons in assembly in other counties, nor by and between the patrons therein, unless
attacked and in eminent danger of loss of life or limb, and.
Article VII. If any general post, the office of the general post master, the man or
woman stewarding the office of the general post master, any patron of the general post, any
patron in assembly, any man or woman privately trading, or negotiating in private contracts,
within the boundaries and borders of a republic served by the general post, or general post
office within the boundaries and borders of The United States of America are attacked with
acts of violence, whether by economic warfare, psychological warfare, or any other type of
4
warfare, whether traveling the rural routes, or in their private metes and bounds, shall have
the full cooperation of the provost marshal, or any other public office within the jurisdiction
thereof, and the costs of said assistance shall come out of the paid in advance trust
agreement, and
No Public Officer shall attack any neutral patron of the general post, or the general post
office at any time except in cases of self defense, meaning bodily harm, and
Article VIII. All men and women within the boundaries and borders of The United
States of America shall have un-encumbered use of any and all public property, by right
through the compact easement agreement, including public parks, national parks, public
waters, public buildings, and .
The general post office and the steward thereof shall have full and exclusive use of all
public property for the purpose of mail delivery, greenback delivery, survey absent trespass
on private metes and bounds, and upon private compact easement agreement and the
judicial district of tens neutral zone, temporary or permanent upon survey, shall hold posits of
greenbacks for a fee, within trading posts that are established from time to time, and
All general post patrons are entitled to possession of private metes and bounds and
to the highest title on earth, a land patent for general post accounting purposes, and
Upon, accepting delivery through the judicial district of tens neutral zone, of the
greenbacks claimed, by the office of the general post masters, for the general post office,
shall be furnished with a full accounting of all of the greenbacks in existence by a neutral
office of accounts, stewarded by anyone chosen by the patrons in assembly, and shall be
entitled to recover any and all missing, lost, or stolen, for the men and women within the
boundaries and borders of The United States of America, to be distributed as an inheritance,
and shall be passed on to heirs and assigns forever, and
The greenbacks from the paid in advance trust agreement incun.1454.b5 as claimed in
the Notice of Claim and Writ of execution, shall be routed through the judicial district of tens
neutral zone, private rural routing number 655060042, and distributed separately through the
private routing number, abutting the Public Social Security, upon claim by autographing the
general post form 101, and
5
Article X; The men and women for the office of the general post master, and the patrons
thereof, in their private, non-commercial, neutral, non-combatant status, upon presentment of
the proper passport, authenticated by the office of the post master, and its seal, will have the
right to travel un-impeded, to any and all foreign corporate nations of the Universal Postal
Union, and
The general post masters in assembly of three or more reserve the right to amend, alter, or
correct the General Post Articles to resolve any un-foreseen problems that may arise for the
purpose and intent to maintain the private, non-commercial, neutral, non-combatant status
within The United States of America only, and
So done in the name of yahweh, by the autograph of two witnesses, a cause is established,
on the sixteenth day, in the year of Yahweh, six thousand and thirteen, translation date, April
5th, 2010, and
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private
The great office of the apostle, and
2
government, Congress would have to convene, which they never did, so the Congress is still
in recess, and a committee voted in the Constitution of the United States of America, not a
Constitution of The United States of America, and therefore, the Constitution of the United
States of America is with the limited powers of a committee within the Articles of
Confederation, and said committee did not have the judicial authority to change the form of
government, exhibit A, and
The general post office within The United States of America is the only office brought forward
in time to the present time, and is the only judicial authority in existence today within the
boundaries and borders of The United States of America, with rightful claim to all private
offices, oaths, symbols, organizations, military, land, navy, and anything else that was, is, and
will be created by the committees of the United States of America, exhibit b, and
Therefore, the men and women within the judicial district of tens, in assembly of offices of
three general post masters, within the boundaries and borders of The United States of
America, claim any and all property built or created by committees thereafter the year
seventeen hundred and eighty seven to the present time, and anything in the future from the
minerals and natural resources of the land owned through the original survey, genesis
chapter one and two, in the name of yahweh, placed into the trust property book
incun.1454.b5, in the name of the original surveyor, yahweh, for the free use by the people
within the boundaries and borders of the judicial district of tens, within the boundaries of the
counties, within the boundaries of the fifty republics, within the boundaries of The United
States of America, having formed a private, non-commercial, neutral, non-combatant
sovereign nation under yahweh, within the world, a place of private economic safety for all
nations and countries of the world, and
So claimed in the name of yahweh, by the autograph of three witnesses, a cause is

established, on the eighteenth day, in the year of yahweh, six thousand and thirteen,
translation date, April 7th, 2010, and
donald-joe@generalpost.org
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private
The great office of the apostle, and
General Post Office

Richard Anthony
Origins and History
The definition of the word post originally meant "any of a number of riders or runners
posted at intervals to carry mail or messages in relays along a route; postrider or
courier" (Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, 1988, page 1054).
People, thousands of years ago, didn't write letters to one another like we do nowadays.
They didn't even have paper, everything was done on clay tablets and papyrus (but that
was a very expensive thing to engage in). And therefore, the posts were really set up for
governmental purposes, between different rulers in their own country as well as
neighboring countries. It was set up by the government originally.
But there was another private office, known as the general post-office, which was not for
commercial purposes and it was strictly for fellowship between the brothers, and they
did it amongst themselves. Paul's letters were not delivered by Caesar's men, but by
brothers in yahweh, and that is the general post-office. And throughout history, there's
always been the general post-office and the governmental post office; and they're
different. One's done strictly for fellowship, the other's done for commercial purposes.
The current postal system, which is known as the United States Postal Service, is
commercial, but it still retains the non-commercial aspect. It's based on the original
general post-office, It does not exist without tracing its root to the original general postoffice. And as with everything, the created cannot do away with the creator. Therefore,
that original creation by the brothers fellowshipping amongst each other is still in
existence, they've never done away with it. In all their statutes, every time they come up
with a new statutory entity, they never do away with the general post-office, therefore it
is still there.
The general-post-office is not mentioned in the Domestic Mail Manual because the
Domestic Mail Manual denotes commerce. If you've got a problem, that's what the
postal service employees and managers will refer to, but that's because everyone's
presumed to be in commerce. But it's only a presumption, and that's where you have to
come in and rebut that presumption. You rebut it by not engaging in commercial activity
and not receiving your mail at an address, etc. Most people don't realize that when you
receive mail at an address, or even at a P.O. Box, you're receiving a free benefit from
Caesar. The postage you put on the envelope only covers the cost to deliver it from post
office to post office, it does not cover any delivery beyond the post office (and the price
for a P.O. Box covers the cost to rent the box itself, not for the cost of delivery). That's
called free delivery, which was instituted during the Civil War, on July 1st, 1863. It was
basically an act of war by Abraham Lincoln. Even though they did have free mail
delivery service prior to that, it was strictly for commercial businesses. But then, in 1863,
they spread it to everyone. Up to that time, nobody had an address on their house. The
numbers were brought in on the houses strictly so the postman would know where to
deliver the mail. Before 1863, people would collect their mail by going to the local post
office and asking for it.
The U.S.Postal Service was established in 1971. This was preceded by the Post Office
Department, which was established in 1872. And before the Post Office Department,
the general post-office preceded that. In the early 1800's, they started referring to the
general post office as the Post Office Department. However, it did not officially become
the Post Office Department until 1872. Previous to that it was known as the general
post-office.
There was actually two different general post-offices. The Post Master General today
wears about seven hats; there's about seven different entities to the postal system. He
wears the original hat as a caretaker of the original general post-office. He's also the
caretaker of the general post-office that was created on February 20, 1792, which was
for governmental business. And then in 1872 they created the Post Office Department.
In 1639, the original foundation for the post office was given in Massachusettes to
Richard Fairbanks, the owner of Fairbanks Tavern in Boston. He was the first Postal
officer in the history of the United States.
The General Court of Massachusetts

November 5, 1639:
"For preventing the miscarriage of letters, it is ordered, that notice be given that Richard
Fairbanks's house in Boston is the place appointed for all letters which are brought from
beyond the seas, or are to be sent thither,'to be brought unto; and he is to take care that
they be delivered or sent according to their directions ; and he is allowed for every such
letter one penny, and must answer all miscarriages through his own neglect in this kind;
provided that no man shall be compelled to bring his letters thither, except he please."
Following the adoption of the Constitution in May 1789, the Act of September 22, 1789
(1 Stat. 70), temporarily established a post office:
NINETEENTH ACT of CONGRESS
An ACT for the temporary establishment of the POST OFFICE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled, That there shall be appointed a Post-Master General;
his powers and salary and the compensation to the assistant or clerk and deputies
which he may appoint, and the regulations of the Post-Office shall be the same as they
last were under the resolutions and ordinances of the Congress in recess. The PostMaster General to be subject to the direction of the President of the United States in
performing the duties of his office, and in forming contracts for the transportation of the
mail. Be it further enacted, That this act shall continue in force until the end of the next
session of Congress, and no longer.
Approved, September 22th, 1789.
The post office was temporarily continued by the Act of August 4, 1790 (1 Stat. 178),
and the Act of March 3, 1791 (1 Stat. 218). The Act of February 20, 1792 made detailed
provisions for the post office, and also established a separate general post office for
governmental purposes:
Chapter VIII - An Act to establish the Post Office and Post Roads within the United
States.
Section 3. And it be further enacted, That there shall be established, at the seat of the
government of the United States, a general post-office.
Note that this one page statutory creation by Congress established that general postoffice for governmental business at the seat of the government of the United States in
Washington D.C. The general post-office, which already existed, was never designated
as being repealed in this Act. Therefore, it still remains in existence, separate from the
governmental business' set up by this Act. There's nothing in that whole act which
repeals the original general post-office. There's nothing in the act of 1872, when they
created the Post Office Department, that did away with the original general post-office.
So it's still there. There's nothing in the act of July 1, 1971, which created the Postal
Service. The creation cannot do away with the creator, they cannot abolish the creator.
Otherwise it has no foundation. And that's why the current Postmaster General wears
about seven hats, because he has all of those different things that were created all the
way through there.
In the early 1800's, the general post-office began to be referred to as "the Post-office
department," but was not officially created until June 8, 1872:
Chapter CCCXXXV. - An Act to revise, consolidate, and amend the Statutes relating to
the Post-office Department.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled, That there shall be established, at the seat of
government of the United States of America, a department to be known as the Postoffice Department.
And again, the general post-office was not repealed in this statute. It is for this cause
that the re-organized service and its employees have no authority over the general postoffice - it precedes their creation and has its Source and Origin in God through His
Lawful assembly. The Post Office Department of the Confederate States of America
was established on February 21, 1861, by an Act of the Provisional Congress of the
Confederate States. The resumption of the federal mail service in the southern states
took place gradually as the war came to an end.
Then the Post Office Department was replaced by the United States Posal Service on
July 1, 1971. Title 39, the Postal Reorganization Act, details this change as well.
Scripture Passages
The general post office has its beginnings in scripture.
Jeremiah 51:31, "One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet
another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end..."
A "post" is another name for a courier:
2 Chronicles 30:6, "So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes
throughout all Israel and Judah,"
Esther 3:13, "And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces..."
Scripture records messages being sent "by the hands of messengers" (1 Samuel 11:7)
from as far back as the book of Job, which is the oldest book in the bible:
Job 1:14, "And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing,
and the asses feeding beside them:"
These messages were delivered using the current means of movement at the time:
Esther 8:10,14, "And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's
ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young
dromedaries: So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out..."
And sending messages refreshes the soul:
Proverbs 25:13, KJV, "As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful
messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters."
Proverbs 25:13, Septuagint, "As a fall of snow in the time of harvest is good against
heat, so a faithful messenger refreshes those that sent him: for he helps the souls of
his masters."
In times passed, people sent messages to others by posting their letters on a "post" in
the middle of town, with the name of the one who it's intended for. People would go to
this "post" and look for letters with their name on it, and if they saw their name on a
letter they would take it down from the post and read it. However, due to theft of
messages, an office was built around the post to prevent people from stealing
messages. This office became known as the general post-office. People would then go
to the general post-office to pick up their messages.
Today, the stamp on an envelope pays for delivery of that envelope from the sender's
post-office to the receiver's post-office. It does not pay for the costs when that envelope
leaves the area behind the clerk's desk and gets delivered to the receiver's address,
mailbox, post office box, mail slot, etc. This is a "free" service. The alternative to free
mail delivery is to receive all Postal Matter either in general delivery, or through the
general post office.
The United States Postmaster General is the executive head of the United States Postal
Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and
the United States Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin was appointed by the
Continental Congress as the first Postmaster General, serving slightly longer than 15 months.
Until 1971, the Postmaster General was the head of the Post Office Department (or simply "Post
Office" until the 1820s).[1] From 1829 to 1971, he was a member of the President's Cabinet.
The Cabinet post of Postmaster General was often given to a new President's campaign manager
or other key political supporter, and was considered something of a sinecure. The Postmaster
General was in charge of the governing party's patronage, and was a powerful position which
held much influence within the party. For example, James Farley used his position as Postmaster
General during Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal administration to reward party loyalists within
Congress who supported Roosevelt's initial "100 days" legislation with federal patronage for
their states. Federal appointments, except for a small handful, were screened by Farley before the
President could approve the appointments due to the patronage position of the Postmaster
General.
In 1971, the Post Office Department was re-organized into the United States Postal Service, a
special agency independent of the executive branch. Thus, the Postmaster General is no longer a
member of the Cabinet and is no longer in line to be President. During the Civil War, the
Confederate States of America also had a Confederate Post-Office Department, headed by a
Postmaster General, John Henninger Reagan.
The current Postmaster General is also CEO of the U.S. Postal Service.
The United States Postmaster General is the executive head of the United States Postal Service. The
office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States
Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin was appointed by the Continental Congress as the first
Postmaster General, serving slightly longer than 15 months.
and:
COLONIAL TIMES
In early colonial times, correspondents depended on friends, merchants, and Native Americans to carry
messages between the colonies. However, most correspondence ran between the colonists and England,
their mother country. It was largely to handle this mail that, in 1633, the first official notice of a postal
service in the colonies appeared. The General Court of Massachusetts designated Richard Fairbanks'
tavern in Boston as the official repository of mail brought from or sent overseas, in line with the practice in
England and other nations to use coffee houses and taverns as mail drops. Local authorities operated
post routes within the colonies. Then, in 1673, Governor Francis Lovelace of New York set up a monthly
post between New York and Boston. The service was of short duration, but the post rider's trail became
known as the Old Boston Post Road, part of today's U.S. Route 1. William Penn established
Pennsylvania's first post office in 1683. In the South, private messengers, usually slaves, connected the
huge plantations; a hogshead of tobacco was the penalty for failing to relay mail to the next plantation.
Central postal organization came to the colonies only after 1691 when Thomas Neale received a 21-year
grant from the British Crown for a North American postal service. Neale never visited America. Instead,
he appointed Governor Andrew Hamilton of New Jersey as his Deputy Postmaster General. Neale's
franchise cost him only 80 cents a year but was no bargain; he died heavily in debt, in 1633, after
assigning his interests in America to Andrew Hamilton and another Englishman, R. West. In 1707, the
British Government bought the rights to the North American postal service from West and the widow of
Andrew Hamilton. It then appointed John Hamilton, Andrew's son, as Deputy Postmaster General of
America. He served until 1721 when he was succeeded by John Lloyd of Charleston, South Carolina. In
1730, Alexander Spotswood, a former lieutenant governor of Virginia, became Deputy Postmaster
General for America. His most notable achievement probably was the appointment of Benjamin Franklin
as postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737. Franklin was only 31 years old at the time, the struggling printer
and publisher of The Pennsylvania Gazette. Later he would become one of the most popular men of his
age. Two other Virginians succeeded Spotswood: Head Lynch in 1733 and Elliot Benger in 1743. When
Benger died in 1753, Franklin and William Hunter, postmaster of Williamsburg, Virginia, were appointed
by the Crown as Joint Postmaster- General for the colonies. Hunter died in 1761, and John Foxcroft of
New York succeeded him, serving until the outbreak of the Revolution. During his time as a Joint
Postmaster General for the Crown, Franklin effected many important and lasting improvements in the
colonial posts. He immediately began to reorganize the service, setting out on a long tour to inspect post
offices in the North and others as far south as Virginia. New surveys were made, milestones were placed
on principal roads, and new and shorter routes laid out. For the first time, post riders carried mail at night
between Philadelphia and New York, with the travel time shortened by at least half. In 1760, Franklin
reported a surplus to the British Postmaster General -- a first for the postal service in North America.
When Franklin left office, post roads operated from Maine to Florida and from New York to Canada, and
mail between the colonies and the mother country operated on a regular schedule, with posted times. In
addition, to regulate post offices and audit accounts, the position of surveyor was created in 1772; this is
considered the precursor of today's Postal Inspection Service. By 1774, however, the colonists viewed
the royal post office with suspicion. Franklin was dismissed by the Crown for actions sympathetic to the
cause of the colonies. Shortly after, William Goddard, a printer and newspaper publisher (whose father
had been postmaster of New London, Connecticut, under Franklin) set up a Constitutional Post for intercolonial mail service. Colonies funded it by subscription, and net revenues were to be used to improve the
postal service rather than to be paid back to the subscribers. By 1775, when the Continental Congress
met at Philadelphia, Goddard's colonial post was flourishing, and 30 post offices operated between
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Williamsburg.
Special thanks to
Randall Andrews
John Bartoli
Gloria Hines
Andrew Mendelson
Robert Poling
Brenda Todd
for assistance in preparation of this document
III
IIYTRODUCTION TO TIIE 1992 EDITION

In the 1952 edition, Professor Corwin *,rote an introduction that broadly explored the
trends of constitutional adjudication then evident while other trends had become dormant. In
some respects, the law of federalism, the withdrawal ofjudicial super.vision of economic regula_
tion, the continuing expansion of presidential power and the consequent overshadowing of-Congress, among others, he hae been confrmed in his evaluations. But, ilo other respcts. entire
new vistas of fimdamental law of which he rras largely unaware have opened up. Broron u.
Board of Educatinn was but two Tetus of the Court away, and the revolution in race relations,
by all thrce branches, could have ben only dimly perceived. The Supreme Court's application
of mahy provi6ions of tie Bill of Rights to t}re States, then nascent, and its expaDsion of the
meaning of those rights would prove revolutionary. Tirc apportion&ent-dietricting
decisions
were still blanketed iD time; abo.tion as a constitutionally protected liberty was unheralded.
And with respect to the range of decisions which he did not anticipat, we have 6een a Supreme
Court move from the activism of the 1960s and 19?0s to a posture of more
iudicial resiraint,
although in many areas, spch and prcss notably, little change has occurred as a result of
a shifting of the Justices of the High Court.
This brief survey will primarily be a suggestive review of the Court's treatment of the aloc_
trines of constitutional law. In previous editions, we have noted the rise of the equal protection
clause as a cntral concept of canstitutional jurisprudelce in the period 1953_19g2. That rise
has sonewhat abated in the period covered by thie vohrme, but the clause renains one of the
predominant sour.cesof constitutional constraink upon the Federal Govemsent and the states.
I'he due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourtcenth Amendment similarly have experielcil
an expansion, both in trms of procedural protctions for civil and crirninal litigalts and in
termJ of the application of substantive due process to personal liberties and in 6ome econoi c
I
National federalism ss a doctrine was proved to be far more pervasive and en@mpassing
than it was possible to notice in 1953. In some respcts, of course, latr cases only mnffiraed
what those decisioDs already on the books told. Foremost exaople of this confirmation has been
the enlargement of national powers, of congiessional lowera, undor the commerce clause. The
expansive reading of that clause'g authorization to Congless to reach many local incidents of
brr.siness and production already apparent by 1954 was scarcely enlarged by tltose decisions of
the period tirough the 1960s - 1980s, under which Congress asseried jurisdiction on the basis
of an antcedent or subsequent moveme[t over a state boundary of some element touching
upotr the transsction or solely upo!! the premise that certain transactions by trreir nature alon!
aj pal of a class sufrciently affed r ferst;tP-cornmerce as to wanant national regulation.
9r
Civil righk laws touching public accomnodations and housing, enyironmental laws affecting
land use regulation, crininal law coverage, and employment regulations touching health ani
safety as well as benefits are oDly the leading examples of enhanced federal activity. Con_
versely, stste power to regulate commer@ has beeo further restricted tbrough the appiication
of a doctrine of preemption which is increasingly aimed at one national standard, although
under Chief Jrxtice Buger End Chief Justice Rebnquist, the Court has not so readily as befoire
seemed to favor preeqrption, especially in the area of labor-management rlations. Only with
respect to the state's own employees did the court inhibit federal regulation antl then with
a decision which failed to secure a stable plsce in the doctrine of federalism, being overruled
in less than a decade. Some imEunity foa States from federal laws aimed direcdy at then was
implied from the Constitution, but its potency redains to be seen.
Noteworthy has ben a rather strict application of the negative aspect of the commerce
state actions that either discriminat againet or too much inhibit interstate
*ffi""L:""""-
D(
AI,IIHORIZATION
PUBLIC I"AW 91_589,84 STAT. 1.585,2 U.S.C. S168

JOINT RESOLUTION Authorizing the preparation and printing
of a revised
edition of the Constitution of the United States oi Amenca_Analysis
and Interpretation, of decendal revised editions *rereof,
and of biennial
cumulative supplements to such revised editions.
Whereas_the Constitution of the United States of America_

Analysis
Interpretation, publishea l" fSO+ "" S"r,.t"
uocumentl{rd
Nrmbere9 89, Eighty_eighth Congress, serves a
very usetul pgrpose by quppilng eiientiaiin%rm;;i"".-;";
* rhe Members of'Congress but also to the public at
9_11{
rarge;
Whe.reas-such document contains annotations of cases decided
by^tIe Supreme Court of the Uniled-"S;u;;, to Jiie n,
1964:
Whereas.many cases bearing significantly upon the analvsis
and, rnterpretatron ot' the Constitution have been decided
Dy the Supreme Court since June 22, 1g64..
Whereas tbe, Congress,-in recognition of the usefulness of this
type ot document, has in the last half century since 1918.
ordered the preparation and printing of revised editions oi
sucn a document on srx occasions at intervals of from ten
to fourteen years; and
Whereas the con.tjnuingusefulness and importance of such
a
oocument wllt be gTeatly enlanced by revision at shorter
rnrervats on a regular_scheduleand thus made more read_
rly avarlable to Members_and,Committees by means of
pocket-part supplements: Now, therelor",-["1t"
Resolued by
-ofthe Senate.and House of Representatiuesof the
UnitedSt^ales Americai" Co;i-;;;; i"ii,iLiii'." mut tr,l,
ii_
Drarlan oI Uongressshall have prepared_

- (1) a hardbound revised edition of the Constitution
of the United State,s of emericaiAnalysis and Inter_
pt"t*!iql, publishqd as Senate Docunient Numbered
J,9, Ejghty-eighth Congress (referred to hereinafter as
the "Uonstitution Annotated"), which shall contain an_
notations of decisions of the Supreme Court of the
United States through the end df the Octobet tSiI
\rI
AUTHORIZATION
term of the Supreme Court, construing
provisions of
the Constitution:
(2) upon th'e completion of each of the October
19?3. Ocf,ober1975, October 1977, and October 1979
terms of the Supreme Court, a cumulative pocket-part
supplement to the hardbound revised edition of the
Constitution Annotated prepared pursuant to clause
(1), which shall contain iumulative annotations of all
such decisions rendered by the Supreme Court after
the end of the October 1971 term;
(3) upon the complbtion of the October 1981 term
of the Suilreme Court, and upon the completion of each
tenth October term of the Supreme Court thereafter, a
hardbound decennial revised edition of the Constitution Annotated, which shall contain annotations of all
decisions theretofore rendered by the Supreme Court
construing provisions of the Constitution; and
(4) uioir the completion of the October 1983 term
of the Suilreme Cpurt, and upon the completion of each
subsequeirt October t6rm of ihe Supreme Court beginning in an odd-numbered year (the final digit of which
is nit a 1), a cumulative pbcket-part supplement to the
most recent hardbound d6cennial revised-edition of the
Constitution Annotated, which shall contain cumuIative annotations of all such decisions rendered by the
Supreme Court which were not included in that
haidbound decennial revised edition of the Constitution Annotated.
SEc. 2. All hardbound revised editions and all cumulative
pocket-part supplements shall be printed as Senate documents.
Soc. 3. There shall be printed four thousand eight hundred
and seventy additional copies of the hardbound revised editions
prepared pursuant to clause (1) of the first section and of all
iumulativb pocket-part
-and supplements thereto, of which two thouthirtv-four copies shall be for the use of
sands six hrindred
one thousand two hundred and
the House of Representativ6s,
-shall
use of the Senate, and one
be
for
the
thirtv-six copies
for
the
use
of the Joint Committee on
thouland coiies shall be
Congress,
Vice Presidents of the
Members
of
the
Printine. All
Commissioners,
and
Resident
Delegates
United'States, and
-to
hardbound reissuance
of
the
the
newlv elected subsequent
pursuant
prior to the
prepared
and
to
such
clause
vised edition
hot receive
who
did
revised
edition,
iecenriial
first hardbouird
pursuant
shall,
prepared
to
such
clause,
edition
a copy of the
|]'
AUTHORIZATION
VII
upon timely request, receive_onecopy of such edition and the

f,nen current cumulatrve pocket__partsupplement
--o"g""s"]
and any fur_
ther. supplements thereto. AI MemberJ bf tfr"
Vi"e
Bresidents of the United States, and Delegates-anEResideni
Commissioners, no longer serwing afte. ifie lss"ance of the
nardbound reused edition. prepared pursuant to such clause
and who received such edilion, may re6eive "rle .;pt;i;";h;;_
mulative pocket-part supplement ihereto upon tifiely ;;d".t.
Snc. 4. Additional copies
of each hardbound decennial re_
vised edition and of the cumulalive qocket-part ,"ppt"-""i"
thereto shall be printed and distributeh i" ..[ord."ce'with
the
provrstons ol any concurrent resolution hereafter adopted with
respect thereto,
Src. 5. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums,
to remain available intil gxpgndqd, as^hay be necessary to
carry out the provisionsof this ioint resolutioi.r.
Approved December 24, 1970.
INTRODUCTION
Of much the same import has been the application of the Bill of Rights ta the States
thmugh the due process clawe of the fourteenth Amendment, a mattr dealt s.it} in greater
deteil belolrl. The Court has again and again held that when a provision is applied, it means
the same whether a State or the Federsl Government is the challenged party, altiough a small
but consi-stnt minority has argued otherwise. Some flexibility, however, hae been afforded the
States by the judicial loosening of the standards of some of these provisione, as in the characteristics of the jury trial requirement. Adoptio{ of the exclusionary rule in Fourth Amendment
and other cases also looked to a national standard, but the more recent disPaiageEent of tlte
rule by majorities of the Cout't has relaxed its application t both Stats and Nation.
fhe Court of the last ten years has reinvigorated, to be sure, certain aspects of the old
federalism. lhe Eleventh Amendment has been infirsed with new potncy. The equity powers
of tl1e federal courk to intrfere in on-going statc coutt proceedingF and to review state coult
criminal convictions rmder /rabeos corpus bave been curtailed. A doctrine of comity and rules
of prudential restraint in the exerciee of federal judicia.l power have been invoLed.
The overriding viert iB t}lat the present Court where it has discretion will apply federalism
concems to limit fedelal powers. But the critical fact, tJre sco@ of congressional power' I1emains: the limits on congressional power under the comnerce clause and other Article I powers, as weu as under the po{rer to enforce the Rconstruction Amendment, remain thoee of
self-restraint.
II
For much of this period, aggregation of national power in the presidency continued
unabated and not much resisted by congreasional majorities, which, indeed, continued to delegat power ta the Executive Branch and to the independent agencies at least to the same de_
gree if not to a greater extent than before. The President himself, most notebly in tlle field
of foreig! afrairs and nationsl defens, assumed the existence of a substantial reservoir: of inherent power to efrectuate his policies as well. Oaly in the wake of the Watergate alfair did
Congress move to assert ilself and to attmPt ta claim some forro of partnership with the President, mo6t notably wit}I respct t-o war powers and the declaration of national emergencies, but
including as well the regulation of some domestic presidential mncems, as in the impoundment
controveray.
Perhaps coincidentally, the Supreme Court efrected a strolrg judicial interest in the adjudication_of separation-of-powers controve$ies. Previously, eve[ as it utilized separation of lan_
guage, the Court little involved itself in actual controversies, saYe for lbe Mlers-Humphre! lili'
gations over the President's power to renove executive branch officials- But that restraint evaPorated in 1976.
There were several Court decigions in this area, although in evincing a renewed interest
in separation of powers, as h Buchtey u. Valzo, and subeequent cases, the Court appeated to
cast the ju<licial perspective favorably upon presidential pre(ative and in a few csses Btatutory construction was utilized to preserve unto the President certain discttion that was in dis_
pute. Only very rccently has the Court evolved an arguably consistent staldard in this area,
a two-prolgEd standard of aggrandizeEent and impairment, but the results still are cast in
terms of executive pteeminence.
the larger conflict has been poUtical, and t,he Court resisted many elforts to iavolve it in
litigation over the use of troops abroad in Vietnam, coming cloee as well to declaring, in a trea_
ty trmination context, the resurgence of tlre political question doctrine to all such executive_
congressional disputes. Nevertheless, there does appear to have survived cessation of the Viet_
nam conllict a sigrdfrcant congressional interest in achieving a new and ilifrerent balance be_
tween the political branches, an interest the assertion of which may well involve the judiciary
to a much greater extedt, and, in any event, one which the congressionsl branch is lrot lait]rout
weapons to efrectuate.
m
The demise of substantive due process, apparent in the 1950s, is a fact today insofar aE
the validity of economic leglslation is concerned, although in a few isolated cases, involving the
ITTTRODUCTION
XI
obligation of-contracts, and perhaps expanding in the regulatory takingB

area, the.Court has
demonstrated that some life ie left in the old <loctrines. VJt, tfr" *o"JfiL"ty.
in the due process clauses of the Fifth and Four.tenth Amendmenk was seized
opon by th" Corr.t ir, h*-"""_
due process to the protction of certain rights having to ao \r.ith personal
and
:lg
:llstantive
ramlltat
pnvacyr moat controversially in the abortion caees.
Whereas muchof the Bill of Rights is directed to prescribing how govemment
.,,
may permissibly deprive onc of life.liberty. or property-by judgment of a
llrry of"irre,s peers or with evioeice serzecronly through reasonable searches, for example-the First
Amendment is in terms
absolute_ and while its application has never presumed to be so absolute
the effect has oftn
been intlistinguishable. Thus, the trend over t1e years has been to rritiaraw
more and more
"speech-plus"
speech and
from the regulatory and prohibitive hand of govemment and to free
not only speech directed to political ends but that tota y unrelated to'any political
purpose.
Thus, the constitutionalization of the law of defamation with the
narrowng possibilities
of recovery for libelous and slanderous criticism of public ofricials, political
candidates, and pubIic frgrres gpitoriraa the trend. Govemment s righi to proscribe tt "
aJrro"rcy of oiotence or unla*trrl activity has become more restricted. Obsc.enity abshaAty ,"-Jrr"
orrtala" tfre protective
corfnes of the First Amendment, but the Court,s changing definitional
approach to what may
be constitutionally dennminatd pornography has closJly-coafrned mosf'governmental
action
taken against the verbal and pictorial representation of matters dealing witt!
sex. The encomollle
spend for poltical purposes and to associate togetlher for political activity
f::sinc
:o
nas meant tltat:tCht
much goverDDental regulation of campaign finance alrd of limitations upon
the
political activities of citizens and public emproyees had lecome
suspect if not impermissible.
Commercial speech, long the outcast of the First Anendment, now enjoys a protected
if subor_
dinate place in free speech jurisprudence. Freedoo to picket, to broadcast
leallets, to engage
in physical activity representetive of one's political, social, economic,
or other vrews enjoy wide
thowh not urfimited protection.
It may be that a difrereltly constituted court win view matters
ditrerenfly, will narrow
.
the scope of the Anrend{ent,s protaction and enlaige the permissible range
of govemmental
actioD. But, in contrast to other areas in which the p."""r,t Coort has
varied from its predecessor, the record with respect to the First AmendDent has been one of
substantial though un_
even expansion of precedent.
Unremaiked by scholars of some for:ty years ago was the place of the
equal protction
clause-in constitutional jurisprudence-simply
because at that time Holmes, pithy characteriza"last
tion of it as a
resort" arguDent was generally true. Today, equal protection litigation
occupies a position of almost predominant character in each Terml
outpui Then, ttre rational basis
standard of review of different treatnents of individuals, businesses,
or subjects little concerned the Justices. The clause blossomed in the Court,s confrontation
aft,er Brown v. Board,
of Ed,ucation with state and local laws and ordinances drawn on the ba6J
of race and this as_
pect of the doctrinal use of the clause is still very eyiilent
on the Court s docket, though in
ever new and interesting form.
Of worthy attention has treen the application of the doctrine, now in a thre_tier
or multi_
tier set of standarjs of review, to legislation and other govemmental action
classifuing or! the
basis of sex, illegitimacy, and alienage. Of equal importaice was the elaboration
in adjudication
under the clause of a concept of "fundalrental" rights as to which a govemment
must if it acts
so as to rcstrict the exercise of one of these rights show rrot mereta rcasonable
basis for its
actions but a justification based upon necessity, compelling ,r"""""ity. Ih"
right to vote, nowhere expressly guaranted in the Constitution (but proteJed againi abridgment
on certain
grounds in the Fifteentl, Nineteenth, and Twenry_;ixth Amendments)
receiveal uncler the
clause a special dispensation that required the invaridation of all but the
most simple quarifications, most barriers to ballot access by individuals and parties, and the practice
of apportion_
ment of state legislatures on any basis other than population. wealth dis;inctions
in the crimi_
nal procesa were viewed with hostility and genera y invalidatetl.
il
il
!E@
.*
<
xII
II{TRODUCTION
Again, a recongtituted court made some tentatlve rearangpments with respect t,o these
doctrinal developments. T'he suspicion of wealth classfications was largely though not entirely
liBited t,o the crininal process. Governmental discretion in the political proces8 was e alged
of the doc_
a small degree. But the record generally is one of consolidation and mfitensnce
trines, a refusal to go forward much but also a disinclination to retreat much. Only very re_
cently has the Court, in decisional law largely cast in remedial terms, begun to dismantle some
of the structure of equal protection constlaints on ihstitutions, such as schools, prisons, state
hospitals, and tlre like. Now, rre see the beginnings of a sea changp in the Court's pe$pective
on legislative and erecutive reuredial action, alfecfing affitroative action and race conscious
steps in the electoral process, with the equal protection clause being used to csbin Political discteflon.
v
Finally, criminal law and crirrinal procedure during the 1960s and 1970s has ben doctrinally unstable. The story of the 1960e was largely one of the impositibn of constitutional constraini upon federal and state criminal justice systems. Application of the Bill of Rights to the
Stats w&s but one aspect of this story. At the same time, the Court mnstructed new teeth
for the gusiantees. For example, the privilege against self-incrimination was glven new and
efrective meaning by requiring that at the police inteEogation stage it be observed and fuithermore ihat criminal suspecLsbe informed of thei rights under it. It was also expanded, as was
the Sixth Arnendment guarantee of counsel, by requiring the furnishing of counsel or at least
"critical" stages of the crimiaal process-interrogatron,
the opportunity to consult counsel at
than only at and proximate to trial. An expanded exthe
like,
rather
prellminary hearing, and
"loriotru"y rule was applied ta keep out of evidence material obtained in violation of the su6pect's search and seizuie, self-incrimination, and other righLg.
During the last two decades, the Court ha6 dra$/n the line difrerently here- I'lne exclusionar5r rule has been cabined and redefrned in several lihitrng ways. Search and seizure doctrine
has been revised to enlarge police powers. The self_incrimination and counsel doctrines have
been eroded in part although in no respect has the Couit returned t,o the colstitutional juiis^prudence prevailing before the 1960s.
Moreover, subs=tantive as well as procedutal guarantees were developed. The law of capital
punishment has been a couise of meandering development, rYith the present Court almost
doing away wit}I lt and then approving its revival by the Stats
Undeigirding the 1960s procedural and substantive development was a series of expansion
ol the habeas corprs powers of the federal courts, with the sweeping away of many jurisdictional restrictions previously imposed upon the exercise of review of 6tate crirBinsl convictions.
Concomitantly with the narrowing of the precedents of the 19508 and 1960s Couit case a retraction of federal lrabe@gpowers since the 19?0s.
vI
The last four decades were among the most signifrcnt in the Court's history' They were
as well the scene of some of the most sustained efforts to change the Cour:t or its decisions
or both with respect to a substantial number of issues. On only a few Past occasions was the
Cou:rt so centrally a subject of political debat and coltroversy ir! [ational life or an object of
contention in presidential elections. One can doubt that the public any longer Perceives the
Court as an institution above political disput, any longer belives that the answers to difridt
issues in litigation before the Juetlces may be found solely in the txt of the document entrueted to their keping. But one cannot doubt either that t}re Court still enjoys the respect
and reverence of the bar and the public generally, that its decisions generally are accorded
uncoerced acquiescence, and that its pronouncements are acceptd as authoritative, binding
constructions of the constitutional instrument. Indeed, it cal be argued that the ahsappearance
of the myth of the absence ofjudicial discretion and choice strengthens the court as an institution t,o the degree that it explains and justifies the exercise of fiscretion and choice in thoee
areas of controversy in which the Constitution dos not speak clearly or in which different sections lead to different ansv.ers. The public attitude t}Ius establiehed is then bettr enabled to
INTRODUCTION
XIII
undeEtand division within the Court alld within the legal profession generally,
and all sides
are therefore seen to be entitled to the respect accordedlhe good faith-search
for answers. As
the Court's workload continues to increase, a geater anrl gre-ater proportion
of its casea taken
are "hard" cases and while hard cases need not make Uifu*
tfr"y do i" iuct lead to division
among the Justices and public controversy. Increaseil sophistication,
then, about the Court,g
role and its methods can only redound to its bnefrt.
IIISTORICAL
IIIST1ORICALNOTE
NOTE ON FORMATION OF THE
CONSTTIUTION
In June 1774, tl'e Virginia and Massachusetts assembliesinrlependen

y
proposed an intercolonial meeting of delegatbs from
the several colonies to
restore union and harmony between Great Britain and
her American colonies. Pursuant to these calls there met in philadelphia in
September of that
year the first Continental Congress,composedof delegates
fiom 12 colonies.
On October 14, 1774, the assembly adopted what t "i l".o-"
to be known
as the Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental
Congress. In that
instrument, addressed to his Majesty and to the people
of dreat Britain,
there was embodied a statemenf of rights and principtes, nany
of which
were later to be incorporated in the Declaratiol of Inlependence
and the
Federal Constitution. 1
Th_is Congress adjourned in October with a recomrnendation
that an_
other Congressbe held in philadelphia the following May nefore
its success9r.m9t,
-the battle of Lexington had been fought. IriMassachusetts the colo_
nists had organized their own government in defiance of the royal governor
and the^Crown. Hpn1e, by general necessity and by common
consent, the
second Continental Congress assuned control of the .Twelve
United
Colo_
nies", soon to become the "Thirteen United Colonies" by the
cooperation of
Georgia. It became a de facto government; it called upon the other
colonies
to assist in the defense of Massachusetts; it issuecl iills of
credit; it took
steps to.organize-a military force, and appointed George Washington
com_
mander in chief of the Armv.
-of
While the declaration
th" caoses and necessities of taking up arrns
of July 6, 1775,2 expressed a.lrish. to see the union between
Great Britain
and the colonies "restored", sentiment for ildependence was growing.
Fi_
nally' on May 15, 1776, Virginia instructeil her tlielegates to
the
continental
uongress to have that body ..declarethe united colonies free and
independ_
--_l
f:ftu -fottl"t",
for example, ctnifred the- right .-to life, liberty, and proprtf, "the rights,
liberties, and immunities of iee and natural-boL sulj;G
;t#'rf.A;
of England,,; the
to participat in legislative cou+c s;
g"""i ira'i"."li--Jf"
]lrchl
of being tried
iiivitege
-.the
by therr
"the
_peersof the- vicinage, aceording to the 6uree of ttfre con-on'f"*
oinnd.rraf;
immunities and_privileges gEnted and -n6rmed t9 tbe. ly roy.t
"t
"rt"o,
or
secured
by
their
several codes of provincial laws": -a right peaceably t" *";.1i.,
-""ili'of
tf,"i, gri"J.r,""",
and petition the king." They nrrtfrer dectarea *rat it" t*p-J
"i,-"t
"J*g army in tne colonies in time of peace without the consent of the -lonv' ln-*hich
th-e-Jmy was kept was
"against law"j
that it was "indispensably necr""a"y to gooi go""-iirri'Ll
,"na"."d essential
by the English constitution, thit the constituent [.r""-rt"" 3f tr," r"gi"iaiii
te inaependent or
each othe/; that certain acts of Parliament in contraveotion of thi
foregoing principles were
'infringement
and violations of the rights otth" "otorri"fs.; i"Ji"-C.-i#"rff
(ed.), Documents
Illustrative of the Fornation of the Uirion of the American $Ls;
i. i;.
N".
S58, 6fth Con_
gress, lst sess. (1927), l. See also H. Commager (ed.), Docuneni's
J,Anencan History (New
York; 8th ed. 1964), 82.
2Text in Tansill, op. cit., 10.
XV
HISTORICAL NOTE
XVI
in Congress
ent States."3 Accorilingly on June 7 a resolution was introduced
the
formation
proposing
tlissolved,
Britain
the union tittr Great
il;;;
confederation
of
o!
drafting
the
nlan
uillutt""", antl suggesting
;i;;;6
1
a
argued for conto be stibmitted to the respective colonies. some delegates
not prevail'
did
counsel
This
federation frrst and declaiation afterwards'
plan of cona
of
preparation
the
4,
17?6;
was declared on Julv
i;;;;;;";"
that the
1777'
l7'
November
until
was postponed. It was not
i"J"t'ttl""
some
stood
which
government
of
form
Congress *u" "bl" 1o ug""" on a
of
ConfedArticles
The
States'
"fr*""" of being approvetl by the separate
to the several States, and on July 9' 1778' were
eration were tf[" .ol-itt"a
frnallv anproved by a sufficient number to becomeoperative-'
-iiherent in the Articles of Confederation became apparent
ri""'f.1"".".
had been conbefore the Revolution out of which that instrument was born
joined the
(Maryland)
conditionally
State
cluilerl. Even before the thirteenth
;i;l;"c""
oilrienaship" on March 1, 1?81, the need for a -revenue amendconcetletl' Congress under the Articles lacked authority to
;;; witlely-could
;;;
only request the States tn contribute their fair share
She
i""y 1"*".
treasury, but the requested amounts were not forthcoming'
to ih" "o--on
Iay duties
io ""medy ttti" tlefect, Congress applied to the States for power to
amendment'
an
such
to
agreed
Stat'es
the public aebts. fVelve
""a."""t"
Rhode Islan<I refused her consent, thereby defeating the proposal'
but
---'fh;;-*;"
emphasizetl a second weaknlss in the Articles of Confedveto which each State possessed whenever
eration, namely, th" Iib""owere proposed Not only did all amendinstrument
amendments to that
of
the 13 States, but all important legislaeach
by
ments have to be Yatifred
With several delegations often absent'
Stut"".
oi
I
li- """a"a the approval
o'"o't*ostates.wereabletodefeatlegislativeproposalsofmajorimportance.
--"'6tn",
imperfections in the Articles of Confederation also proved embarpowers'
rassing. Conggesscould, for example' negotiate treaties with foreign
a
when treaty
but all- treatils harl to be ratified by the several States. Even
Congress lacked auihoritv t'o secure obedience to its stipula;;;;;;;,
individuals'
tions. iongress could not act directly upon the States or upon
treaty with
U.rd"" ,o"f, circumstances foreign nJtions doubted the value of a
new RePublic.
the
- -- -f'"Jtt"t-o.",
Congress had no authority to regulate foreign or interexceptions'
sLate commerce. Legislation in this field, subject to unimportant
incommon
with
States. Disputes between Stats
was hft m the iniliitlual
Disinevitable'
i" the navigation of certain rivers and bays were
i"t".t.
regulations were followed by reprisals'
criminatory
**
the neetl for an agreement with MaryIand respecttid;i",;Z;ogiri"g
in June
ing tfre-navigatiori and i-u;sdictlon of the Potomac River' appointed
3Id., 19.
4Id.,21.
HISTORICAL NOTE
XVII
1784, four cornrnissioners to "frame such liberal and equitable regulations

concerning the said river as may be mutually advantageous to the two
States." Maryland in January 1?85 responded to the Virginia resolution by
appointing a like number of commissioners s "for the purpose of settling the
navigation and jurisdiction over that part of the bay of Chesapeake which
lies within the limits of Virginia, and over the rivers Potomac and
Pocomoke" with full power on behalf of Maryland "to adjudge and settle the
jurisdiction to be exercised by the said State, respectively, over the waters
and navigations of the same."
At the invitation of Washington the comm.issioners met at Mount Vernon, in March 1785, and drafted a compact which, in many of its details relative to the navigation and jurisdiction of the Potomac, is still in force.6
What is more important, the commissioners submitted to their respective
States a report in favor ofa convention of all the States "to take into consideration the trade and commerce" of the Confederation. Virginia, in January
1786, advocated such a convention, authorizing its commissioners to meet
with those of other States, at a time and place to be agreed on, 'to take into
consideration the trade of the United Stats; to examine the relative situations and trade of the said State; to consider how far a uniform system in
their commercial regulations may be necessar5rto their common intrest and
their permanent harmony; and to report to the several State, such an act
relative to this great object, as when unanimowly ratified by them, will enable the United States in Congress, effectually to provide for the same.'7
This proposal for a general trade convention seemingly met w.ith general appmval; nine Statcs appointed comnissioners. Under the leadership
of the Virginia delegation, which included Randolph and Madison, Annapolis
was accepted as the place and the first Monday in September 1?86 as the
time for the convention. The attendance at Annapolis proved disappointing.
Only five States-Virginia,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New
York-were
represented; delegates from Maesachusetts, New Hampshire,
North Camlina, and Rhode Island failed to attend. Because ofthe small representation, the Annapolis convention tlid not deem "it advisable to proceed
on the business of their mission." After an exchange of views, the Annapolis
delegates unanimously submitted to their respective States a report in
which they suggested that a convention of representatives from all the
States meet at Philadelphia on the second Monday in May 1787 to examine
the defects in the existing system of government and fomulate "a plan for
supplying such defects as may be discovered." sThe Virginia legislature
acted promptly upon this recomloendation and appointed a delegation to go
5 George Maeon, Edmund Randolph, James Madison, arrd Alexander Hetderson were appointed commissioners for Virginia; thomas Johtrson, Tlromas Stone, Samuel Chase, and Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer for Maryland.
6Text of the resolution and details of the compact Eay be found in Wheaton v. Wise, 158
u.s. 155 (1894).
TTransill, op. cit., 38.
3Id.. 39.
xvtu
HISTORICAL NOTE
to Philadelphia. Within a few weeks New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nbrth Carolina, Delaware, and Georgia also made appointments. New York and several
other States hesitated on the ground that, without the consent of the Continental Congress, the work of the cdnvention would be extra-legal; that
Congress alone could propose amendments to the Articles of Confederation.
Washington was quite unwilling to attend an irregular convention. Congressional approval of the proposed convention became, therefore, highly important. After some hesitancy Congress approved the suggestion for a conven"for the sole and express purpose of revising the Artition at Philadelphia
cles of Confederation and reporting to Congress and the several legislatures
such alterations and provisions therein as shall when agreed to in Congress
and confirmed by the States render the Federal Constitution adequate to
the eigencies of Government and the preservation of the Union."
Thereupon, the remaining States, Rhode Island alone excepted, appointed in due course deiegatesto the Convention, and Washington accepted
membership on the Virginia delegation.
Although scheduled to convene on May 14, 1787, it was not until May
25 that enough delegates were present to proceed with the organization of
the Convention. Washington was elected as presiding officer. It was agreed
that the sessionswere to be strictly secret.
On May 29 Randoiph, on behalf of the Virginia delegation, submitted
to the convention 15 propositions as a plan of government. Despite the fact
that the delegates were limited by their instructions to a revision of the Artictes, Virginia had really recommended a new instrument of government.
For example, provision was made in the Virginia plan for the separation of
the three branches of government; under the Articles executive' legislative,
and judicial powers were vested in the Congress. Furthermore the legislature was to consist of two houses rather than one.
On May 30 the Convention went into a committee of the whole to consider the 15 propositions of the Virginia plan seriatim . These discussion
continued until June 13, when the Virginia resolutions in amended form
were reported out of comrnittee. They provided for proportional representation in both houses. The smail States were dissatisfred. Therefore, on June
14 when the Convention was ready to consider the report on the Virginia
plan, Paterson of New Jersey requested an adjournment to allow certain
delegations more time to prepare a substitute plan. The request was granted, and on the next day Paterson subrnitted nine resolutions embodying important changes in the Articles of Confederation, but strictly amendatory in
nature. Vigorous debate followed. On June 19 the States rejected the New
Jersey plan and voted to proceedwith a discussion of the Virginia plan. The
small States became more and more discontented; there were threats of
withdrawal. On July 2, the Convention was deadlocked over givhg each
HISTORICAL NOTE
XD(
State an equal vote in the upper house-five States in the affirmative, frve
in the negative, one divided. e
The problem was referred to a committee of 11, there being l delegate
from each State, to effect a compromise. On July b the committee submiited
its report, which became the basis for the "great compromise',ofthe Conven_
tion. It was recommended that in the upper house Lach State should have
an equal vot, that in the lower branch each State shoulal have one reo_
r_esentativefor every 40,000 inhabitants, counting three_fifths of the slaves,
that money bills should originate in the lower house (not subject to amend_
ment by the upper chamber). When on July 12 the motion of Gouverneur
Morris of Pennsylvania that direct taxation should also be in proportion to
representation was adopted, a crisis had been successfully surmounted. A
compromise spirit began to prevail. The small States were not willing to
support a strong national government.
Debates on the Virginia resolutions continued. The 15 original resolu_
tions had been expanded into 28. Since these resolutions were largely declarations of principles, on July 24 a committee of five 10 was elected to draft
a detailed constitution embodying the firndamental principles which had
thus far been approved. The Convention adjourned from Juiy 26 to August
6 to await the report of its committee of detail. This committee, in prepaiing
its draii of a Constitution, turned for assistance to the State constitutions,
to the Articles of Confederation, to the various plans which had been sub_
mitted to the Convention and other available material. On the whole the re_
port of the committee conformed to the resolutions adopted by the Convention, though on many clauses the members of the cornnrittee l;ft the imprint
of their individual and collective judgments. In a few instances the commit_
tee avowedly exerciscd considerable discretion.
From August 6 to September 10 the report of the committee of detail
was discussed, section by section, clause by clause. Details were attencled
to, further compromiseswere effected. Toward the close of these discussions,
on September 8, another committee of five 11 was appointed ..to revise the
style^of_and, arrange the articles which had been agreed to by the house.,,
On Wednesday, September 12, the report of the committee of style was
ordered printed for the convenience of the delegates. The Convention for 3
days compared this report with the proceedings of the Convention. The Con_
stitution was ordered engrossed on Saturday, September 1b.
The Convention met on Monday, Sepiember 12, for its frnal session.
Several of the delegates were disappointed in the result. A few deemed the
new Constitution a mere makeshift, a series of unfortunate compromises.
The advocates of the Constitution, realizing the impending difficulty of
s'Itre New Ham-pshire delegatior did not arive
until Juty 23, 1?g?.
ro
Goiham of Massachusetts, Elldwo.th
^ ^ Rutledge ofsoxth Ca.olina, Randolph of Virginia,
of Connecticut, ard Wilson ofPennsylvaniC.
lrWilliam Samuel Johnson of Connecticut, Alexander
Hamilton of New york, Gouvemeur
Morris of Pennsylvania, James Madison of Virginia, and Rufus King of Massachusetts.
)o(
HISTORICAI NOTE
obtaining the consent of the States to the new instrument of Government,

were anxious to obtain the unanimous support of the delegations from each
State. It was feared that many of the delegates would refuse to give their
individual assent to the Constitution. Therefore, in order that the action of
the Convention would appear to be unanimous, Gouverneur Morris devised
"Done in Convention, by the unanimous consent of the States
the formula
present the 17th of September...In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our narnes." Thirty-nine of the forty-two delegates present thereupon
"subscribed" to the document. 12
The convention had been called to revise the Articles of Confederation.
Instead, it reported to the Continental Congress a new Constitution. Furthermore, while the Articles specified that no amendnents should be effective unti] approved by the legislatures of all the States, the Philadelphia
Convention suggested that the new Constitution should supplant the Articles of Confederation when ratified by conventions in nine States. For these
reasons, it was feared'that the new Constitution nright arouse opposition in
Congress.
Three members of the Convention-Madison, Gorham, and King-were
also Members of Congress.They proceededat once to New York' where Congress was in session, to placate the expected opposition. Aware of their vanishing authority, Congress on September 28, aft'et some debate, decided to
submit the Constitution to the States for action. It made no recommendation
for or against adoption.
Two parties soon developed, one in opposition and one in support of the
Constitution, and the Constitution was debated, criticized, and expounded
clause by clause. Harnilton, Madison, and Jay wrote a series of commentaries, now lorown as the Federalist Papers, in support of the new instrument of government. 13 The closeness and bitterness of the struggle over
ratifrcation and the conferring of additional powers on the central government can scarcely be exaggerated. In some States ratifrcation was efrected
oniy after a bitter struggle in the State convention itself.
Delaware, on December 7, L787,became the first State to ratifu the new
Constitution, the vote being unanirnous. Pennsylvania ratified on December
12, 1787, by a vote of 46 to 23, a vote scarcely indicative of the struggle
which had taken place in that State. New Jersey ratified on December 19,
1787, and Georgia on January 2, 1?88, the vote in both States being unanimous. Connecticut ratified on January 9, 1788; yeas 128, nays 40. On February 6, 1788, Massachusetts, by a nanow margin of 19 votes in a convention with a membership of 355, endorsed the new Constitution, but rec12At least 65 persons had received appointments as delegatesto the Convention;55 actually attended at diherent times during the course of the proceedinE; 39 signed the document.
It Las been estimated that gnerally fewer t}tan 30 delegates attnded the daily sessions.
r3These commentaries on the Constitution, written during the struggle for ratification,
have been frequently cited by the Supreme Court as an authoritative contemporary intelpreta_
tion of the meaning of its provisions.
HISTORICA], NOTE
)o(I
ommended that a bill of rights be added to protect the States 1lom federal
encroachment on individual liberties. Maryland ratified on April 2g, 1Zg8;
yeas 63, nays 11. South Carolina ratified on May 28, 1788; yeas 149, nays
73. On June 21, 1788, by a vote of 57 to 46, New Hampshire became the
ninth State to ratify, but like Massachusetts she suggested a bill of rights.
By the terms of the Constitution nine States were sufficient for its establishment among the States so ratiffing. The advocates of the new Constitution realized, however, that the new Government could not succeed
without the addition of New York and Virginia, neither of which had ratified. Matlison, Marshall, and Randolph led the struggle for ratification in
Virginia. On June 25, 1788, by a narrow margin of 10 votes in a convention
of 168 members, that State ratified over the objection of such delegates as
George Mason and Patrick Henry. In New York an attmpt to attach conditions to ratification alnost succeeded. But on July 26, L788, New york ratified, with a recommendation that a bill of rights be appended. The vote was
close-yeas 30, nays 27Eleven States having thus ratified the Constitution, 1a the Continental
Congress-which still firnctioned at irregular intervals-passed a resolution
on September 13, 1788, to put the new Constitution into operation. Ttre first
Weilnesday of January 1789 was fixed as the day for choosing presidential
electors, the first Wednesday of February for the meeting of electors, and
the first Wednesday of March (i.e. March 4, 1789) for the opening session
of the new Congress. Owing to various delays, Congress was late in assembling, and it was not until April 30, 1789, that George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States.
laNorth Carolina added her ratfication on Novembr 21, 1289; yeas

184, nays Z?. Rhode
Island did not rati& until May 29, 1790;yeas 34, nays 32.
ry

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Compact easement summary and Public Notice

Restoration of the general post office letter

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1: MAN AGEMENT OF RURAL

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general post-master; sam-germain

general post-master; keith-edward

The Articles of Association; October 20, 1774

The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

UNITED STATES CODE ANNOTATED

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 1777

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Compact easement agreement republic notice as amended

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So claimed in the name of yahweh, by the autograph of three witnesses, a cause is

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IIYTRODUCTION TO TIIE 1992 EDITION

PUBLIC I"AW 91_589,84 STAT. 1.585,2 U.S.C. S168

Whereas_the Constitution of the United States of America_

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obligation of-contracts, and perhaps expanding in the regulatory takingB

In June 1774, tl'e Virginia and Massachusetts assembliesinrlependen

1784, four cornrnissioners to "frame such liberal and equitable regulations

obtaining the consent of the States to the new instrument of Government,

laNorth Carolina added her ratfication on Novembr 21, 1289; yeas

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