THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

HISTORICAL NOTES.

The unanimous declaration made at Philadelphia, on July 4, 1776, by duly elected representatives of the Colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, in General Congress assembled, after explaining the causes which impelled the people of said Colonies to shake off their allegiance to the British Crown, stated as follows:

"We, therefore, * *

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 "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia" were agreed upon by duly elected delegates of the said States on November 15, 1777."

This compact having been approved and ratified in due form by the different States, a solemn proclamation thereof was made at Philadelphia on the 9th of July, 1778.

Article 1 of the instrument reads as follows:

"ARTICLE 1. The stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America.'"

By the provisional articles between the United States of America and His Britannic Majesty, concluded at Paris, on November 30, 1782, and the Definitive Treaty of Peace between the United States of America

a See Appendix 1.

9

and His Britannic Majesty, concluded also at Paris, on September 3, 1783, the recognition of the new political entities was made in the following language:

"His Britannic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, viz, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, to be free, sovereign, and independent States; that he treats with them as such, and for himself, his heirs and successors, relinquishes all claims to the government propriety and territorial rights of the same and every part thereof."

The imperfections of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union between the States having become every day more and more apparent and serious, the necessity was felt to call for a convention, where the said imperfections should be properly cured or corrected.

This convention, which met at Philadelphia and held its first meeting on May 25, 1787, succeeded in framing, after considerable debate and through a series of compromises, the Constitution of the United States of America, such as was signed on September 17 of the same year and submitted for their assent and ratification to the different States.

This ratification was made by conventions held to that effect, in the following way:

Delaware, by unanimous vote, on December 7, 1787.

Pennsylvania, by a vote of 46 to 23, on December 12, 1787.
New Jersey, by unanimous vote, on December 18, 1787.

Georgia, by unanimous vote, on January 2, 1788.
Connecticut, by a vote of 128 to 40, on January 9, 1788.
Massachusetts, by a vote of 187 to 168, on February 6, 1788.
Maryland, by a vote of 63 to 12, on April 28, 1788.
South Carolina, by a vote of 149 to 73, on May 23, 1788.
New Hampshire, by a vote of 57 to 46, on June 21, 1788.
Virginia, by a vote of 89 to 79, on June 26, 1788.

New York, by a vote of 30 to 28, on July 26, 1788.

The two remaining States, namely, North Carolina and Rhode Island, did not ratify the Constitution until November 21, 1789, and May 29, 1789, respectively, the former by a vote of 193 to 75, and the latter by a vote of 34 to 32.

A resolution passed by Congress on September 13, 1788, declared the Constitution ratified; and the Government under its new form was started at once.

GEORGE WASHINGTON was elected by the unanimous vote of his countrymen President of the United States. The House of Representatives organized on the 1st of April, 1789, the Senate secured a quorum on the 6th following, and President Washington was inaugurated on the 30th.

The city of New York was then the seat of the Government.

On the 25th of September, 1789, the First Congress of the United States of America, in use of the power vested in it by Article V of the Constitution, passed a resolution directing twelve "articles to be proposed to the legislatures of the several States as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all or any of which articles, when ratified by three-fourths of the said legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the said Constitution."

The first two were rejected, the last ten were adopted, and on the 15th of December, 1791, they were proclaimed to be in force."

The eleventh amendment to the Constitution of the United States was proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Third Congress, on the 5th of September, 1794, and was declared in a message from the President to Congress dated the 8th of January, 1798, to have been ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the States.

The twelfth amendment to the Constitution of the United States was proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Eighth Congress, on the 12th of December, 1803, in lieu of the original third paragraph of the first section of the second article, and was declared in a proclamation of the Secretary of State, dated the 25th of September, 1804, to have been ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the States.

A new amendment (Article XIII), forbidding slavery, was proposed by Congress on February 1, 1865, and declared to be in force on December 18 of the same year.

It was ratified by 31 States out of 36. Alabama and Mississippi ratified it conditionally. Delaware and Kentucky rejected it. Texas did not take any action on it.

The fourteenth amendment (Article XIV) was proposed by Congress on June 16, 1866, and declared to be in force on July 28, 1868. It was ratified by 33 States out of 37, but the States of New Jersey and Ohio rescinded their ratification.

Delaware, Kentucky, and Maryland rejected it.
California took no final action on it.

The fifteenth amendment (Article XV) was proposed by Congress on February 27, 1869, and declared to be in force on March 30, 1870. It was ratified by 30 States out of 37; but the State of New York rescinded its ratification. California, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, and Oregon rejected it.

No final action was taken by Tennessee.

The States forming the Union are now 45. Their names, alphabetically arranged, are as follows: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

In addition to these States there are now 6 Territories, as follows: Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Indian Territory, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

a The two rejected articles were as follows:

I. After the first enumeration required by the First Article of the Constitution, there shall be 1 Representative for every 30,000 persons until the number shall amount to 100, after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress that there shall not be less than 100 Representatives, nor less than 1 Representative for every 40,000 persons, until the number of Representatives shall amount to 200, after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress that there shall not be less than 200 Representatives, nor more than 1 Representative for every 50,000 persons. II. No law varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives shall take effect until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

There is also the District of Columbia, organized under section VIII of the Constitution, the capital of which (Washington) is the seat of the Government.

The Union now possesses Porto Rico, Guam, the Philippine Islands, and the Tutuila Group of the Samoan Íslands.

LIST OF IMPORTANT BOOKS TO BE CONSULTED IN REFERENCE TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

Journal, acts, and proceedings of the convention assembled at Philadelphia, Monday, May 14, and dissolved Monday, September 17, 1787, which formed the Constitution of the United States. Published under the direction of the President of the United States, conformably to a resolution of Congress of March 27, 1818. Boston, 1819.

ELLIOT, JONATHAN. Debates in the several State Conventions on the adoption of the Federal Constitution.

TUCKER, JOHN RANDOLPH. The History of the Federal Convention of 1787 and of its work.

MARSHALL, JOHN. The writings of John Marshall, late Chief Justice of the United States, upon the Federal Constitution.

STORY, JOSEPH. Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States.

COOLEY, THOMAS M. The general principles of constitutional law in the United States.

Constitutional limitations.

KENT, JAMES. Commentaries to the Constitution of the United States of America.
Comentarios á la Constitución de los Estados Unidos de América, por
James Kent. Obra traducida del texto original, adicionada y anotada por
J. Carlos Mexía, abogado de los tribunales mexicanos, 1878.

MEXÍA, JOSÉ CARLOS. Manual de la Constitución de los Estados Unidos.
VARELA, LUIS V. Derecho constitucional positivo. Constituciones vigentes en
Inglaterra, Estados Unidos y sus Estados, Suiza y sus cantones.

CONSTITUTION.