This document was first created on Thursday,
March 12, 2009 and was most recently revised on Saturday, January 31, 2015.
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The Journals of the Continental Congress
http://www.constitution.org/uslaw/cont-cong/journals.html
Eventually, I'd like to have copies of The Journals of the Continental
Congress actually on this website. For now, I must be satisfied
with a link to the Constitution Society website, at the above address.
If that website disappears, then the link won't work any more. The
following is quoted from that website.
The following are all of the recorded proceedings of
the Continental Congress under the Articles of Association from 1774 through
1781, and under the Articles of Confederation from 1781 through 1789, when
the Constitution went into force.
The formats are image-only, not yet searchable. Making
them searchable is planned.
—Constitution Society Website
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The United States of America, 1774 — 1781
The Articles
of Association, October 20, 1774
16
K PDF File
The Articles of Association were not a constitution. They were
more in the nature of a treaty between the colonies. The Continental
Congress, at that time, wasn't a government, as we think of the United
States of America today. It wasn't established by an actual constitution,
but was merely a body of delegates having such powers as the colonies were
willing to accept. It existed mostly to administer and enforce the
treaty that was represented by the Articles of Association |
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The United States of America, 1781 — 1789
The Articles
of Confederation, March 1, 1781
20
K PDF File
This alliance was more nearly a nation than was the previous one.
However, even after the Articles of Confederation went into effect, the
Continental Congress lacked a certain legitimacy as a central government.
That's true because it had defined itself in the Articles of Confederation.
That, of course, was backwards. Properly, a constitution is created
by a body of delegates prior to the existence of the government.
Then, the government comes into existence after the constitution has been
ratified. In the case of the Articles of Confederation, it was done
the other way around. Regarding the proper relationship between a
constitution and its government, see the introduction
to this collection.
Also note that the Continental Congress was never disbanded.
It has only been in recess since 1789. Note further that the Articles
of Confederation were neither terminated nor superseded. Not only
that, they were made a part of the U.S. constitution, by reference.
See Article VI, clause 1. Thus, they remain legally authoritative
even today. You might be surprised at their continuing effect.
I recommend my essay In
Search of the Supreme Flaw of the Land: Perpetual Union. |
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The United States of America, 1789 — present
Constitution for
the United States of America
44
K PDF File
At least it was done in the correct order that time. That is,
a constitutional convention, composed of delegates from the states, wrote
a constitution. After that, the government came into being — at least
in theory. Sadly, there were so many errors that the process, the
constitution, and the government were all irreparably flawed. See
my essay In
Search of the Supreme Flaw of the Land: Perpetual Union.
At this late date, it's my considered opinion that it can't be fixed.
I believe that it's time to invoke that prophetic phrase from the Declaration
of Independence, and "abolish it".
Maybe next time they'll get it right. |
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