Summary--Pledge of Perpetual Union
Each state must accept and agree to follow the
decisions of the United States in Congress
assembled. The states must follow all of the
rules as stated in the Articles of
Confederation. The union of states is meant to
last forever. No alterations can be made to the
Articles without the agreement of Congress and the
confirmation by each of the state legislatures.
Each of the delegates that sign this document has
the power to commit the state that they represent
to all of the Articles and their specific contents.
The people of each state will agree to follow the
rulings of Congress on all matters they discuss,
and each of the states agrees to never violate the
union. We have signed this as members of Congress,
meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 9,
1778, the third year of American Independence.
Commentary
Article 13 and the conclusion provide the means by
which the Articles will be enforced and establishes
the process for amendment to the Articles of
Confederation.
The authority of the government established by the
Articles rests in the pledge of all of the
delegates to respect the union of thirteen states
forever. This forces each individual state to rely
on the honor of each of the other states to fulfill
their mutual commitments. This reflects a notion
similar to the "friendship" promise of Article 2,
which had already been demonstrated to be
ineffective.
The farther removed the states felt from the threat
of war, the less they cared about honoring their
pledge to abide by the Articles. In the absence of
a strong and coercive power to force states into
compliance, states failed to send delegates to
Congress, were delinquent on contributions to the
general treasury, negligent regarding the matters
of foreign commerce, and eager to take power
into their own hands. When the need for mutual
defense was removed, there seemed to be little need
for a central government whose authorization solely
covered things related to the common defense.
The significance of this portion of the Articles
of Confederation lies not only in demonstrating
the weakness of the government from 1781-1789, but
also because it provided the means through which
the Articles could be revised and the U.S.
Constitution could be formed.
Although this Article states that the union cannot
be violated by any state, it does allow for
amendment to the Articles through agreement in
Congress and approval by each of the state
legislatures. The convention of all states, except
for Rhode Island, in Philadelphia in May 1787, met
under this guise to "amend" the Articles, not
replace them. When the new and radically different
document was adopted by this convention, it had to
be ratified by all of the states before it took
effect.
It is questionable whether this transition between
the Articles of Confederation and the
Constitution was legal at all. The
Articles stated that Congress had to agree to
amendments, and the convention was not Congress.
However, given the weakness of the Congress and the
strength of the states, it would have been futile
to try to stop it. Plus, Congress, more than any
other group, probably understood the difficulties
inherent in a powerless central government, and therefore
welcomed the chance for increased powers after
being so long held captive by the supreme sovereignty
of the states.
The transition from Articles to constitution was somewhat in the spirit
of Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of
Independence, which stated that a people have a
right to overthrow a government that does not
protect its fundamental rights. This time, however,
the people did not demand a more democratic
government that put sovereignty solely in the
state, but clamored for a stronger central
government that had a better chance of protecting
their property from the chaos of too many competing
state governments.
