Preamble

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 Fifty of the United States of America in Congress assembled at Liberty Bell, Independence National Historical Park, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, did on the fifteenth day of November in the Year of our Lord Two Thousand Fifteen, and in the Two Hundred Thirty-Ninth Year of the Independence of America, agree to certain new articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the sovereign, free and independent States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ohio, Nebraska, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, and West Virginia, in the words following, viz:

New articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ohio, Nebraska, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, and West Virginia.

Article I.

The Name of this Confederacy shall be “The United States of America.”

Article II.

Section 1.

The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, 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 pretense whatever.

Section 2.

This Confederacy is also created to ensure that that principle of freedom, which maintains rights and privileges, which is justifiable before God, and which belongs to all mankind, be befriended, be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, citizens and foreigners alike, and be supported throughout the United States. Therefore,

(1) as a well-armed populace, skilled in the use of all weapons, is essential for the security of the United States—in order to wage warfare against any enemy, foreign or domestic, that should threaten any of their rights—the right of the people to make, keep, bear and carry all manner of weapons of every kind, openly or concealed, shall not be infringed nor regulated;

(2) all men shall be justified in defending themselves, their wives, their children, their friends, their neighbors, their property, their homes, their lands, their country, their government, their rights, their privileges, their liberties, their religion and their all, and the all of their neighbors, even unto bloodshed, from the unlawful assaults and encroachments of all persons in times of exigency, where immediate appeal cannot be made to the laws, and relief afforded;

(3) because of the extreme danger posed to liberty, there shall be no standing army in times of peace, and military conscription shall be abolished forever;

(4) no person or thing shall be quartered or installed in any house without the consent of the owner, nor shall any device or technology be used to spy, eavesdrop or intrude the senses remotely upon the people;

(5) there shall be no law against a man’s belief, nor any law which shall bring men on to unequal grounds, but a man shall be judged and punished only for the crimes which he has done, even for his infringement upon the rights and liberties of others;

(6) no law respecting an establishment of religion shall be made, nor any prohibiting or regulating the free practice thereof;

(7) that censorship by government and its officials upon the private sector be abolished forever, no law abridging or regulating the freedom of speech, or of the press, shall be made;

(8) the rights of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and for redemption, shall not be abridged or regulated, and all such importunities shall be heard and investigated for merit speedily, and if found to have merit, shall be addressed according to the amount of damages which have been sustained, both of character and personal injuries, as well as real property;

(9) to abolish the abomination of general warrants forever, the right of the people to be secure and private in their persons, houses, papers, data, metadata, communications, and all other effects, whether invisible, intangible or otherwise, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but from a judge, upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized;

(10) the right of grand juries to file presentments shall not be abridged or regulated;

(11) no person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land, air or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger;

(12) no person shall be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb;

(13) the right to remain silent shall not be violated, and shall be self-executing, being claimed merely by refusing to speak or communicate, and no person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself nor to communicate in any way;

(14) no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;

(15) private property shall not be taken for public use;

(16) in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed to be innocent, until proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be guilty, and the government shall have the burden of proof, not the accused;

(17) in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation;

(18) in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to be confronted with the witnesses against him;

(19) in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to have the assistance of counsel for his defense, but there shall be no compulsory process for obtaining witnesses, neither for the accused nor for the prosecution, for the conscription of witnesses shall be abolished forever;

(20) the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended;

(21) in suits at common law, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of this Confederacy, than according to the rules of the common law;

(22) excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted;

(23) as it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, slavery and involuntary servitude shall not exist within any of these United States nor within any place subject to any of their jurisdictions;

(24) the right of the people to nullify a law by their voice shall not be abridged;

(25) also, the enumeration in these articles of Confederation, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;

(26) and the powers, jurisdiction and rights not expressly delegated to this Confederacy by these articles of Confederation, nor prohibited by them to its member States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people: thus, each State shall retain its sovereignty, freedom, and independence.

Section 3.

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, 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 to and from other countries, by any mode of conveyance whatsoever in which they desire to exercise their right to travel, without abridgment, regulation, restriction or license, 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.

Section 4.

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.

Section 5.

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 III.

Section 1.

Neither the united States in Congress assembled, nor any State of this Confederacy, shall have power to abridge, regulate, or license, a man’s right to take a wife, for men shall always be free to marry wives, without restriction and without permission from ecclesiastical or secular authorities, but, for the resulting marriage, whether confarreatio, or coemptio in manum, or usus, or any other form, with or without manus, and with or without a vow, every State shall issue certificates upon presentment of statements or affidavits by the man and his wife, which shall certify the marriage and its form, and such certificates, if available, shall be used in all marriage controversies at law, which controversies shall be judged according to the marriage form and the covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations or expectations that were made and entered into by the persons involved.

Section 2.

Neither the united States in Congress assembled, nor any State, shall have power to raise up a king over men, nor to exert kingly authority over them or their house, for it is not right to esteem one flesh above another, or that one man shall think himself above another, but every man alone shall bear rule in his own house; and as that which is governed by law is also preserved by law, whereas that which breaks a law, and abides not by law, but seeks to become a law unto itself, cannot be preserved by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment, every man shall have power to set his house in order, having his children and house in subjection to him alone with all gravity, even as unto a king, according to the bounds and conditions of his law, that this shall be a land of liberty, and that every man shall enjoy his rights and privileges alike, and that every man shall set in order his family, and that every man shall bear his part.

Section 3.

No State shall have power to divorce men who exercise their right to marry wives with manus, from their wives, nor shall the right and power of such men to issue a writ of divorcement, on their own authority, be abridged or regulated in any way, and such writs shall be binding and valid and final and unalterable decrees in the eyes of the law, so that the law shall view a wife so divorced as loosed from the law of her husband.

Section 4.

Neither Congress, nor any State, shall abridge, or regulate in any way, a woman’s right to give birth at home, with our without assistance.

Section 5.

No State, nor any of its agents, shall issue or keep certificates of live birth, except in cases in which the child’s mother has died giving birth and the child has no living relative, for only the father and mother of a child, or the father alone if the child’s mother has died giving birth, or the mother alone if the father is dead or otherwise absent, or some other living relative if the child’s parents are dead or otherwise absent, shall have power to issue certificates of live birth, and to keep the same, except in the case in which the child’s mother has died giving birth and the child has no living relative, and such certificates shall be as equally valid and effective and binding, in the eyes of the law, as those which are issued by any State or its agents.

Section 6.

In order that the people may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law, and in all things that are expedient to understand—of things both in the heavens above and in the earth beneath, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and perplexities of nations, and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—and that all the people may study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues and people; the right and duty of parents to teach their children at home shall not be abridged, nor regulated in any way, neither by any State, nor by Congress, nor by any other branch of government, that children may be brought up in, and taught, truth and words of wisdom out of the best books, by their parents, and that the people may organize themselves and prepare every needful thing, and that every home may be established as a house of learning; but parents shall also have the privilege of performing this duty by sending their children to a school.

Section 7.

Neither Congress, nor any State, shall assign a number to the name or person of any of the inhabitants of Confederacy lands.

Section 8.

No identifying or other documents or effects shall be required of any inhabitant of any State to exercise the right to travel among the several States of this Confederacy.

Section 9.

No State shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, or enter into any conference, agreement or treaty with any King, Prince or foreign State; nor shall any person holding any office of profit or trust under the united States, or any of them, accept 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.

Section 10.

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, nor make any laws, which may interfere with any stipulations in treaties, entered into by the united States in Congress assembled, with any King, Prince or foreign State, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by Congress, to the courts of any nation.

Neither the united States in Congress assembled, nor any State, shall enter into any alliance with a foreign State, King, Prince, league, nation, tongue or people.

Section 11.

No vessel 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 defense 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 defense 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 IV.

Section 1.

All federal powers herein granted shall be vested in an assembled Congress of the United States, known in these articles as the united States in Congress assembled, or simply as, Congress, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, in Liberty, Missouri, which city is close to the geographic center of the contiguous United States, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 2nd Monday of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day, time and city. Any newly appointed city shall always be close to the geographic center of the contiguous Confederacy. The terms of Senators and Representatives shall end at noon on the 2nd Monday of January and the terms of their successors shall then begin. Congress shall have Power to change, by law, the day and time that the terms of Senators and Representatives begin and end.

Congress shall conduct its business for six straight days in every week, beginning on Monday and resting on Sunday, and at no time shall any law be passed to reduce the number of days per week that they shall conduct business, while in session.

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.

Each State shall have Power to recall its chosen Senators and Representatives, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in their stead, chosen as directed by these Articles, for the remainder of the year.

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 or imprisonments, during the time of their going to and from, and attendance on Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.

Section 2.

As it is not common that the voice of the people desires anything contrary to that which is right, but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right, all business done by the Congress, by the United States Committee, or by the citizens of the States to confirm appointments to Congress, to any of its Offices, or to the United States Committee, which requires a vote, shall be by the voice of the same, which voice shall be defined as a simple majority vote.

The voice of the House, the Senate and the Unites States Committee shall be counted of those in attendance, and not of the whole number of seats in each of these bodies. Any State that neglects to fill up any of its appointed seats, forfeits the right to influence the voice by casting the votes that pertain to those seats.

Section 3.

The Senate shall be composed of two Senators from each State, selected by the Governor thereof, and confirmed by the voice of the citizens of said State, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

The Senators shall be federal judges and governors and shall, by their voice, choose among themselves a chief judge and governor, who shall be one and the same man, and also their other Officers below them. The chief judge, if retiring from office before his term is over, shall have power to select a replacement, who must be approved by the voice of the Senate. The Senate shall have power to choose a different chief judge and governor at any time, by their voice, but no member of the Senate shall lose his office of Senator, except in case of impeachment.

Each Senator shall take the following oath of office:

“I solemnly swear to fill my judgment-seat with justice and equity, to judge righteously, to bring the wicked to justice according to their crimes, to keep the peace and the freedom of the people, to support and maintain their rights and privileges, and to faithfully manage the affairs of the Confederacy, according to law, in truth and in wisdom.”

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When a member of the Senate or House is tried, the Chief Judge shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of the voice of the Senate, first, and the House, second.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

The Senate, acting as federal governors, shall have power to enact the laws passed by Congress and to put the prescribed penalties for breaking them in force, according to law. When the first Senator of a State is engaged in judicial matters, the second Senator of the same State shall govern the affairs of the Confederacy that pertain to his State, according to law; and when the second Senator is engaged in judicial matters, the first shall govern the said affairs, according to law; and when neither is engaged as judges, they both shall govern these affairs, according to law; but at no time shall both Senators of the same State be engaged in judicial matters simultaneously.

Section 4.

The House of Representatives, also known in these articles simply as, the House, shall be composed of Representatives from each State, selected every second Year by the Legislature thereof, and confirmed by the voice of the citizens of said State; and the Representatives of each State shall have one Vote.

The Number of Representatives in the House shall ever be no less than Four Hundred Ninety. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct, but as all population enumerations pose a danger to the lives, liberty and property of the people, all such enumerations shall consist solely of the whole number of inhabitants, and of the number of said inhabitants which are Indians not taxed, and of the number of non-Indians not taxed which are males aged twenty years or older, and in no case shall names, or sexes, or ages, or citizenship statuses, or any other data be gathered in the enumeration. At all times, regardless of enumeration, each State shall have at Least one Representative.

The House of Representatives shall choose a Speaker from among themselves, by their voice, as also other Officers below them; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. The Speaker of the House shall speak for the Confederacy, therefore, proclamations, declarations of war and of peace, and all other official announcements shall be made through him. The House shall have power to choose a different Speaker at any time, by their voice, but no member of the House shall lose his office of Representative, except in case of impeachment.

Each Representative shall take the following oath of office:

“I solemnly swear to keep the peace and the freedom of the people, to support and maintain their rights and privileges, and to form the laws of the Confederacy according to equity and justice, in truth and in wisdom.”

Every legislation bill shall be proposed to the House first, and approved of by the voice of the House, then it shall pass to the Senate, for approval by the voice of the Senate. If disapproved of in the House, no bill shall pass to the Senate. If disapproved of in the Senate, the bill shall return to the House. If approved of by the Senate, the Chief Judge shall sign it into law. Senators shall have Power to propose Legislation bills, by submitting them to the Speaker of the House, who will then present it to the House for approval.

The House shall have power to organize themselves into seven general committees of seventy, with each general committee having ten sub-committees of seven, or seven sub-committees of ten, as they shall agree, or any other number of general or sub committees of whatever number they so choose by their voice.

Section 5.

In the recess of Congress, a United States Committee shall be formed, composed of one Delegate from each State, selected by the Representatives thereof, and confirmed by the voice of the citizens of said State, for four Years.

The United States Committee shall assemble, upon the recess of Congress, in Liberty, Missouri, or in whichever city shall be appointed, by law, by Congress, and shall remain assembled until Congress is back in session. The assembled Delegates shall choose a Chief Delegate from among themselves, by their voice, and this man shall receive communiques from the Ambassadors and pass on any pertinent information to the rest of the Committee.

Each Delegate shall take the following oath of office:

“I solemnly swear to keep the peace and the freedom of the people, to support and maintain their rights and privileges, and to faithfully manage the affairs of the Confederacy, according to law, in truth and in wisdom.”

Like Congress, the United States Committee shall conduct its business for six straight days in every week, beginning on Monday and resting on Sunday, and at no time shall any law be passed to reduce the number of days per week that they shall conduct business, while assembled.

The United States Committee shall have power to manage those affairs of the Confederacy, which are conferred upon them by Congress, in the recess of Congress, by appointing secretaries from among their number, by their voice, who shall be responsible for specific tasks.

Section 6.

Every Senator, Representative, and Delegate, shall be a natural-born citizen and resident of that State for which he shall be chosen. The Officers of the Senate, the House and the United States Committee, shall be natural-born or naturalized citizens and residents of one of the States of the Confederacy, as shall all the Officers of the armed forces.

Senators, Representatives and Delegates shall be paid salaries by their respective States, which salaries shall be determined by the legislatures of the States they represent. The salaries of the Officers of the Senate, House and United States Committee, shall be determined by Congress, according to law, and shall be defrayed out of either of the two treasuries.

Article V.

Section 1.

The House of Representatives shall, by law, prepare a place for a treasury, and shall call it the Treasury of the States, and one among the House shall be appointed by the voice of the House to keep the treasury and shall be called the Treasurer of the States. There shall be a seal upon the Treasury of the States, and all the Confederacy membership dues shall be delivered into it; and no State of this Confederacy, or member of Congress, or any of its officers, shall call it his own, or any part of it, for it shall belong to all the States with one accord, and these dues shall be preserved and shall not be used or taken out of the treasury, neither shall the seal be loosed which shall be placed upon it, only by the voice of the House, and according to law.

The House shall also, by law, prepare a place for another treasury, and shall call it the Federal Treasury, and a seal shall be placed upon it, and one among the House, different than the Treasurer of the States, shall be appointed by the voice of the House to keep the Federal Treasury and shall be called the Federal Treasurer. Congress shall go to and make use of the mines, and the mint and the post offices, and the proceeds and profits and avails of the same, and all other moneys received, save it be the Confederacy membership dues, shall be cast into the Federal Treasury as fast as money is received. No State of this Confederacy, or member of Congress, or any of its officers, shall say that it is his own; for it shall not be called his, nor any part of it, and there shall not any part of it be used, or taken out of the treasury, only by the voice of the House, and according to law.

If either of the treasurers is found unfaithful and unwise, he shall be subject to the voice of the House and shall be removed out of his place, and another treasurer shall be appointed in his stead.

Section 2.

Congress shall have no power to coin money, except it be gold and silver and copper coins, according to the standard fixed by Congress, for Congress shall have power to fix the standards of weights and measures, but the different pieces of gold and of silver and of copper, which are coined into money, shall have the following value: one Troy ounce of 999 fine silver shall be valued at one hundred dollars, which shall be equal to one hundred avoirdupois ounces of pure copper, which shall be equal to one one-hundredth of a Troy ounce of 9999 fine gold; but Congress shall 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, and to alter these values, and also the reckoning and measures, and to fix other standards of weights and measures throughout the United States, according to the minds and circumstances of the people, according to law, as established by Congress.

Section 3.

All money coined by any of the States shall be in the standard fixed by Congress.

Section 4.

Congress shall have no power to issue certificates backed by and redeemable for congressional coinage, nor to issue paper money, nor to contract debt, nor to emit bills of credit, nor to borrow money, nor to establish a bank, nor to grant that private financial institutions should do the same in their behalf, and the united States in Congress assembled shall have no power to lay upon men’s shoulders that which is grievous to be borne, which are taxes, for Congress shall have no power of taxation.

Section 5.

Congress shall have no power to accept as payment for membership dues, or for postage services, or for minting services, or for any other thing or service, anything other than gold or silver or copper coin in the standard fixed by Congress, or certificates issued by a State of the Confederacy, which are backed by and redeemable for the same; and all such coinage and certificates, which are issued by any State of the Confederacy, shall be accepted, and all coin struck by the congressional mint shall be accepted, but all other coinage which is in the standard fixed by Congress, shall be accepted only at the discretion of Congress, according to law. Congress shall not make any payment, except in congressional coinage, or in the coin or certificates of the State the payee inhabits, or in coinage which is in the standard fixed by Congress, and which is accepted by Congress, according to law, according as Congress and the payee shall agree.

Section 6.

Congress shall have power to loan money, at interest, but all loans made by Congress shall come out of the Federal Treasury and no money shall be put into the Federal Treasury from the Treasury of the States.

Section 7.

Congress shall have power to accept monetary donations, which may be earmarked for specific congressional projects, to fund specific endeavors, but all such funds shall be cast into the Federal Treasury and all such projects shall be according to law, and according to the limited congressional powers delegated through these articles.

Section 8.

Each State shall divide its annual budget into a number of equal parts, the number being equal to the number of States in the Confederacy, and shall pay into the Treasury of the States a yearly membership due of no less than one of said parts, and of no more than one-twentieth part of its annual State budget, or it shall forfeit its membership in the Confederacy. Membership dues, once paid, shall be property of Congress, and no State shall lay any claim upon any portion of the moneys in the Treasury of the States.

Congress shall have power to determine, by law, the precise day upon which the yearly membership payments of the several States should be due, and any grace period that should be extended for late payments, and what late fee should be attached, and the precise day upon which membership forfeitures should occur for non-payment. Should any of the States forfeit their membership in this Confederacy for non-payment, but desire re-admittance, Congress shall have power to determine, by law, what penalties should be exacted of that State for re-admittance, but such penalties shall only consist of a greater monetary payment than the normal membership dues, and no penalty shall be greater than a four-fold payment for re-admittance.

Section 9.

All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defense or general welfare, and allowed by the united States in congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of either of the two treasuries, unless restricted by these articles, in which case such expense shall be defrayed out of the treasury specified by the articles.

Article VI.

Section 1.

The chief judge and governor shall appoint an Officer, who shall be confirmed by the voice of the Senate, and shall designate him as the Senate Recorder, whose office and calling and duty shall be to hear with his ears and be eyewitnesses of all the proceedings of the Senate, that he may testify of a truth.

Section 2.

The Speaker of the House shall also appoint an Officer, designated as the House Recorder, and confirmed by the voice of the House, whose office and calling and duty shall be to hear with his ears and be eyewitnesses of all the proceedings of the House, that he may also testify of a truth.

Section 3.

There shall also be a third recorder chosen, who shall be nominated by the Speaker and confirmed first by the voice of the House, and secondly by the voice of the Senate, who shall be designated as the General Recorder.

Section 4.

The Senate Recorder and the House Recorder shall be well qualified for taking accurate minutes and shall be very particular and precise in taking the whole proceedings, certifying in their records that they saw with that eyes, and heard with their ears, giving the date, and names, and so forth, and the history of the whole transaction, naming also some three individuals that are present, if there be any present, who can at any time when called upon certify to the same, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. The records made by the Senate and House Recorders—which shall include all proposed legislation, all laws passed, all those signed into law, and the voting record of the Senators and Representatives, even all their yeas and nays on any question—shall be handed to the General Recorder, attended with certificates over their own signatures, certifying that the record they have made is true. The General Recorder shall enter their records on the general congressional record, with certificates and all the attending witnesses, with his own statement that he verily believes the above statements and records to be true, from his knowledge of the general character and appointment of those men by the Senate and the House.

Section 5.

During each session of Congress, the General Recorder shall publish the journal of the proceedings of the Senate and House monthly; and when it is desired by any member of the united States in Congress assembled, at his request he shall be furnished with a transcript of the said journal.

At the conclusion of each session of Congress, the General Recorder shall publish the full congressional record for that entire session and deliver a copy of it to each member of Congress, and a copy shall also be delivered to each of the State legislatures, and a copy shall also be delivered to each of the main post offices throughout the Confederacy, for free inspection by the general public, that the citizens thereof, should they choose to exercise their right, may nullify by their voice any law they so choose; and all such laws nullified, by the voice of all the citizens of the several States, shall be null and void, and of none effect throughout the land.

Section 6.

All the records shall be had in order and put into the congressional archives by the General Recorder. The General Recorder shall offer a subscription service, at a small profit, through the post offices, to any person who desires to receive by mail the latest congressional record. The General Recorder shall also issue copies of any of the records in the archives, at a small profit, to whomsoever requests them, that there shall be full disclosure and transparency in all the affairs of the Confederacy.

Section 7.

The Senate shall also appoint, by their voice, other recorders, who shall create many books and many particular and very large records of every kind, of the proceedings of the armed forces, and of all the wars and contentions of the people, and of the post offices, and of the mint, and of the mines, and of all the constructions and shipping and plans and projects and doings of the Confederacy, and so forth, and all these records and books shall be delivered to the General Recorder, who shall put them in the archives.

Section 8.

There shall be no one sworn to secrecy in Congress, nor among any of their Officers, nor in the armed forces, nor in the employ of the Confederacy; and whoso is found combining in secret against Congress, or against the Confederacy, or against any State, or against the American people, or administering or taking secrecy oaths to hide facts from Congress, or to help such as seek power to gain power, or to help to get gain, or to murder, or to rob, or to steal, or to plunder, or to lie, or to commit any manner of crime, contrary to the law, that they might circumvent the law or that they might overthrow the rights and privileges and freedom of these lands, or of other lands and nations and countries, shall be charged and tried for treason; and whatsoever secret society is found to be a secret combination—entering into secret oaths and covenants, that the members of such would protect and preserve one another in whatsoever difficult circumstances they should be placed, that they should not suffer for their crimes, having secret signs and secret words, that they might distinguish a brother who had entered into the covenant, that whatsoever crimes his brother should do, he should not be injured by his brother, nor by those who belong to his band, who have taken the same covenant, swearing by their heads that whoso should vary from the assistance which the band desires should lose his head, and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing the band makes known to them, the same should lose his life, trying those who belong to their band, who reveal to the world their secret plans and plots and agreements and crimes, not according to the laws of their country, but according to the laws of their band—shall not be suffered to exist, but the united States in Congress assembled, upon discovery of such secret works and workers of darkness, shall use every means in their power to destroy all such bands from off the face of the earth, and also to bring to justice all those that build up the same; and whoso is found destroying the records of the Confederacy, to hide facts from Congress, shall also be charged and tried, according to the law.

Article VII.

Section 1.

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 causes 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 the Senate stating the matter in question and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of the Senate 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, fifteen commissioners or judges among the Senate to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in question; but if they cannot agree,

the Senators from the States which are involved in the controversy shall remain sitting;

the rest of the Senators shall have half their number stand up, even the first Senators from each of remaining States, and half their number sit down, even the second Senators of each of said States;

those Senators which are standing shall come forth in the presence of the Senate and cast lots by number, to ascertain who shall be the presiding judge, who shall be the two presiding assistant judges, who shall be the twelve councilor judges, and who of the twelve shall speak first;

the Senators who draw numbers one through fifteen shall remain standing, while the rest shall sit down;

the remaining standing Senators who drew odd numbers, that is, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15, shall remain standing, while those who drew even numbers, that is, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14, shall sit down and the second Senators from their States, shall stand and take their place;

if the chief judge is among those who drew numbers one through fifteen, he shall sit down, even if he drew an odd number, and the second Senator from his State shall stand up and take his place, and if the said second Senator is among those who drew numbers one through fifteen, he shall remain standing, even if he drew an even number;

the Senators who shall hold the first twelve numbers shall be the twelve councilor judges, and they shall be appointed to speak according to the order of the twelve numbers they hold, commencing with number one and so on in succession to number twelve;

the Senator who holds number thirteen shall be the presiding judge;

the Senator who holds number fourteen shall be the first assistant presiding judge and the Senator who holds number fifteen shall be the second assistant presiding judge;

and these fifteen Senators shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major part of the twelve councilor judges who shall hear the cause shall agree in the determination.

In case of the absence of one or both of those who are appointed to assist him, the presiding judge shall have power to preside over the court without an assistant, and in case he himself is absent, the assistant presiding judges shall have power to preside in his stead, both or either of them.

Whenever a court convenes to act upon any case, the twelve councilor judges shall consider whether it is a difficult case or not; if it is not, two only of the councilor judges shall speak upon it, but if it is thought to be difficult, four shall be appointed, and if more difficult, six; but in no case shall more than six be appointed to speak.

The accused, in all cases, shall have a right to one half of the councilor judges, to prevent insult or injustice, and those councilor judges who hold even numbers, that is, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12, are the individuals who shall stand up in behalf of the accused, to prevent insult and injustice.

After the evidence has been examined, the councilor judges who are appointed to speak before the court shall present the case, in its true light before the court, and every man shall speak according to equity and justice.

In all cases, the accuser and the accused shall have a privilege of speaking for themselves before the court, after the evidences are heard and the councilor judges who have been appointed to speak in the case have finished their remarks.

After the evidences are heard, and the councilor judges, the accuser and the accused have spoken, the presiding judge shall give a decision, according to the understanding which he shall have of the case, and shall call upon the twelve councilor judges to sustain the same by their voice.

But should the remaining councilor judges, who have not spoken, or any one of them, after hearing the evidences and pleadings impartially, discover an error in the decision of the presiding judge, they can manifest it, and the case shall have a re-hearing. And if, after a careful re-hearing, any additional light is shown upon the case, the decision shall be altered accordingly. But in case no additional light is given, the first decision shall stand, the voice of the councilor judges having power to determine the same.

If the decision is sanctioned by the voice of the twelve councilor judges, it shall be the duty of the fifteen judges that make up the court to transmit, immediately, a copy of their proceedings, with a full statement of the testimony accompanying their decision, to the chief judge.

But if the decision is not sanctioned by the voice of the twelve councilor judges, the case shall have a re-hearing with new judges appointed by lot, after the same manner as before, and the case shall be conducted as though no decision had been made.

Or, should the parties or either of them be dissatisfied with the decision of said court, they may appeal to the chief judge, and have a re-hearing, which case shall be conducted, according to the former pattern written, as though no such decision had been made, but the chief judge shall have power to determine whether any such case, as may be appealed, is justly entitled to a re-hearing, after examining the appeal and the evidences and statements accompanying it.

And in the case in which the chief judge is of a State which is involved in the controversy, the voice of the Senate shall appoint another Senator, who is not of a State involved in the controversy, nor of the court, to hear and decide upon the appeal.

Section 2.

If either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons, which Congress shall judge sufficient, the Congress shall proceed to appoint a court of the Senate by lot, after the above written manner; 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 favor, affection or hope of reward’: provided also, that no State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States.

Section 3.

All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under different grants of two or more States, whose jurisdictions 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.

Article VIII.

Section 1.

The united States in Congress assembled, shall have the sole and exclusive right and power

(1) of determining on peace and war, except in the cases mentioned in the eleventh section of the third article;

(2) of sending and receiving ambassadors;

(3) of entering into treaties with foreign nations, 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;

(4) 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;

(5) of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace;

(6) of 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;

(7) of managing all affairs and regulating the trade 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;

(8) of establishing or regulating post offices from one State to another, throughout all the United States, and exacting such postage on the papers passing through the same as may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said office, and to produce a small profit;

(9) of appointing all officers of the land, naval and air forces, in the service of the United States, which are not already mentioned in these articles;

(10) and of commissioning all other officers whatever in the service of the United States, which also have not been mentioned in these articles;

(11) and of making rules for the government and regulation of the said land, air and naval forces, and directing their operations.

Section 2.

Congress shall also have the right and power

(1) to establish and operate a mine or mines, to mine gold, silver and copper out of the ground, from which to coin money;

(2) to establish and operate a refinery, to refine gold and silver and copper; and a mint, to coin gold and silver and copper money; both of which shall offer their services to the public, at a small profit, that the people shall be able to bring their gold and silver and copper to be refined and coined into money, for a fee;

(3) to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the defense and other services of the United States, or any of them, according to these articles, and to appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public expenses, also according to these articles;

(4) and to build and equip a navy, and an air force, and an army.

Section 3.

The United States Committee shall have no power to make or enter treaties.

In the event of an attack upon the United States, or any of them, by an enemy force, the United States Committee shall have power to call Congress back into session, as an emergency session, for said Committee shall have no power to declare war, which power is reserved exclusively to the united States in Congress assembled; and said Committee shall also have power to call an emergency session of Congress in the event that the primary war council is consulted by the said Committee for a threat assessment and, after said consultation, if they deem it expedient to call Congress back into session, they shall have power to do so; but the said Committee shall have no power to activate the armed forces, but in the event of an attack, said Committee shall have power to issue a general call to arms of the State militias, who shall respond accordingly, as they assess the threat, while Congress is in process of assembling.

Congress shall delegate, by law, to the United States Committee, such of their powers that they deem necessary to vest them with for the management of the affairs of this Confederacy in the recess of Congress, which are not already expressly delegated nor prohibited, by these articles, to the said Committee; and by their voice, the United States Committee shall be authorized to execute said delegated powers.

The United States in Congress assembled shall have authority to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the United States under the direction of the United States Committee.

Article IX.

Section 1.

The chief judge and governor, with recommendations from the two Senators from every State, shall nominate one or more chief captains of the armed forces out of every State of the Confederacy, the number of which from each State shall be determined by apportionment, according to the number of adult male citizens per State, until there are three hundred chief captains in total, and each chief captain shall be confirmed by the voice of the Senate first, and by the voice of the House second, and by the voice of the citizens of the State he hails from third.

Section 2.

From the three hundred chief captains, the chief judge and governor shall select a chief commander, a second commander, and a third commander, who shall be confirmed by the voice of the Senate first, by the voice of the House second, and by the voice of all the citizens third. The chief commander shall be the head of all the armed forces, which shall be divided into three branches: land forces, sea forces and air forces; and the second commander shall be the head of all the sea forces; and the third commander shall be the head of all the air forces; and Congress shall have power to designate which of the armies shall be land forces, and which shall be forces of the sea, even a navy, and which shall be air forces.

Section 3.

The three hundred chief commanders shall each nominate ten high captains from their States, who shall be confirmed by the voice of the citizens of their States.

Section 4.

The high captains shall each nominate ten captains from their States, who shall be confirmed by the voice of the citizens of their States.

Section 5.

The chief commander, the second commander, the third commander, each of the two hundred ninety-seven chief captains, each of the three thousand high captains, and each of the thirty thousand captains, shall be a citizen and resident of one of the respective States, and shall command an army of men, each of whom shall be one of the people of said States, the number of which shall never exceed ten thousand. Each of these armies shall be organized in companies of ten, twenty, fifty and one hundred, with designated company leaders, as directed by their captains, or high captains, or chief captains.

Section 6.

The chain of command in the armed forces shall be the following: the captains shall command their own armies, but shall take orders from the high captains; the high captains shall command their own armies, but shall take orders from the chief captains; the chief captains shall command their own armies, but shall take orders from the chief commander first, from the second commander second, and from the third commander third; the third commander shall command his own army, but shall take orders from the chief commander first, and from the second commander second; the second commander shall command his own army, but shall take orders from the chief commander; the chief commander shall command his own army, and shall also assume command of all the armed forces, but shall take orders from the chief judge and governor, who shall take orders from the voice of the Senate. During war time, in the event the chief commander is killed or in some way incapacitated, the second commander shall assume command of all the armed forces until a new chief commander is appointed, according to law; and in the event that both the chief commander and the second commander are killed or incapacitated, the third commander shall assume command over the armed forces until new commanders are appointed, according to law.

Section 7.

All vacancies of captains, high captains and chief captains, during wartime, due to death or incapacitation, shall be filled by standard nomination and confirmed by the voice of the army that has the vacancy.

Section 8.

The chief commander, second commander, and third commander, assembled together, form a primary war council. The three hundred chief captains, assembled together, or whatsoever number of them can assemble together, form a secondary war council. In the event the primary war council is killed or incapacitated, the secondary war council shall direct the affairs of a war, by their voice, until a new primary war council is formed, according to law. In the event the secondary war council is killed or incapacitated, as well as the primary war council, the voice of the high captains shall direct a war, and in their absence, the voice of the captains shall direct.

Section 9.

The general armed forces shall be inactive and unpaid during peacetime, but when activated during wartime, they shall be paid their salaries out of the two treasuries, according to law.

Men who are reluctant to contend with their enemies, and who are sorry to take up arms against them, and who are sorry to be the means of sending them out of this world, who do not delight in the shedding of blood, but who are willing to shed blood to defend their country, who are of sound mind and body, and who are of the strength of the Confederacy, even the young men and the middle-aged men, who are people of the States, shall be eligible to enlist in the armed forces. Men of blood shall at all times be barred from enlistment and if any blood-thirsty men are found within an army, or any that delight in bloodshed, their commanders shall promptly remove them from the ranks, or their commanders shall face charges and be held responsible for their murderous actions. Congress shall have power to extend, by law, enlistment to old men, and to women, and so forth, who are also people of the States, only if necessity requires it due to facing an enemy of overwhelming numbers, to marshal the entire population to defend the land, provided none such are blood-thirsty.

When the call to arms goes forth, after a declaration of war has been issued by Congress, men may gather to appointed enlistment centers, which Congress shall have power to establish throughout the Confederacy, and put their names down in one of the listed armies of the captains, high captains or chief captains of their State, according to the commander they desire to follow into battle, but if an army is already filled to 10,000 men, a man shall not have power to enlist in it.

All those who enlist shall enter into a covenant to keep the peace, and to support the cause of liberty in the land, and to defend the Confederacy and its inhabitants and their lands and property, and to maintain their rights and privileges. Upon the ending of a war, all soldiers shall return to their former vocations.

When men enlist in the armed forces, they shall have power to bring with them all their weapons of war, if they have them, and to retain and use them during battle, and Congress shall also supply the armed forces with other weapons and ammunition, and with other needed supplies, that the armed forces shall have all it needs, in abundance, to defend the Confederacy lands; and if the supplies of the armed forces are greatly reduced during wartime, each State shall open its militia supplies to the armed forces, by writ of Congress, to defend the land, and after a war is over and peace has been declared by Congress, all weapons and supplies, which are left, shall be returned to the rightful owners.

Section 10.

Minutemen shall have preferred status, first pick, and a bigger salary and shall consist of men who, during peacetime, put their names down in an army they desire to serve in, with contact information, so that if, when a call to arms goes out and they are notified and respond and gather and enlist in a timely fashion, according to law, they shall receive the higher pay grade, they shall be admitted into the army they chose, and they shall have preferred status for leadership positions; but if they show up too late, according to the Minuteman stipulations, which Congress shall have power to determine, by law, they shall lose their Minuteman status. Although Minutemen shall put their names down during peacetime, this shall not constitute enlistment, for no person shall have power to enlist in the armed forces during peacetime.

Section 11.

Congress, and also the United States Committee, shall have power to call a primary war council during peacetime, to assess any dangers or threats that may have been issued by an enemy, and such council shall be paid, according to law, for its time of consultation. Congress shall have power to call up any of the chief captains for assessment and consultation on any defensive work occurring in his State, and he shall be paid for his time, according to law.

Section 12.

During peacetime, and also in wartime, the united States in Congress assembled shall have power to build small forts of security, or places of resort, for every city in all the land, and to build walls of stone, or of other sturdy materials, round about the international land and sea borders of the Confederacy, and encircling all the lands and cities, and to set watchmen upon the walls thereof, and to build a tower at all the international borders and in all the cities and lands, that one may overlook the land or sea round about, to be a watchman upon the tower, to see the enemy while he is yet afar off; but no watchmen, nor anyone in the employ of this Confederacy, shall spy upon the people of the several States, nor shall any device of the Confederacy be operated to the same effect; and Congress shall have power, during peacetime, and also during wartime, to build armories, and to manufacture all manner of weapons of war of every kind, and to build arsenals and naval ships and submarines and other vessels for a navy, and vehicles and equipment for an army and an air force, of all kinds, and make provisions of all kinds for the army and navy and air force, but Congress shall not have power to employ private manufacturing firms to manufacture these things; and Congress shall have power to employ, during peacetime, State militias as guards over these things, and also as watchmen for the towers and walls and at the international border entry points, and also to have them maintain all the equipment and provisions and supplies and armories, but Congress shall not have power to employ private security firms, nor those who are not the people of the States. It shall be the responsibility and duty of the Senate, acting as governors, to manage all these affairs, whether in peacetime or wartime.

All manufacturing and construction enacted by Congress, during peacetime, of buildings and walls and weapons and so forth, shall be beautiful, and not merely functional, that the world will come to admire this Confederacy, and to emulate it; but all such works done during the expediency of wartime may be merely functional.

During peacetime, Congress shall have power to permit State militias to train at federal military facilities and with federal weapons and equipment, so that the militias become well experienced with federal equipment.

Section 13.

If any nation, tongue or people should proclaim war against the Confederacy, or any one or more of its constituent States, Congress shall first lift a standard of peace, through its ambassadors, to that people, nation or tongue; and if that people does not accept the offering of peace, neither the second nor the third time, Congress shall be justified in waging war against them and shall declare war on them and prepare for war by assembling the armed forces to defend the land and sea borders against the invading forces; but at no time shall the armed forces go beyond the boundaries of the land and sea borders, for warfare shall never be fought upon enemy lands, nor upon neutral lands or seas, but only upon Confederacy lands and seas, for the armed forces shall only drive an invading force from the Confederacy land and sea borders, and there shall be no retaliation.

When an enemy invades without a declaration of war, Congress shall be immediately empowered to declare war and assemble the armed forces, but when there are enemies of small numbers of less than a state or nation, consisting of one or more persons, or small groups or gangs, or when American prisoners have been taken captive abroad, Letters of Marque and Reprisal shall be issued to retrieve the prisoners or to deal with these small numbers of enemies, and not the armed forces, for the United States shall never use its armed forces to invade foreign lands.

Congress shall have no power to assemble the armed forces except upon a declaration of war.

Section 14.

All prisoners of war that surrender their weapons with a covenant of peace—that they shall never again come against the Confederacy, or any of the States, or the American people, to war—shall be deported as free men, but no enemy soldiers shall be allowed to surrender their weapons, nor be afterwards released, unless they first take such an oath or covenant, except in the case in which an enemy force has also captured American soldiers, in which case enemy soldiers shall be allowed to surrender without an oath of peace, to be used as a ransom for the exchange of prisoners.

Article X.

Section 1.

English shall be the spoken and written language of this Confederacy, and the Gadsden flag shall be its official flag.

Section 2.

All treaties made or entered into by the former national government with foreign nations shall be reviewed by Congress, and, if found to not violate any of the articles of this Confederacy, Congress shall have power to renew them; but, if found to violate the least of these articles in any way, Congress shall have no power to renew them and all such treaties shall be non-binding upon the united States; but Congress shall have power to alter such treaties so that they agree with these articles, if possible, and such altered treaties which are in agreement with these articles, shall be renewed by Congress, if the voice of Congress wills it. The united States in Congress assembled shall also have power to make new treaties with foreign nations, provided the new treaties do not violate any of these articles.

Section 3.

Congress shall search among the treaties made with the Indian tribes by the former national government, to find the earliest ones, which were broken by the former national government, and these treaties shall be altered by Congress, if need be, so that they agree with these articles of Confederation, and Congress shall renew all the earliest treaties with each of the Indian tribes, if possible to make them agree with these articles; and if not possible, then Congress shall continue searching until a treaty that can be made to agree with these articles, of the earliest kind, is found; and all these early treaties, which have been so altered, shall be renewed and honored, by Congress, that this Confederacy shall do right where wrong was done and stand justified in the eyes of the law.

Section 4.

Congress shall search among the records of the former national government, and whatsoever promises were made by the former national government to any emancipated slaves, which were not fulfilled by that government, shall be fulfilled by Congress, if possible, and those who can prove their lineage, that they are literal descendants of said emancipated slaves, shall be the beneficiaries, but any such funds required to fulfill these promises shall come only from the Federal Treasury, and any land grants shall come from surplus real property, which property is not necessary for the defense of the nation and the operation of the united States under these articles.

Section 5.

As the decisions of the supreme court of the former national government were made according to that law which was the United States Constitution and its treaties, which law is no longer binding upon the States, nor upon the people thereof, neither shall such decisions be binding upon any of the States, nor upon their people.

Section 6.

All leagues and alliances with foreign States and entities, which existed under the United States Constitution, and which bound the several States of this union at that time, shall no longer be binding upon the united States in Congress assembled, and this Confederacy shall have no power to enter the same; and any headquarters of foreign alliances or leagues, which exist upon Confederacy lands, shall be immediately taken down by Congress, and their members, who formerly assembled in them, shall be evicted from Confederacy lands by Congress without delay; also, no foreign soldiers or foreign military equipment shall be stationed within the jurisdictional boundaries of this Confederacy, but all such shall be deported and sent back from whence they came, with their equipment; and Congress shall have power to perform all these duties, according to law.

Section 7.

All commonwealths and other Territories, which were held by, and existed under, the former national government, shall be free and independent; and Congress shall bring back any and all armed forces that may be stationed on such territories, for the United States shall not occupy foreign lands.

Section 8.

The united States in Congress assembled shall do all foreign correspondence through ambassadors, who shall report to the House through the Speaker of the House, or to the United States Committee through the Chief Delegate.

Section 9.

All bills passed into law by the voice of Congress and signed into law by the chief judge shall be considered acknowledged by the States and the people thereof; and the States and the people thereof, shall be obliged to abide by them, unless nullified by the citizens by their voice.

Section 10.

These articles of Confederation, and all the treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the united States in Congress assembled, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Laws or Constitution of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

Article XI.

Section 1.

All the properties which belonged to, or were held by, the former national government under the United States Constitution, shall belong to, and be held by, the united States in Congress assembled under these articles of Confederation; and Congress shall have power to assess these properties, and to ascertain which properties are lawful for Congress to use, according to the limited powers delegated to Congress by these articles; and Congress shall assess said properties and ascertain their lawful use; and after such ascertainment, those properties which are lawful to use shall remain in the hands of Congress, and shall be used for the defense of the Confederacy, and for the post office, and so on; and whatsoever properties are unlawful for Congress to use, Congress shall dispose of the same by selling them at market value, or by auctioning them off, or by donating them to the State in which they are located, and all the proceeds of such sales shall be cast into the Federal Treasury; but no properties which are informational records shall be sold or donated; and all properties which were held by the former national government, but which belonged to others, shall be returned by Congress to the rightful owners, if possible; but if not possible, Congress shall own these properties, and shall use them, if it is lawful, or sell or donate them, if it is not lawful.

Section 2.

None of the obligations of the former national government under the United States Constitution shall transfer to the united States in Congress assembled under these articles of Confederation; and thus this Confederacy shall begin and remain debt-free, with no entangling alliances or any other obligations of the former national government; and all records of such obligations to the people of the States shall be turned over to their respective States, which are not obligated to fulfill them, but may, if they so choose; and all such obligations to foreign entities shall be null and void.

Section 3.

That government fiat shall never again exist in the land, all notes in circulation within the confines of the Confederacy, which are held by the people of the several States, which were authorized by the previous national government, through its agents, and given legal tender status, being debt instruments, shall be redeemed by said agents, in coin which is in the standard fixed by Congress, or in certificates backed by and redeemable for the same, by turning out property held by the said agents, or otherwise, as the case may require, that all such debts are cancelled out in due time, and Congress shall have power to regulate and enforce said redemptions, that all such business is transacted in a prompt and proper manner, according to law.

Section 4.

All assets and moneys and possessions, found within the treasury of the former national government, shall be property of Congress, and Congress shall have power to convert all moneys found therein into congressionally coined money, or to have any notes found therein redeemed according to the third section of this article, and all such converted or redeemed moneys and notes shall then be cast into the Federal Treasury.

Section 5.

Congress shall destroy all records and information which was obtained by the former national government through general warrants, and any property which was confiscated through such warrants, shall be returned, by Congress, to the rightful owners, if possible, and if not possible, Congress shall use or dispose of them according to their lawfulness; and all the rest of the records shall be placed into the congressional archives.

Article XII.

Section 1.

A person born within the jurisdictional boundaries of any State of this Confederacy shall be a natural-born citizen of the State in which he or she was born. Men who are natural-born citizens of any State shall have power to confer natural-born citizenship upon any of their children who are born abroad while living with their father, by issuing a writ of citizenship, which writ shall be certified by the State of which the father is a citizen, which certified writ shall be binding and valid in the eyes of the law.

Section 2.

Men who are natural-born citizens of any State, that marry wives by right, with manus, shall have power to confer naturalized citizenship upon their wives, provided a wife first passes an English proficiency test and enters into a covenant to obey, honor and sustain the laws of the State of which her husband is a resident, both of which shall be administered by the State of which her husband is a resident; and such men shall naturalize their wives by issuing a writ of citizenship, which writ shall be certified by the State of which her husband is a resident, which certified writ shall be binding and valid in the eyes of the law.

Section 3.

Three natural-born upstanding citizens of no small reputation, who are residents of the same city, town, village or municipality as a resident foreigner, who are well acquainted with the foreigner and can attest to the good character of the same, shall have power to petition for citizenship in his or her behalf, and put his or her name down on an election ballot of that city, town, village or municipality, so that the citizens thereof may give their voice for or against granting citizenship to said foreigner; and should the voice come in favor, the resident foreigner shall be empowered to take an English proficiency test, administered by his or her State of residence, and when the test has been passed, the foreigner shall have power to enter into a covenant, administered by the same State, to obey, honor and sustain the laws of said State, to be numbered as a naturalized citizen of said State, to renounce allegiance to the foreigner’s country of origin, to keep the peace and support the cause of liberty in the land, and to call him or herself an American; and after these ceremonies, said State shall issue a certificate of naturalized citizenship to the foreigner, which shall be valid and binding in the eyes of the law.

Section 4.

Congress shall issue a certificate to any natural-born or naturalized citizen of any State, who requests it, which shall certify that the same is a United States citizen, and which shall state the name and resident address of the citizen, and bear the signature of the citizen, and the seal of the united States in Congress assembled, which shall be a shackled and chained hand whose bonds are being broken apart by a pair of hands wielding a hammer and a chisel, or some other seal image, which Congress shall have power to determine, by law, but such certificates shall not bear the bearer’s image, nor any other information about the bearer, save the name and address and signature of the same; and such certificates shall request to all to whom it may concern to permit the bearer to pass through international borders without delay or hindrance and, in case of need, to give all lawful aid and protection. No natural-born or naturalized citizen of any State shall be required to bear such certificates, or any other identifying documents or effects, to leave the jurisdictional boundaries of these United States, nor to enter them.

Section 5.

The united States in Congress assembled shall have power to prohibit all non-citizens, who are not also the people of any of the States, from entering through the international land and sea borders of the Confederacy, and through all the air travel points of entry, for any reason whatsoever, excepting only race, culture, skin color, sex, age, disability, religion, creed, and physical characteristics. Any and all such prohibitions shall be enforceable by the watchmen established by Congress at the international borders, according to law.

Section 6.

Any State that has one or more international points of entry, or an international land or sea border, shall have power to restrict, according to law, imported goods brought through such entry points and borders, by any person, excepting personal weapons.

Article XIII.

Section 1.

Every State shall abide by the determination 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 by the voice of the citizens of the several States, for as it was the voice of the citizens of the several States that ordained these articles as the league pact for the States of this Confederacy, neither the several State legislatures and governors, nor the united States in Congress assembled, shall have power to alter these articles in any way, for such power and authority is reserved solely to the citizens of the several States, who shall wield it by their voice at whatsoever time they see fit.

Section 2.

All of the fifty States of the previous union, which was formed under the United States Constitution, are invited to enter this league by sending authorized delegates to the gathering at Liberty Bell at the day and time which has been appointed to sign them, and such signing will enter them; but if any of these fifty States neglect to send delegates at that time, yet desire to be admitted into the league afterward, they shall be admitted by the voice of the citizens of their States, first, by the voice of Congress, second, and upon them sending authorized delegates to sign the pact, third, all within a year’s time.

Section 3.

Apart from the fifty States which were united under the United States Constitution, no foreign State or nation shall be admitted into this league, except by the voice of the citizens of the several States, and the voice of Congress, and the voice of the citizens of said foreign State or nation, all within a year’s time; and if the voice of all these is for admittance, the foreign State or nation shall send authorized delegates to sign the pact before the year’s time has expired, and thus shall be admitted; but no foreign State or nation shall be admitted that has a king over men, or that exerts kingly authority over them, or that in any way violates these articles.

Section 4.

No State shall be removed from this Confederacy, except by the voice of Congress and the voice of the citizens of the several States, all within a year’s time. Any State which has been removed from this league shall be considered a foreign State and treated as such; and if the removed State requests re-admittance, the third section of this article shall apply.

Section 5.

Recognizing that the Confederacy derives its powers from its constituent States, and that each State derives its Powers from its people, should the citizens of any of the member States of this Confederacy decide, by their voice, with or without the approval of their State government officials, to abolish the government of their State, or to remove their State from the Confederacy, or to revert their State to the previous form of government as a British Colony, or to alter their republican form of State government into some other form, this Confederacy shall acknowledge their decision as legitimate, valid, effective, final and binding, and shall consider them and their lands as no longer residing within the jurisdictional bounds of, and no longer part of, the Confederacy; and should they choose removal from the Confederacy, they shall be viewed as a free and independent State; and should they choose anarchism, they shall be viewed as a free and independent people and Territory; and should they choose to revert to British rule, they shall be viewed as part of Great Britain; and should they choose some other form of government, they shall be viewed as a foreign entity and nation.

And Whereas it hath 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 newly arrange the affairs of this people and 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 respectively 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 two thousand Sixteen, and in the two hundred Fortieth Year of the independence of America.

On the part and behalf of the State of Maine:

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On the part and behalf of the State of New Hampshire:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Vermont:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Massachusetts:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Connecticut:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Rhode Island:

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On the part and behalf of the State of New York:

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On the part and behalf of the State of New Jersey:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Pennsylvania:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Delaware:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Maryland:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Virginia:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Florida:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Texas:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Kentucky:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Tennessee:

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On the part and behalf of the State of North Carolina:

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On the part and behalf of the State of South Carolina:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Georgia:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Alabama:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Mississippi:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Arkansas:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Louisiana:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Missouri:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Oklahoma:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Ohio:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Nebraska:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Michigan:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Indiana:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Wisconsin:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Illinois:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Minnesota:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Iowa:

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On the part and behalf of the State of North Dakota:

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On the part and behalf of the State of South Dakota:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Kansas:

Delegate Name: __________ Date: ___________

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On the part and behalf of the State of Colorado:

Delegate Name: __________ Date: ___________

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On the part and behalf of the State of New Mexico:

Delegate Name: __________ Date: ___________

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On the part and behalf of the State of Arizona:

Delegate Name: __________ Date: ___________

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On the part and behalf of the State of Nevada:

Delegate Name: __________ Date: ___________

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On the part and behalf of the State of California:

Delegate Name: __________ Date: ___________

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On the part and behalf of the State of Wyoming:

Delegate Name: __________ Date: ___________

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On the part and behalf of the State of Montana:

Delegate Name: __________ Date: ___________

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On the part and behalf of the State of Utah:

Delegate Name: __________ Date: ___________

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On the part and behalf of the State of Idaho:

Delegate Name: __________ Date: ___________

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On the part and behalf of the State of Washington:

Delegate Name: __________ Date: ___________

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On the part and behalf of the State of Oregon:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Alaska:

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On the part and behalf of the State of Hawaii:

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On the part and behalf of the State of West Virginia:

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And here is the proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that I wrote which would allow the NAC to become the Supreme Law of the land—and which you can read more about in my previous blog post, entitled, “The Right to Abolish, Revert and Replace Amendment“—:

An Amendment to the U.S. Constitution The right of the people to peacefully abolish the Constitution, to peacefully revert to the Articles of Confederation, and to peacefully replace the Constitution with some other form of government, shall not be abridged. Each state shall allow its citizens to place a measure to abolish the Constitution, or a measure to replace the Constitution, on any state ballot, according to prescribed state laws and rules. Where no such laws and rules exist, a state shall create the same, so that its citizens may exercise these rights within one year of passage of this amendment. In any given year in which the citizens of a majority of the states vote in favor of abolishment, Constitutional authority and jurisdiction shall be immediately revoked in said majority states. Those majority states which are mentioned in the Articles of Confederation shall revert to it, while those majority states not mentioned in it shall be free and independent. If the vote is, instead, to replace the Constitution with some other form of government, all the aforementioned majority states shall immediately be bound by the newly adopted form. In either case, the minority states shall no longer be bound by Constitutional authority and jurisdiction, but shall be free and independent, unless mentioned in the Articles of Confederation, in which case they shall revert to the former form of government.

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist

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June 24, 2015

Categories: Agency, Anarchism, Unity . Tags:NAC, New Articles of Confederation . Author: LDS Anarchist

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