Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables and Figures
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Mystery of State Contribution
- 2 National Interests and State Sovereignty: Objectives of the Confederation
- 3 Collective Action and the Provision of Public Goods
- 4 The History of State Compliance
- 5 State Contributions and Private Interests
- 6 Reacting to Rebellion
- 7 A New Constitution
- 8 Conclusion
- Appendix: Olson's Collective Action Game
- Glossary
- References
- Index
2 - National Interests and State Sovereignty: Objectives of the Confederation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables and Figures
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Mystery of State Contribution
- 2 National Interests and State Sovereignty: Objectives of the Confederation
- 3 Collective Action and the Provision of Public Goods
- 4 The History of State Compliance
- 5 State Contributions and Private Interests
- 6 Reacting to Rebellion
- 7 A New Constitution
- 8 Conclusion
- Appendix: Olson's Collective Action Game
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Summary
The Safety and Happiness of Society are the objects at which all political institutions aim, and to which all such institution must be sacrificed.
– James MadisonThe Articles of Confederation, like any constitutional document, resulted from a compromise between diverse political interests. Conservatives such as Carter Braxton, James Duane, and James Wilson were reluctant to secede from British rule. However, when war became imminent, they supported the Revolution and pushed for a strong central government to protect private property and to regulate trade. On the other hand, radicals such as Samuel Adams, Thomas Burke, and Richard Henry Lee made an early push for independence. They deplored centralization and supported unification only to thwart British rule. Working from these differences, the American revolutionaries compromised on a confederation that promoted common state interests while preserving state sovereignty. The resultant Articles of Confederation outlined this compromise and framed America's first federal government from 1781 to 1789. Although the Articles were officially enacted on March 1, 1781, many of its institutions were in place from the beginning of the second Continental Congress in 1775.
Securing independence and mutual protection were the primary reasons for confederating. In 1775, Samuel Adams declared that each colonial legislature “is and ought to be the sovereign and uncontrollable Power within its own limits or territory.” Congress received authority from the states, while the states received authority from the people. This made the central government an administrative body at the center of a permanent state alliance rather than a national government managing national affairs.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Collective Action under the Articles of Confederation , pp. 17 - 33Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000