Section 1.
The National Assembly shall have the sole and exclusive right subject to restrictions written elsewhere in these Articles -
1. To establish uniform laws of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies, throughout the United States; but no law of the National Assembly or any Republic shall discharge any debt contracted before the passage of the same:
2. To establish post offices but the expenses of the Postal Service shall be paid out of its own revenues within five years after ratification of these Articles and the National Assembly may by law privatize or turn over to the Republics all or part of the Postal Service;
3. To allocate portions of the electromagnetic wave frequency spectrum for communication and other purposes and may set a fee schedule to cover the costs associated with this regulation. This clause does not give the National Assembly the power to regulate the ownership, content, or political speech of broadcasters nor require any type of fairness doctrine for political speech;
4. To make laws for the transfer of any causes which were pending in the courts of the United States, to the courts of the Republics, and for the execution of the orders, decrees, and judgments heretofore rendered by the said courts of the United States; and also all laws which may be requisite to protect the parties to all such suits, orders, judgments, or decrees, their heirs, personal representatives, or assignees if said orders, decrees, and judgments are not in conflict with these Articles or a Republic's Constitution;
5. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;
6. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;
7. To lay and collect taxes, duties, user fees, imposts, and excises, for revenue necessary to pay the debts, provide for the common defense, and carry on the government of the United States; but no bounties shall be granted from the Treasury; nor shall any duties or taxes on importations from foreign nations be laid to promote or foster any branch of industry, and all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
8. To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
9. To coin money, regulate the value thereof and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;
10. To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over all places purchased with the consent of the Republic and State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful facilities and buildings. The United States shall never own title to any real property that is not specifically authorized by these Articles such as parks, forests, dams, waterways, recreation, and grazing areas without the consent of the Republic and State where the same is located;
11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and on water;
12. To provide for calling forth the Militia to suppress insurrections and repel invasions;
13. To fund a system of tax-free pensions and allowances, hospitals, clinics, and domiciliaries for retired or disabled members of the Armed Forces and veterans;
14. To raise, support, and maintain the United States Armed Forces;
15. To establish rules for deciding in all cases, what captures on land or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by the Armed Forces in the service of the United States shall be divided or appropriated;
16. To define and punish international terrorists, 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 the National Assembly shall be appointed a Judge of any of the said courts;
17. To appoint all the Officers of the United States Armed Forces and commissioning all Officers whatever in the service of the United States;
18. To make Rules for the government and regulation of the Armed Forces;
19. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States; reserving to the Republics and States, respectively, the appointment of the Officers up to the rank of Major General, and the authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by National Assembly, and;
20. To agree upon with the Republics the number of Militia forces, and to make requisitions from each Republic for its quota, in proportion to the number of inhabitants in such Republic; which requisition shall be binding, and thereupon the Congress of each Republic raise the Regiments, and arm and equip them in a solid-like manner, at the expense of the United States; and assemble at the place appointed and within the time agreed on by the National Assembly. But if the National Assembly shall, on consideration of circumstances Judge proper that any Republic should not raise Regiments, or should raise a smaller number of Regiments than the quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, armed, and equipped in the same manner as the quota of each Republic, unless the Congress of such Republic shall Judge that such extra number cannot be safely spread out in the same, in which case they shall raise, arm, and equip as many of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared. And they shall assemble at the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the National Assembly.
Section 2
1. The National Assembly shall have the power to enter into treaties and alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made whereby the Congressional power of the respective Republics 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.
2. A provision of a treaty or other international agreement which conflicts with these Articles, or which is not made in pursuance thereof, shall not be the supreme law of the land nor be of any force or effect.
3. A provision of a treaty or other international agreement shall become effective as internal law in the United States only through legislation valid in the absence of international agreement.
4. On the question of the ratification of a treaty, the vote shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the Delegates voting for and against shall be entered on the Journal of the National Assembly.
5. The National Assembly shall have power to regulate all executive and other agreements with any foreign power or international organization. All such agreements shall be subject to the limitations imposed on treaties by this section.
1. The National Assembly shall be the last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting or that hereafter may arise between two or more Republics concerning boundary, jurisdiction or any other causes whatever; which authority shall always be exercised in the manner following. Whenever the Congressional or Executive Authority or lawful agent of any Republic in controversy with another shall present a petition to the National Assembly stating the matter in question and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of the National Assembly to the Congressional or Executive Authority of the other Republic 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, commissioners or Judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in question: but if they cannot agree, the National Assembly shall name three persons out of each of the United States, and from the list of such persons each party shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number shall be reduced to thirteen; and from that number not less than seven, nor more than three/quarters names as the National Assembly shall direct, shall in the presence of the National Assembly be drawn out by lot, and the persons whose names shall be so drawn or any five of them, shall be commissioners or Judges, to hear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major part of the Judges who shall hear the cause shall agree in the determination: and if either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons, which the National Assembly shall Judge sufficient, or being present shall refuse to strike, the National Assembly shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each Republic, and the secretary of the National Assembly shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing; 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 the National Assembly, and lodged among the acts of the National Assembly 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 a disinterested Republic, 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 Republic shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States.
2. All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under different grants of two or more Republics, whose jurisdictions as they may respect such lands, and the Republics 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 National Assembly, be finally determined as near as may be in the same manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different Republics.
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to its jurisdiction. The United States nor any place subject to its jurisdiction and all private and public organizations or corporations shall be required to pay any type of reparations for slavery that once existed within the territory of the United States.
2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.
3. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property shall be passed.
4. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the National Assembly, accept of any present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. If any Citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive, or retain any title of nobility or honor, or shall without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office, or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince, or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a Citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them.
5. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; or in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
6. The military shall at all times be subordinate to the civil authority.
7. Except in a national emergency as the National Assembly may by law provide for, the Armed Forces shall not have civil authority over civilians except on military reservations and warships nor be allowed to serve under the command of foreign commanders.
8. The right of the People to be secure in their travels, communications, records, persons, houses, businesses, papers, and effects against unreasonable electronic and other monitoring, searches, and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched or monitored, and the persons or things to be seized.
9. 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 Armed Forces or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
10. 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; to be confronted with the witness against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
11. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed an amount that the National Assembly may by law set, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact so tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court than according to the rules of the common law.
12. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.
13. The burden of proving guilt on any matter; civil, tax, or criminal shall be on the Government nor shall a person be again put upon trial for the same offence after a verdict of not guilty; and the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.
14. No national identification card or tracking system of lawful individual Citizens and their lawful activities shall be established by any Government Agency.
15. Any person may sue for redress as provided by law for any damages suffered through the illegal acts of any public official.
16. To clarify the laws and statures of the United States marriage shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman. The National Assembly nor a Republic shall not have the power to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon same sex or unmarried couples or groups not meeting this requirement. Each individual State shall have the power to define marriage or the legal incidents thereof but no State shall be required under the full faith and credit clause in these Articles to recognize any marriage contrary to their laws and these laws shall not be challenged in any Republic court.
17. Proposed restrictions on or taking of land and other real property owned, restricted, or controlled by the United States may be claimed or challenged by the Republic or State where it is located. If the National Assembly cannot justify ownership as vital to the national defense or to carry out the duties of these Articles, the property shall not be taken or returned to the Republic or State.
18. A manufacturer, supplier, seller, or producer of any legal goods and services, including arms and ammunition, shall not be held liable for the deliberate misuse of said good or service nor if used in a crime.
19. Except for areas on or near international borders or points of entry into the United States, security of federally controlled land or facilities, and apprehension of illegal aliens, no federal Agency or Executive Department shall have any legal jurisdiction within any Republic or State, including a distance of twelve miles off their seacoasts, without their permission or three-fourths approval of the Congress.
20. This Article is binding on the United States and every Republic, State, and political subdivision.
The National Assembly, Republic, State Legislative, or any political subdivision shall not have the power -
1. To make any law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof including prayer or religious displays on public property. The United States or any political subdivision shall show neither favoritism nor hostility against religious expression on any public property or any public school.
2. To make any law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government, for redress of grievances, referendum, recall of elected Officials, or other purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance.
3. To make any laws to enumerate or classify any individual by race, sex, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, handicap, or national origin for any purpose nor shall require the same as a criterion for discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group for any public or private purpose;
4. To make any laws that require any language other than English to be the official language of the United States and any place subject to its jurisdiction and shall be used for all public acts including every order, resolution, vote, or election, and for all records and judicial proceedings of the Government of the United States and the Governments of the several States. This clause does not prohibit other languages for cultural, educational, or social functions;
5. To make any laws that levies any tax or fee on any person's income from, or contribution-earnings or payments to any public or private education, retirement, pension, or health-care system. Any premiums or tuition paid by employers, Unions, or any person for their own or dependent's education, health, retirement and pension systems will be fully immune from all taxes;
6. To regulate, control, or prohibit the educational, religious, and moral standards of local communities, and;
7. To seize any private property or other asset owned by a person accused or convicted of a crime that was not a fruit of the said crime but property and assets may be forcibly sold for fair compensation to satisfy any fines, court fees, or compensation with any monies left over returned to the defendant.
1. All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of these Articles shall be as valid against the United States under these Articles as under the Constitution.
2. That no inconvenience may arise from the adoption of these Articles it is declared that all United States laws now in force and not inconsistent with these Articles or the Constitutions of the Republics, shall remain in full force until made void, repealed, altered, or expire by their own limitation. All the Officers and Judges, upon an oath to support these Articles, may remain in office until they or their successors are appointed and qualified, or their offices abolished.
3. The members of the National Assembly before mentioned, the Senators and Representatives of the Republics, and the members of the several State Legislatures, and all Executive and judicial officers, both of the Republics and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support these Articles of Confederation.
4. This Union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them; unless such an Amendment be agreed to in a the National Assembly of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by two-thirds of the Republics.
5. The United States shall guaranty to every Republic and State that now is, or hereafter may become, a member of this Union, a Republican form of government; and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the Congress or Legislature, (or of the Executive Authority, when the Congress or Legislature is not in session,) against domestic violence.
EXTRACT FROM THE JOURNAL OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION CONVENTION
July 4, xxxx
On the question of the adoption of the Articles of Confederation the vote was taken by yeas and nays; and the Articles of Confederation was unanimously adopted and I, the President of this Convention, do hereby certify that the foregoing are, respectively, true and correct copies of the "Second Articles of Confederation of the United States Of America" unanimously adopted this day, and of the yeas and nays, on the question of the adoption thereof.
President of the Convention
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July 4, xxxx
I do hereby certify that the foregoing are, respectively, true and correct copies of the "Second Articles of Confederation of the United States Of America" unanimously adopted this day, and of the yeas and nays, on the question of the adoption thereof.
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