Forgotten Founders -- Historical Documents and Coins of Freedom -- By: Stanley L. Klos -- Continental Congress

[Articles of Association – Journals of the Continental Congress] - Issued October 20, 1774 and recorded in the Journals of the Continental Congress - containing the proceedings From Sept. 5. 1774. TO Jan. 1. 1776. Published by order of Congress. Volume I. Philadelphia was printed and Sold by R. Aitken, Bookseller in1777. Originally just called Congress, the word Continental was added to the name on October 20, 1774 in the Articles of Association primarily to distinguish this Congress from the many Congresses being held throughout the Colonies.

“We, his majesty's most loyal subjects, the delegates of the several colonies of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts-Bay, Rhode-Island, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, the three lower counties of Newcastle, Kent and Sussex on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, and South-Carolina, deputed to represent them in a continental Congress, held in the city of Philadelphia, on the 5th day of September, 1774” [i]

The Articles of Association were an alliance between the Colonies, later States, and not a Constitution. The Continental Congress would convene under this agreement passing laws, enacting treaties and conducting a war for seven years.

"The Name of this Confederacy Shall Henceforth be the United Colonies of N. America”

[Franklin, Benjamin] - "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union entered into by the Delegates of the several Colonies of New Hampshire, &c in General Congress met at Philadelphia, May 10, 1775." [Philadelphia, ca.21 July 1775]. 8 pages, folio, watermark "Pro Patria, C.T. & Son," text in a bold unidentified contemporary hand.

Benjamin Franklin's first and very influential draft of what later became the Constitution of 1777 under which the United States was governed, however imperfectly, from March 1781 until the new Constitution of 1787 went into effect on March 4, 1789. The British crown had attempted to federate the New England colonies, as a means of asserting royal control. As early as1754, when he drafted the Albany Plan of Union, Franklin had envisioned some form of united league or compact to govern the separate and disparate American colonies. "Now, in 1775, Franklin put forth the idea again, but with one big difference: although his plan allowed for the possibility that the new confederation would remain part of the King's empire, it was designed to work even if the empire fell apart".[ii] In fact, the plan he submitted--on his own volition--to his fellow delegates in the 2nd Continental Congress "contained the seeds of the great conceptual breakthrough that would eventually define America's federal system: a division of powers between a central government and those of the states. Franklin, however, was ahead of his time..."[iii]

The date in the heading is the date the Second Continental Congress convened at Philadelphia, not the date of the manuscript itself. The draft embodies a number of mostly minor differences in text and punctuation from the version recorded in the Journals of Continental Congress by Secretary Charles Thomson on July 21, 1775: "Agreeably to order the Congress resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole to take into consideration the State of America, when Doct. B. Franklin submitted to their consideration the following Sketch of Articles of Confederation."[iv]

It was not until June, 11 1776, almost a year later, that a Congressional committee was created in the wake of Richard Henry Lee's motion[v] for independence to formulate Articles of Confederation. Their version, owing much to Franklin's, was submitted by John Dickinson to Congress, which directed that 80 copies be printed and distributed. A final text, incorporating elements of both drafts, was approved by Congress on 15 November 1777 and submitted for unanimous ratification by the states, a process which required more than three years to complete.

Franklin's Articles are shorter than either Dickinson's or the 1777 version. Thomson's term, "sketch," is an apt one. Franklin's, Dickinson's and the final 1777 version all contain 13 distinct articles. In his 1775 draft, Franklin employs the terms "colony" or "colonies" throughout; in Dickinson's both "colony" and "states" are employed, while in the 1777 Articles the compacting bodies are in all cases referred to as "states."[vi]

Article 1 reads: "The name of this Confederacy shall henceforth be the United Colonies of N. America"; in the final version this clause was simplified to read "The stile of this confederacy shall be 'The United States of America.'" Article 2 of Franklin's draft reads rather awkwardly: "The said United Colonies hereby severally enter into a firm of league of friendship with each other binding on themselves and their posterity, for their common defence against their enemies, for the security of their liberties and prosperities, the safety of their persons and families, & their mutual and general welfare." In the 1777 version this became Article III: "The said states hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defence, 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."

In Franklin's 1775 draft, Article 3 attempts to define the independence of the component entities: "That each Colony shall enjoy and retain as much as they may think fit of their present laws, customs, Rights, priviledges & peculiar jurisdictions, within its own limits." In 1777, a strikingly different wording--presaging the express powers clause of the Constitution--was adopted for Article II: "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled."

Article 5 of the draft also betrays its early date, specifying Congress is empowered to "entering into alliance, the reconciliation with G. Britain" (In May 1775, peace overtures from the British Parliament were still skeptically awaited by Congress.) Article IV of the Dickinson version also makes specific mention of Great Britain, without referring to any reconciliation, and in the 1777 Articles, the power to send ambassadors, and to enter into alliances "with any King, Prince or State," is stipulated in Article VI, with no specific mention of Great Britain.

Published in Franklin, Papers, 20:120. The three versions-- Franklin's, Dickinson's and the 1777 text may be compared in detail at Stanley Klos’ http://www.articlesofconfederation.com .

Declaration of Independence
http://www.declarationofindependence.info

Dunlap Printing

[Declaration of Independence] - This facsimile was produced in 1970 by R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company, The Lakeside Press from the original Declaration owned by Ira G. Corn, Jr., and Joseph P. Driscoll. The reproduction process took four long months and is so well done, that it looks exactly like the original, with the exception that it does not have the paper folds that the original has; it is flat and pristine. The document is framed for display.

1776 Annual Register Printing

[Declaration of Independence] – Full Printing in The Annual Register, or A View of the History, Politics, and Literature, for the Year 1776 by J. Dodsley, London, 1777. This is a hard cover 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall book that is a contemporary account of the most significant year in the history of the American colonies.

This is the first appearance the Declaration of Independence in book form along with a number of State Papers, among which is the Articles of Confedertion. In the Declaration of Independence the publisher omitted the name of the King of England as thus: 'The history of the present ---- of ------ is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations.' The signatures to the Declaration are John Hancock, President, and Charles Thompson, Secretary. The Articles of Confederation between the thirteen colonies are printed in full as well as many other state papers are given, nearly all of them referring to the American troubles.

[Declaration of Independence] - Copperplate engraving printed on thin wove paper. “In Congress, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.” Imprint at bottom left, “W. J. STONE SC WASHn” [William Stone for Peter Force, Washington, DC. ca. 1833], 26” x 30”, never folded.

By 1820 the original Declaration of Independence, now housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., already showed signs of age and wear from handling. John Quincy Adams, then Secretary of State, commissioned William J. Stone to engrave a facsimile – an exact copy –on a copper plate. There is still debate about whether Stone used a “wet” or chemical process to trace the original manuscript, helping to make the exact copy. In 1823, Congress ordered 200 official copies printed on vellum. Fewer than 40 of Stone’s printing on vellum are known to have survived, with at least 21 of those housed in institutions and public collections.

All subsequent exact facsimiles of the Declaration descend from the Stone plate. One of the ways to distinguish the first edition is Stone’s original imprint, top left: “ENGRAVED by W.J. STONE for the Dept. of State by order,” and continued top right: “of J. Q. Adams, Sec of State July 4, 1823.” Sometime after Stone completed his printing, his imprint at top was removed, and replaced with a shorter imprint at bottom left, “W. J. STONE SC WASHn,” as seen on this document, just below George Walton’s printed signature. The shorter imprint was copied on subsequent plates.

This Force printing, the second edition of the first exact facsimile, remains one of the best representations of the Declaration as the manuscript looked over 150 years ago, prior to its nearly complete deterioration – very little of the original is legible today. Force imprints that were never folded, thus lacking the physical protection of the book, are far rarer on the market than folded copies.

Seth Kaller Collection CF-064

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”

[Declaration of Independence] - The New-England Chronicle, July 18, 1776, Vol. VIII No. 413. Newspaper, with the entire text of the Declaration on page 1 of 4, 12” x 24”. Subscriber’s name “M^r Jacob Willard” written at top of page 1. Boston: printed by Powars & Willis. Framed, 20” x 28” for display.

This newspaper gave many Bostonians their first view of Thomas Jefferson’s immortal words. In Boston, the seat of the Revolution, the earliest record of the Declaration’s arrival from Philadelphia is July 13. Town officials held a public reading from the state house balcony on July 18. This issue of The New-England Chronicle was published the same day, matched by John Gill’s publication in the city’s Continental Journal.

Only nine copies of this issue are known, seven of which are held by institutions. This is one of just two on the market in the past 40 years.

Size: 30 mm - 50 cents size Types of Issue: Gold - Silver - Merlin Gold Bronze - Copper

© Stanley L. Klos has a worldwide copyright on the artwork in these Medallions not legal tender.
The artwork is not to be copied by anyone by any means
without first receiving permission from Stanley L. Klos.

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Peyton Randolph	September 5, 1774	October 22, 1774
Henry Middleton	October 22, 1774	October 26, 1774
Peyton Randolph	May 20, 1775	May 24, 1775
John Hancock	May 25, 1775	October 29, 1777
Henry Laurens	November 1, 1777	December 9, 1778
John Jay	December 10, 1778	September 28, 1779

Samuel Huntington*	September 28, 1779	July 6, 1781
Thomas McKean	July 10, 1781	November 4, 1781
John Hanson	November 5, 1781	November 3, 1782
Elias Boudinot	November 4, 1782	November 2, 1783
Thomas Mifflin	November 3, 1783	November 2, 1784**
Richard Henry Lee	November 30, 1784	November 22, 1785
John Hancock	November 23, 1785	June 5, 1786
Nathaniel Gorham	June 6, 1786	November 13, 1786
Arthur St. Clair	February 2, 1787	October 29, 1787
Cyrus Griffin	January 22, 1788	January 21, 1789

[i] Journal of the Continental Congress, Articles of Association, October 20, 1774.

[ii] W. Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, p.299

[iii] Ibid

[iv] Journals of the Continental Congress, July 21, 1775.

[v] Ibid, July 2, 1776

[vi] Ibid, November 15, 1777

Philadelphia	September 5, 1774 to October 24, 1774	City Tavern on September 4^th and then Carpenters Hall
Philadelphia	May 10, 1775 to December 12, 1776	Pennsylvania State House
Baltimore	December 20, 1776 to February 27, 1777	Henry Fite House, Maryland
Philadelphia	March 4, 1777 to September 18, 1777	Pennsylvania State House
Lancaster	September 27, 1777	Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Court House
York	September 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778:	York, Pennsylvania, Court House
Philadelphia	July 2, 1778 to June 21, 1783	Philadelphia, College Hall, then Pennsylvania State House
Princeton,	June 30, 1783 to November 4, 1783	Prospect House and then Nassau Hall, New Jersey
Annapolis	November 26, 1783 to August 19, 1784	Maryland State House
Trenton	November 1, 1784 to December 24, 1784	French Arms Tavern, New Jersey
New York City	January 11, 1785 to November 13, 1788	New York City Hall
New York City	November 1788 - March 1789	Fraunces Tavern

Declaration of Independence http://www.declarationofindependence.info

Dunlap Printing

1776 Annual Register Printing

Seth Kaller Collection CF-064

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”

Declaration of Independence
http://www.declarationofindependence.info