CHAPTER II

UNION AND INDEPENDENCE

11. The New England Confederacy of 1643.—It is possible that different groups of colonies may have had different preferences concerning forms of government. Nevertheless, they were all of one mind respecting the desirability of local self-government; and in the course of time they were all moved by the desire for union. Before the end of the seventeenth century many persons had entertained the thought that the colonies ought to be joined together in a common bond of unity and peace. In the first union contemplated, it was proposed to unite the colonies of similar theological views. The union known as the New England Confederacy of 1643 embraced the colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Haven, and Plymouth -in all, twenty-four thousand inhabitants. The central power in this confederacy was vested in a body of eight commissioners, two from each colony, who should meet once a year. The aim of the union was to provide concerted action for self-defense and for the advancement of the common welfare. The power to impose taxes remained with the governments of the several colonies; with them remained also the executive power. The body of the commissioners could only advise the colonial governments and recommend measures.

Topics.-Points regarding which the colonies were in agreement. First union contemplated.-Colonies embraced in first union effected.-Organization of this union.-Purpose and powers.

References.-Fiske, Civil Government, 210; Hart, Actual Government, 48; Macy, Our Government, 36; Frothingham, Rise of the Republic, 29-66.

12. Steps toward a General Congress.-The first call for a general congress of the English colonies of America was made by the general court of Massachusetts. It was dated March 19, 1690. The following is a copy of the original order:

"Their majesty's subjects in these northern plantations of America, having of late been invaded by the French and Indians, and many of them barbarously murdered and are in great danger of further mischiefs: For the prevention whereof, it is by this court thought necessary that letters be written to the several governors of the neighboring colonies, desiring them to appoint commissioners to meet at New York on the last Monday of April next, then to advise and conclude on suitable methods in assisting each other for the safety of the whole land. And that the governor of New York be desired to signify the same to Virginia, Maryland, and parts adjacent."1

Each colony invited sent a cordial reply, but the circumstances of some of them did not permit them to be represented at the meeting. Commissioners of four colonies convened at New York. Maryland promised to coöperate in the undertaking; and the five colonies agreed to raise eight hundred and fifty-five men to subdue the French and Indian enemies. The quota of each colony was as follows: New York, 400; Massachusetts, 160; Plymouth, 60; Connecticut, 135; Maryland, 100.

This undertaking had its principal significance not in the results of the expedition against Canada, but in its suggestions as to possible achievements through union.

The

1 Quoted by Frothingham from Massachusetts Archives, xxxv, 321,

French in their zeal for extending their dominion in America offered a continual menace to the English colonies, and led the colonists to see that they had a common interest and must have a common council-one head and one purse.

The most notable of the early congresses was that convened at Albany in 1754. It was composed of twentyfive commissioners, representing seven colonies: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York. It recommended a plan for the union of the colonies. This plan provided for a general government, "under which each colony might retain its constitution." The conspicuous features of the general government proposed were a grand council and a president general. The grand council was to be composed of three deputies from each colony, elected by the assemblies of the colonies. The president general, as the executive of the union, was to be appointed and supported by the crown. This government was to have extensive powers, especially in relation to the enemies of the colonists. By a vote of the congress the plan was laid before the authorities of the several colonies, but it was nowhere adopted.

After the failure of the Albany plan, the antagonism between the American and the English views respecting the colonies became especially evident. It was generally believed that the Government in England was preparing a system of "inland taxation" for the colonies. This belief was confirmed by the resolutions read in the House of Commons, March 9, 1764, which declared that the Government proposed to raise a revenue in America by imposing a stamp tax on all documents used in court and on all legal documents of whatsoever kind. This declaration provoked opposition in America and led the assemblies of all the colonies to consider a proposition for joint action. In spite of the protests and petitions of the colonists, the proposed bill became a law in March, 1765. In the following October,

a congress of twenty-eight delegates, representing nine colonies, met in New York. Virginia, New Hampshire, Georgia, and North Carolina were in sympathy with the movement, but were not represented in the congress. After mature deliberation the congress adopted a declaration of rights and grievances. Through this declaration the colonists affirmed their affection for the king, claimed the rights and privileges of subjects in England, and acknowledged "all due subordination" to Parliament. They affirmed, moreover, that taxes could not lawfully be imposed upon them, except by their legislatures, and that they enjoyed the right of trial by jury in common with all other subjects of the king. There was no hint of a desire for separation. The assemblies of the colonies approved the action of the congress.

Topics. First call for general congress of the colonies.Meeting at New York.-Immediate purpose of the meeting.-Plans of the French in Canada.-Congress of Albany, 1754.-Albany plan for union.-Grand council and president general.-Fate of the Albany plan. "Inland taxation."-News of the proposed stamp tax.-New York congress, 1765.-Action of New York congress.

References.-Fiske, Civil Government, 211; Hart, Actual Government, 48; Hinsdale, American Government, 64-71; Lalor, Cyclopaedia, i, 45; iii, 787; Macy, Our Government, 37.

13. Restrictions on the Economic Freedom of the Colonies. By the navigation laws it was provided that all commodities imported into, or exported from, any English colony in Asia, Africa, or America should be carried in vessels owned in England or in the colonies, of which the masters and at least three-fourths of the mariners were English. The Virginians were annoyed by this restriction, for they had been accustomed to ship large quantities of tobacco in Dutch vessels; but the people of New England, in the course of time, found it a less inconvenience: it "stimu

lated shipbuilding and the shipping interest in the colonies." 1 "In less than twenty years New England ships began to be sold in Old England. During the next few decades the business sprang up in every town along the New England coast and in many a riverside village for miles inland." 2

By the act of 1660 it was provided that certain wares enumerated might be carried from the colonies to England, but to no other country. These articles were ginger, sugar, tobacco, cotton, wool, indigo, fustic, and other woods used for dyeing. This list was increased later by the addition of rice, tar, pitch, masts, hemp, copper, and beaver skins. With reference to the majority of these articles the restriction was in reality not a serious grievance for the colonists. The producers of tobacco and rice suffered most.

There were restrictions also on manufactures. Wool, yarn, and woolen cloth produced in the plantations might be manufactured for local needs, but not for a distant market. After 1732, hats might be manufactured for sale within the colony where they were made; but they might not be exported to England, to the Continent of Europe, or to the other colonies. No steel furnaces or slitting-mills might be erected. The prohibition, however, did not extend to working in iron on a small scale, as in making nails, bolts, and farm implements.

These restrictions helped to arouse the colonists to renounce their allegiance to the government of England. They were not, in fact, generally burdensome; yet this did not prevent them from becoming incentives to independence; for what they were in reality was less important than what they were thought to be by the colonists of the eighteenth century.

1 Hart, Formation of the Union, 46.

2 Ashley, in Quarterly Journal of Economics, xiv, 5.