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The Locus of Sovereignty In The Years Before the Constitution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2020

Richard B. Morris
Richard B. Morris*
Affiliation:
Columbia University, Emeritus
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Extract

The issue over the original locus of sovereignty in Revolutionary America has been recently criticized as “a continuing fruitless debate from the nineteenth century to the present over the priority of the union or the states.” Most of those opposing the view that sovereignty originated with the nation and not the states based their theory on the Articles of Confederation, notably Article II, and the relatively brief debates on its preliminary and final drafts. They ignored the fact that the Articles did not go into effect until March 1, 1781, almost seven years after the initial Congress had begun to take united action on behalf of the American people.

Type
Research Article
Information
News for Teachers of Political Science , Volume 49 , Spring 1986 , pp. 15 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1986

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