The essence of this argument is that the colonies formed a new nation in 1774 and any statement of their independence or the subsequent constitutions they entered into simply “matured” this new nation. The facts however do not support Lincoln’s fable. The Union, as it existed in Lincoln’s time, as well as today for that matter, began with the ratification of our current Constitution—not before.
While it is true the Articles of Association brought together twelve of the thirteen colonies (Georgia did not participate) for a common purpose, it did not form a new government, national or otherwise. This Association was nothing more than an agreement among the colonies, each acting on their own, to participate in a trade boycott against the British Empire.
Lincoln’s claim that the Articles of Association formed a Union is demonstrably false, since all one needs to do is refer to the language of the Articles themselves to see that this was not the case at all. To begin with, throughout this document, the colonies remained true to their allegiance to the British Crown, where for example, the preamble proclaims, “We, his majesty’s most loyal subjects.” It is also noteworthy that the frequently stated purpose of these Articles defined them as a, “…non-importation agreement….”
Even more significantly, consider what was missing from these Articles. For one, there was no expressed intent or specific language establishing a union or compact among the colonies with powers to perform any functions of a government. Furthermore, these colonies never delegated or surrender any power or authority to any other entity, governmental or otherwise.
Therefore, as far as the Articles of Association was concerned—the very foundation of Lincoln’s argument—there was nothing whatsoever supporting the idea that the colonies established any new central authority. Despite the premise of Lincoln’s argument being at odds with the facts, there are other ingredients of Lincoln’s so-called nation creating argument deserving further examination.(
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