James Winthrop, Judge for the Probate Court of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, using the pseudonym “Agrippa,” publishes and anti-federal essay opposing ratification of the Constitution for the united States, unless a “bill of rights” is added, numbers 2, 6, 7, 11 and 14 of which:
- Congress is forbidden regulating interstate commerce;
- Congress is forbidden from controlling the State Militias;
- The Army of the united States is forbidden from entering any State during peacetime, except to garrison or guard armories;
- Congress and the President are prohibited from exercising any powers not specifically granted in the Constitution;
- Trial by Jury shall be “held sacred” and inviolable.
[restored 7/25/2026]
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Authority:
Articles of Confederation, Article XIII
ccc-2point0.com/Articles-of-Confederation
References:
James Winthrop, “Amend the Articles of Confederation or amend the Constitution? Fourteen conditions for accepting the Constitution,” from The Debate on the Constitution, two volumes, Bernard Bailyn, ed., (New York: Library of America, 1992), 2: 155, 158-59.
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