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POD: Congress of the Confederation is given power to enforce requisitions of money from state governments provided a majority of states agree to the requisitions. So, taxation is still fairly difficult, but still possible under this system. The Confederation has enough little quirks to explore, I think, if it can be made sustainable.

1781: The Impost of 1781, supported by Alexander Hamilton and Robert Morris, passes in Congress, putting a 5% excise tax on all imported goods.

Vote by state:
New Hampshire- Yes
Massachusetts- Yes
Rhode Island- No
Connecticut- Yes
New York- Yes
New Jersey- Yes
Pennsylvania- No
Delaware- Abstain*
Maryland- Yes
Virginia- Yes
N. Carolina- Yes
S. Carolina- No
Georgia- Yes

*Delaware's delegation split on the issue, so their vote was thrown out. They had five delegates, and only four made quorum.

The 5% Impost gave the Confederation Congress much needed funds and removed some of the burden of "pecuniary oppression" of forced requisitions on the states.

The Bank of North America was chartered by the Confederation Congress, effectively creating the first national bank. John Nixon was elected the first President of the Bank of North America. Robert Morris regularly stored gold and silver bullion in the bank's vaults.

1782: Congress-assembled passed the Governance Act of 1782, creating the Departments of War, Foreign Affairs and Finance, each to be headed by a Secretary, who could not serve for more than three years out of six. (Tradition began to mandate simply non-consecutive three year terms)

1783: Treaty of Paris signed on September 4, 1783. [1]

1784: Ratified by Congress of the Confederation, January 15, 1784.

1785: The Act for the Organization of the Northwest was submitted to the Congress of the Confederation. It called for a repudiation of all illegal land claims in the lands west of the Appalachians, a "rational and geometric system of measurements for the territories", the township system, barred slavery from the territory until statehood was achieved, and divided the territory into ten future states. The vote went as follows.

New Hampshire- Yes
Massachusetts- Yes
Rhode Island- Yes
Connecticut- Yes
New York- Yes
New Jersey- Yes
Pennsylvania- No
Delaware- No
Maryland- No
Virginia- Yes
N. Carolina- Yes
S. Carolina- Yes
Georgia- No

The act passed. Arthur St. Clair was appointed the Governor of the Northwest Territory, and given near absolute authority until such time as the states could be organized. It should be noted, however, that the clause barring slavery failed in three of the proposed states, all of which included a number of illegal slaves and after earning statehood, quickly made it legal.

The Act set out conditions for statehood and required ratification of at least 2/3 of the current states. Any states admitted would send delegates to the next session of Congress.

The Act for the Organization of the Southwest failed, with the voting as follows. It should be noted that the delegations from many of the states had involvement in the speculation companies of the Southwest, where the claims and counterclaims were far more complex. Also, the clause about territorial slavery did not ring well with many Southern ears, even at the time before the cotton boom.

New Hampshire- Yes
Massachusetts- Yes
Rhode Island- Yes
Connecticut- Yes
New York- No
New Jersey- No
Pennsylvania- Yes
Delaware- No
Maryland- No
Virginia- Yes
N. Carolina- No
S. Carolina- No
Georgia- No

A second Act set out nothing against the dissolution of private claims, said nothing about the status of slavery, merely funding surveying and appointing a governor, William Blount. That act passed unanimously.

Committee Positions

An important consideration of the department-heads was more often their place of origin than their own views. As such, most of the states and regions vied to keep an acceptable balance, something which would be upset later by the admission of new states and the creation of new departments.

1782-1785
Secretary of War- Henry Knox (Massachusetts) Gained the appointment from support in the New England and Washington's support
Secretary of Finance- Robert Morris (Pennsylvania) Report 'On Public Credit' and general support from mercantile interest secured his appointment
Secretary of Foreign Affairs- Thomas Jefferson (Virginia) Diplomatic experience in France and the support of the state's rights supporters led to his appointment

1785-1788
Secretary of War- Nathanael Greene (Rhode Island) Enjoyed broad support across the states, reluctantly took appointment after his physician said the weather of the South had ill effects on his health, resigned 1787 to be replaced by a committee
Secretary of Finance- Alexander Hamilton (New York) Robert Morris's protege
Secretary of Foreign Affairs- John Hancock (Massachusetts) Appointed as a favorite son of New England

1788-1791
Secretary of War- Charles Pinckney (N. Carolina) Appointed as a Southern favorite son
Secretary of Finance- John Nixon (Pennsylvania) Appointed from position as president of Bank of North America, resigned that year as president
Secretary of Foreign Affairs- Timothy Pickering (Massachusetts) Appointed as a New England candidate
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