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America’s First Constitutions and Declarations of Rights
to ratify the Articles, Delaware reluctantly assenting as late as May 1779.
Maryland stood fast, however, and withheld her support until all western land claims were ceded to Congress. Virginia was equally stubborn
and did not agree to abandon her claim until 1781. When Virginia at last
renounced her right to all territory northwest of the Ohio River (the ‘‘old
northwest’’), Maryland representatives promptly signed the document.
The Articles of Confederation did not officially take effect, therefore, until March 1, 1781.
The peaceful settlement of this protracted dispute permanently influenced the nature of the union and helped to lay the foundation for the
federal system of government. Virginia contended that, under her sea-tosea charter of 1609, her territory extended all the way to the ‘‘South Seas’’
(the Pacific Ocean). Had Virginia and the other States claiming western
land refused to surrender their claims, it is doubtful whether the Articles
of Confederation or any other scheme for a union of all the States would
have succeeded. With virtually half of the continent under her sovereign
jurisdiction, Virginia might well have become a nation unto herself, and
North America might have become many countries instead of one. Ironically, it was Richard Henry Lee, a States’ Rights man and a stalwart foe
of centralization, who, more than any other Virginia leader, persuaded
the State legislature to voluntarily limit the size of the State. Lee doubted
the validity of Virginia’s claim and believed that republican government
would not succeed in a country so large as that contemplated by some
Virginians. The cession of western territory by Virginia and other States
thus served to unify the thirteen original States. It also made possible the
creation of many new States in the future, resulting in the formation of a
single federal union, under one flag, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
The controversy over land was actually only one of many issues that
divided the large States and the small States in 1776. Members of Congress also quarreled over the method of representation in the confederation Congress and the basis for determining how much each State should
contribute to the national treasury to fund the government. The larger
States favored proportional representation based on population, which
would give them a larger delegation in Congress and more power. The
smaller States wanted equal representation, which would give them a
disproportionate share of power, particularly if they voted together as a