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America’s First Constitutions and Declarations of Rights
and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the United States under their
direction—to appoint one of their number to preside, provided that no
person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year
in any term of three years; to ascertain the necessary sums of money to
be raised for the service of the United States, and to appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public expenses—to borrow money, or
emit bills on the credit of the United States, transmitting every half year
to the respective States an account of the sums of money so borrowed or
emitted—to build and equip a navy—to agree upon the number of land
forces, and to make requisitions from each State for its quota, in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in such State; which requisition
shall be binding, and thereupon the legislature of each State shall appoint
the regimental officers, raise the men and cloath, arm and equip them in
a soldier like manner, at the expense of the United States, and the officers
and men so cloathed, armed and equipped shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States in Congress
assembled. But if the United States in Congress assembled shall, on consideration of circumstances, judge proper that any State should not raise
men, or should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any other
State should raise a greater number of men than the quota thereof, such
extra number shall be raised, officered, cloathed, armed and equipped in
the same manner as the quota of such State, unless the legislature of such
State shall judge that such extra number cannot be safely spared out of
the same, in which case they shall raise officers, cloath, arm and equip as
many of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared. And the
officers and men so cloathed, armed and equipped, shall march to the
place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States in
Congress assembled.
The United States in Congress assembled shall never engage in a war,
nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into
any treaties or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof,
nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the defence and welfare of the United States, or any of them, nor emit bills, nor borrow
money on the credit of the United States, nor appropriate money, nor
agree upon the number of vessels of war, to be built or purchased, or the