An anonymous writer using the penname “A Democratic Federalist” responds to James Wilson’s “Statehouse Yard Speech,” arguing against ratification of the proposed Constitution for the united States pointing out in paragraphs one, nine and ten that the sovereignty of the States will be lost to the creation of a large, peacetime, professional (standing) army:
The phrase, “Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, AND EVERY POWER, JURISDICTION AND RIGHT WHICH IS NOT BY THIS CONFEDERATION EXPRESSLY, DELEGATED TO THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED,” has been eliminated.
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Was it a standing army that gained the battles of Lexington, and Bunker’s Hill, and took the ill fated Burgoyne? Is not a well-regulated militia sufficient for every purpose of internal defence? And which of you, my fellow citizens, is afraid of any invasion from foreign powers, that our brave militia would not be able immediately to repel?
… I need only adduce the example of Switzerland, which, like us, is a republic, whose thirteen cantons, like our thirteen States, are under a federal government, and which besides is surrounded by the most powerful nations in Europe, all jealous of its liberty and prosperity: And yet that nation has preserved its freedom for many ages, with the sole help of a militia, and has never been known to have a standing army, except when in actual war. … (emphasis in the original)
[restored 7/18/2026]
Subsequent Events:
10/24/1787 11/1/1787 1/26/1788 1/29/1788 6/7/1788
Authority:
Articles of Confederation, Article XIII
ccc-2point0.com/Articles-of-Confederation
References:
“Reply to Wilson’s Speech, ‘A Democratic Federalist,’” from The Debate on the Constitution, two volumes, Bernard Bailyn, ed., (New York: Library of America, 1992), 1:70-76.
Current U.s. National Debt:
