We the Representatives of the State of Pennsylvania in full Convention met, having duly considered the Plan of Confederation formed in Congress, and submitted to the several States for their Assent or Dissent, do hereby declare the Dissent of this State to the same, for the following Reasons, viz.

1. Because the Foundations of every Confederation intended to be lasting, ought to be laid in Justice and Equity, no unfair Advantage being given to, or taken by, any of the Contracting Parties.

2. Because it is in the Nature of things just and equal that the respective States of the Confederacy should be represented in Congress and have Votes there in proportion to their Importance, arising from their Numbers of People, and the degree [interlined: Share] of Strength they afford to the united Body. And therefore the XVIIth Article, which gives one Vote to the smallest State, and no more to the largest when the Difference between them may be as 10 to 1, or greater, is unjust, and injurious to the larger States, since all of them are by other Articles obliged to contribute in proportion to their respective Abilities.

3. Because the Practice hitherto in Congress, of allowing only one Vote to each Colony, was originally taken up under a Conviction of its Impropriety and Injustice, was intended to be in some future time corrected, and was then and since submitted to only as a temporary Expedient, to be used in ordinary Business until the Means of rectifying the same could be obtained. This clearly appears by the Resolve of Congress dated Sept. 6. 1774. being the Day of its Meeting, which Resolve is in these Words, “That in determining Questions in this Congress, each Colony or Province shall have one Vote; the Congress not being possessed of, or at present able to procure proper Materials for ascertaining the Importance of each Colony.” That Importance has since been suppos’d to be best found in the Numbers of People, for the Congress not only by their Resolution when the issuing Bills was agreed to, but by this present Confederation have judged that the Contribution towards sinking those Bills and to the common Expence should be in proportion to such Numbers when they could be taken, which has not yet been done. And tho the larger Colonies submitted to this Temporary Inequality of Representation expecting it would much sooner have been rectified, it never was understood that by the Resolution above cited, a Power was given to the smaller States to fix that Inequality upon them forever, as those small States have now attempted to do by combining to vote for this 17th Article, and thereby to deprive the larger States of their just Right acknowledged in the same Resolution. And the smaller States having given us in Advance this striking Instance of the Injustice they are capable of, and of the possible Effects of their Combination, is of itself a sufficient Reason for our determining not to put ourselves in their Power by agreeing to this Article, as it stands connected with those concerning the Quota’s of each State, since being a Majority of the States in Congress they may by the same Means at any time deprive the larger States of any Share in the Disposition of our Strength and Wealth and the Management of our common Interests.

But as the smaller Colonies may object, that if the larger are allowed a Number of Votes in proportion to their Importance, the smaller will then be equally in danger of being overpower’d and govern’d by them; We not having the least Desire of any Influence or Power that is unjust or unequal, or disproportion’d to the Burthens we are to bear, do hereby offer our Consent to the said 17th Article as it now stands, provided the Quotas to be contributed by the larger Provinces shall be reduced to an Equality with that of the smallest, in which Case, all by contributing equally will have a just right to equal Votes. Not that we mean thereby to avoid granting additional Aids when the Exigence of our common Interests shall appear to us to make them proper and necessary; but leaving to the Congress with regard to such additional Aids the Right of making Requisitions as enjoy’d by our late Kings we would reserve to ourselves the Right of judging of the Propriety of those Requisitions, and of Refusing or Complying with them in part or in the whole as to us shall seem best, and of modifying our Grants with such Conditions as we shall judge necessary, in like manner as our Assemblies might formerly do with regard to Requisitions from the Crown. For it appears to us just and reasonable that we should retain the Disposition of what Strength we have above the equal Proportion contributed as aforesaid by our State to the common Service; with every Power necessary to apply the same, as Occasions may arise, for our own particular Security; this we mean to do from this time forward unless we are allow’d Votes in Congress proportion’d to the Importance of our State, as was originally intended.