CONFEDERACY. In Criminal Law. An agreement between two or more persons to do an unlawful act or an act which though not unlawful in itself, becomes so by the confederacy. The technical term usually employed to signify this offence is conspir acy. See State v. Crowley, 41 Wis. 284, 22 Am. Rep. 719 ; Watson v. Navigation Co., 52 How. Pr. (N. Y.) 353.
In Equity Pleading. An improper combina tion alleged to have been entered into be tween the defendants to a bill in equity. A general charge of confederacy is made a part of a bill in chancery, and is the fourth part, in order, of the bill; but it has become merely formal, except in cases where the complainant intends to show that such a com bination actually exists or existed, in which case a special charge of such confederacy must be made. Story, Eq. Pl. § 29 ; Mitt Eq. Pl. 41.
In International Law. An agreement be tween two or more states or nations, by which they unite for their mutual protection and good. This term is applied to such an
agreement made between two independent nations; but it is also used to signify the union of different states of the same nation : as, the confederacy of the states.
The original thirteen states, in 1781, adopted for their federal government the "Articles of confeder ation and perpetual union hetween the states." These were completed on the 15th of November, 1777, and, with the exception of Maryland, which afterwards also agreed to them, were adopted by the several states, which were thereby formed Into a federal government, going into effect on the first day of March, 1781, 1 Story, Const. § 225, and so re mained until the adoption of the present constitu tion, which acquired the force of the supreme law of the land on the first Wednesday of March, 1789. Owings v. Speed, 5 Wheat. (U. S.) 420, 5 L. Ed. 124. See ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION.