Trail by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least unpleasant usually dangerous experience. The test was one of life or death, and the proof of innocence was survival. In some cases the accused was considered innocent if they escaped the injury or if their injuries healed.
He proposed that the federal Treasury take over and pay off all the debt that states had incurred to pay for the American Revolution.
