Debate in the committee lasted 2 months. Whitfield and Jones aimed to take control of the process. Whitfield and Jones succeeded in basing the language of their declaration on The Articles of Constitutional Sovereignty, including a clause offering to rejoin the union if their requests were met. The committee also passed two governing amendments to be sent back to the towns for approval. The first clarified the chain of command among elected officials. The second established guidelines for specific bureaucratic committees to be created and elected.