Adoption of the Constitution.
_#The Constitutional Convention.#_--Fifty-five delegates were present.
With scarcely an exception they were all clearheaded, able, and moderate
men. Virginia sent Washington, Madison, Edmund Randolph; Pennsylvania
sent Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, and James Wilson; New York sent
Alexander Hamilton; New Jersey, Patterson; and South Carolina, the two
Pinckneys. Washington was chosen President of the Convention. Two rules
were adopted: 1st, proceedings were to be secret, and 2d, one vote was
to be given to each State, thus making it of no importance whether a
State had a large or small delegation.
Though the delegates had thus assembled to form a better and new union,
they differed widely in their views as to what changes were necessary,
and as to what powers should be given to the Federal Government, and
what retained by the States. Some desired merely a change of the
existing Articles of Confederation, more power being granted, however,
to the Federal Government; while others wished for an entirely new
Constitution.
The convention at once divided into two parties. The one representing
the small States, such as New Jersey and Delaware; and the other, the
larger States, such as Virginia, New York and Massachusetts. The plan
brought forward by the party of the large States was that presented to
the convention by Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, and generally known as
the National or Large State Plan. This plan proposed a congress of two
houses, having power to legislate on all National matters, and to compel
obedience on the part of the States. Representation in both houses was
to be based on population, thus giving to the larger, and more populous,
States the control of both branches of the legislature; and, also, since
by this scheme the president, executive officers, and judges were to be
appointed by Congress, control of the whole administration of the new
government.
On behalf of the small States, Patterson, of New Jersey, introduced what
is called the New Jersey plan. By this plan the old Federal Congress was
to be continued with its single house of legislature, and equal State
vote.
The great point upon which the two plans differed, was as to how
representation in the legislature should be apportioned among the
States; whether it should be according to population, and with two
houses, or whether there should be but one house, in which each State
should have an equal vote. The question was settled by a compromise. It
was agreed that there should be a legislature of two houses, a Senate or
upper and less numerous branch; and the House of Representatives, the
popular and more numerous lower branch. In the Senate each State was to
have an equal representation, thus putting the large and small States on
an equal footing. On the other hand, in the House of Representatives
representation was to be according to population, thus favoring the
larger States.
Another point upon which the convention differed was concerning the
slave trade; whether it should, or should not, be allowed to continue.
This question was also compromised, it being agreed to permit its
continuance for twenty years (until 1808), after which all importation
of slaves might be prohibited.
Yet another point in dispute was whether the slaves should, or should
not, be counted in estimating the population of the States, in order to
determine the number of representatives to which each State should be
entitled. This likewise was compromised. It was agreed that five slaves
should be counted equivalent to three white men.
These three main points being settled by compromises, other parts of the
government, such as a single chief executive, a Federal judiciary, and
the decision as to what powers should be given to the President, what to
the Senate, and what to the House, were more easily arranged, and the
convention adjourned September 17, 1787, having been in session a little
over four months. Thus was prepared the Constitution under which we are
now living--an achievement declared by Guizot to be the greatest work of
its kind, and by Gladstone to be the greatest work ever struck out at
one time by the hand of man.
The Constitution having been agreed to in convention, it was now
submitted to the vote of each of the colonies for acceptance. It was
decided in this convention that it should be considered as ratified, and
should go into effect as soon as accepted by nine of the thirteen
States.
The adoption or rejection of the Constitution now became a question
which claimed the entire attention of the States, and it is during this
contest that we find the origin of the first political parties in the
United States. Those favoring the adoption of the Constitution were
called "Federalists" and those opposing it "Anti-Federalists."
_#Arguments For and Against Adoption.#_--The Federalist party was
composed of those men who were desirous of a strong central government,
and for this reason favored the Constitution. This party was especially
strong in New England, largely because New England, being the commercial
part of the colonies, had had the lamentable weakness of the old
confederation brought home to them the more forcibly by the
disorganization and loss of commerce which the Continental Congress had
been unable to regulate.
The Anti-Federalists were those who wished the State governments to be
kept strong, and that there should be a comparatively weak central
government.
The argument used by the Federalists for the adoption of the
Constitution was, that only by correcting all those defects of the
Confederation which have been pointed out, could order and prosperity be
restored to the country. They said that the Constitution, being a series
of compromises, could not please everyone in all respects, but that it
was the best that could be obtained under the circumstances. Their
arguments appeared in a remarkable collection of eighty-five essays,
called the "Federalist," written by Alexander Hamilton in company with
John Jay and James Madison. In these were explained all the points of
the Constitution, and to this day they remain the best exposition of the
Constitution ever written.
The objections raised by the Anti-Federalists were many. In the first
place, it was of course objected that it gave to the central government
too much power; that state government and State liberty would be crushed
out. The State was then as dear to the citizen as is the National
Government to us to-day. Patriotism was then devotion to the State. The
colonists had suffered so much from control over their state governments
by an outside strong government, that they were fearful of again putting
themselves under a strong national government though of their own
making. In warning terms it was declared it would be a government
founded upon the destruction of the governments of the several States.
They said, "Congress may monopolize every source of revenue, and thus
indirectly demolish the State governments, for without funds they cannot
exist." These elements of State love and jealousy of the Federal power
are of the utmost importance in studying our history. We see them
running through all our life as the main causes of division between
political parties. (See later chapter on "Introduction to History of
Political Parties.")
Another objection was, that the Constitution contained no definite "bill
of rights" recognizing and guaranteeing fundamental personal liberties,
such as freedom of speech, liberty of the press, assurance against
unjust arrest, the right to bear arms, and trial by jury in civil cases,
etc. This class of objections was satisfied by the adoption of the first
ten constitutional amendments. It was also claimed by those opposed to
the ratification, that inasmuch as the Constitution placed no limit to
the number of terms which a President might serve, one man might become
so powerful as to obtain a life-tenure of office, and thus the
government would degenerate into a monarchy. To show how exaggerated
were the fears during this critical period of our history, we have the
report that it was actually claimed and believed by many at that time
that the Federalists had the secret intention of inviting over to our
country some European prince who should rule as king. Patrick Henry
cried, "We shall have a king; the army will salute him monarch." Though
not fixed by the Constitution, it has been since the time of Washington
the invariable rule that no man shall be elected for more than two
terms. The friends of President Grant attempted to have him nominated
for a third time, but so strong was this prejudice that, popular as he
was at that time, the plan failed.
For nine months the struggle was wagered fiercely in the States, but the
Federalists prevailed. In June, 1788, the ninth State ratified, and
adoption was assured. Congress fixed the first Wednesday in January for
the election of presidential electors, the first Wednesday in February
for the meeting of the electors and election of the President, and the
first Wednesday in March, 1789, for the inauguration of the President
and the beginning of the new government. This last date fell upon the
4th of March, which date has from that time served as the day for the
inauguration of our presidents. Owing to a delay in the assembling of
the new Congress, Washington was not inaugurated, nor our present
government instituted, until April 30, 1789.
Thus was founded our present government, which has stood the test of a
century. When adopted there were thirteen States; now there are
forty-four. The inhabited area was then the narrow strip between the
Atlantic Ocean and the Allegheny Mountains, with a population of
scarcely 3,000,000. Now the United States stretches 3,000 miles from
ocean to ocean, and contains a population of over sixty millions.