Drafting the Constitution

[Newsletter]

"Drafting the Constitution"

By: Ah1Tom

The Articles of Confederation had been in force since 1781 but were proven too weak. There was no power to tax, little authority in setting commercial policy, and it could not support a war effort. States retained considerable power, and the central government had insufficient power to regulate commerce. States were on the brink of economic disaster. The evidence was overwhelming. Congress attempted to function with a depleted treasury; paper money was flooding the country, creating extraordinary inflation and the depressed condition of business was taking its toll on many small farmers. Some of those same farmers were jailed for debt, and numerous farms were confiscated and sold for taxes.

In 1786 some of the farmers, led by Daniel Shays, a former captain in the Continental Army, fought back. The insurrection was put down by state troops however, the incident confirmed the fears that anarchy was just around the corner. Washington wrote to Madison: "Wisdom and good examples are necessary at this time to rescue the political machine from the impending storm."

Madison thought he had the answer. He wanted a strong central government to provide order and stability. "Let it be tried then," he wrote, "whether any middle ground can be taken which will at once support a due supremacy of the national authority," while maintaining state power only when "subordinately useful." Madison looked to the Constitutional Convention to forge a new government in this mold.

Seventy-four delegates were appointed to the convention, of which only 55 attended sessions. Rhode Island was the only state that refused to send delegates. Rhode Island's leaders refused to participate in what they saw as a conspiracy to overthrow the established government. Other Americans also had their suspicions.

Patrick Henry refused to attend, declaring he "smelt a rat." He suspected that Madison had in mind the creation of a powerful central government and the subversion of the authority of the state legislatures. It was, nevertheless, an impressive assemblage. In addition to Madison and Washington, there were Benjamin Franklin, Gouverneur Morris, James Wilson of Pennsylvania, Alexander Hamilton of New York, George Mason of Virginia, John Dickinson of Delaware, and many others.

The Virginia plan proposed a government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial - each branch structured to check the other. Highly centralized, the government would have veto power over laws enacted by state legislatures. The plan meant a strong consolidated union in which the idea of states should be nearly annihilated. This was, indeed, the rat so offensive to Patrick Henry. Many delegates cringed at the vision of a central government swallowing state sovereignty.

Delegates from smaller states rallied around proposals offered by New Jersey delegate William Paterson. Railing against efforts to throw the states into "hotchpot," Paterson proposed a "union of the States merely federal." The "New Jersey resolutions" called only for a revision of the articles to enable Congress more easily to raise revenues and regulate commerce. It also provided that acts of Congress and ratified treaties be "the supreme law of the States."

For 3 days the convention debated Paterson's plan, finally voting for rejection. With the defeat of the New Jersey resolutions, the convention was moving toward creating a new government, much to the dismay of many small-state delegates.

One of the more contentious issues was slavery. How should slaves be counted for taxation and representation? On July 12th, Oliver Ellsworth proposed that representation for the lower house be based on the number of free persons and three-fifths of "all other persons" (slaves). Since they were counted as three-fifths of a person for representation; the number of representatives and therefore, the influence that "slave states" would have on legislative issues, was limited.

The convention accepted the first draft on August 6th, 1787. The most serious controversy erupted over the question of regulation of commerce. The southern states, exporters of raw materials, rice, indigo, and tobacco, were fearful that a New England-dominated Congress might, through export taxes, severely damage the South's economic life.

On August 21st, slavery again became a significant issue. Delegates from South Carolina and Georgia, who most feared federal meddling in the slave trade, made a deal with Delegates from the New England states. In exchange for the New Englanders' support for continuing slave importation for 20 years, the Southerners accepted a clause that required only a simple majority vote on navigation laws, a crippling blow to Southern economic interests.

On August 31st, a weary George Mason, who had 3 months earlier written so expectantly to his son about the "great Business now before us," bitterly exclaimed that he "would sooner chop off his right hand than put it to the Constitution as it now stands." Mason despaired that the convention was rushing to saddle the country with an ill-advised, potentially ruinous central authority.  He was concerned that a "bill of rights," had not been made part of the Constitution. One of the last major issues was how to elect the executive. The resolution was the Electoral College.

By early September, the delegates were exhausted and anxious to return home, so compromise came easily. On September 8th, the convention was ready to turn the Constitution over to a Committee of Style and Arrangement.

On September 15th, before the final vote on the Constitution, Edmund Randolph had a proposal. Randolph, joined by George Mason and Elbridge Gerry, wanted several amendments by the state conventions and then turned over to another general convention for consideration. The three were soundly rebuffed. Late in the afternoon, the role of the states was called on the Constitution, and from every delegation the word was "Aye."

On September 17th, the members met for the last time, Franklin had written a speech delivered by his colleague James Wilson. Appealing for unity behind the Constitution, Franklin declared, "I think it will astonish our enemies, who are waiting with confidence to hear that our councils are confounded like those of the builders of Babel; and that our States are on the point of separation, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of cutting one another's throats." With Mason, Gerry, and Randolph withstanding appeals to attach their signatures, the other delegates in the hall formally signed the Constitution, and the convention adjourned at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

Weary from weeks of intense pressure but generally satisfied with their work, the delegates shared a farewell dinner at City Tavern. Printers John Dunlap and David Claypoole worked into the night on the final imprint of the six-page Constitution, copies of which would leave Philadelphia on the morning stage. The debate over the nation's form of government was now set for the larger arena.


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Image Credit: Signing of the Constitution, Thomas P. Rossiter (c. 1860-1870) Courtesy Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository


For the FULL Text of The Constitution of the United States via The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, please CLICK HERE