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Illinois State Rifle Association
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The U.S. ConstitutionBefore the end of the Revolutionary War, the thirteen States agreed to a series of resolutions called the Articles of Confederation. This gave each state certain powers and also established a way to provide “a firm league of friendship with each other”. Their intentions were to support each other and form a new nation. It was not going to be easy, though. Once England agreed to our independence, we quickly found out the importance of England’s influence. No longer were we to have the ability to negotiate treaties, tariffs or protective agreements with other nations. The United States had neither influence nor status with the other world powers.
Every so often, the states would send delegates to Confederation conventions to try to resolve these issues. There was nothing in the Articles to address these problems or, if there were language relating to some of the issues, nothing in the Articles would force any state to correct the problems. The central government did not really exist and the state legislatures did little to help the economic woes. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton understood what was needed for this country’s future. They felt that another form of government was needed and for that to happen, the state legislatures had to be convinced to send delegates to develop this idea. They called for a constitutional convention in Annapolis in 1786, requesting the state legislatures to send delegates and see what the possibilities for a national constitution would be. Only five states sent delegates and it seemed the interest was not that strong for the idea of a new constitution. This did not stop Madison or Hamilton. Early in 1787, Madison called for another Confederation convention to be held in Philadelphia, announcing that it was to correct some minor problems in the Articles. This was not the real reason for this convention. Madison and Hamilton came up with a scheme to get delegates together and begin work on a new constitution. To insure the state legislatures would send their delegates, Madison assured the states that the corrections would have to be ratified by each state. By mid-May, delegates began arriving in Philadelphia. All of the states, except Rhode Island, sent delegates. Most were businessmen and it didn’t take them long to discover Madison’s ruse. Because of the country’s economic problems, it seemed to them that maybe Madison might have a good idea. Edmund Randolf, the governor of Virginia, presented a set of resolutions to the delegates that established the basic groundwork for the convention. His initial idea was to have two branches of legislators. The House, elected by the people and the Senate, by the House. He also recommended that there should be three Presidents. The Randolf Plan had some interesting ideas, but the delegates decided to form committees to debate the many questions stemming from these resolutions. As the idea of committees were discussed, it seemed to all that the final document was too important to leave anyone out and it was decided to make the whole convention into a committee. When it was time to turn the debate over to the delegates, the committee would then become the convention. This idea about a new government and its constitution created a great deal of deliberation among the delegates. Initially, the smaller states did not want to be overpowered by the larger states. With the Articles, the small states had an advantage over the large states by having less conflict with their voting. Each state would have only one vote, either a “yes” or “no” for each question on the floor. A small state with one or two delegates would generally agree if the vote were “yes” or “no”. Rarely would a small state split its vote. A larger state with 20 or more delegates had the possibility of some of its voters not agreeing within their delegation. This meant a split vote and the recording secretary would call it an “undecided” vote and that state would lose its vote on that question. The small states enjoyed having this control at Confederation conventions. The issues of how the House and Senate would be determined also brought out some heated debate. The large states knew that if population determined the new congress, then the small states would lose their voting advantage. Other deliberations also sprung from this question. What were the terms? How long? Eligibility? Then the most difficult question of all came up. How many members would make up the House and the Senate? It was then determined that the House would have proportional representation, but the Senate question divided the states. The large states insisted that it should be proportional and the small states wanted equal representation. Madison sensed the fear driving the delegates. The fear was that a federal government would be established which was like the type of government now controlling the country. A government controlled by state legislators. Madison proposed that instead of a federal government, a national government should be created. A government that would draw its power from the people. One where the people would be protected against their rulers, while the government was to protect them. This idea from Madison was what the delegates needed to think about. It was a concept that was not ever considered by anyone. This created a bridge over the many difficulties that were generated by the delegates themselves. From that point, it seemed easier to find the solutions for all the questions at hand. The debates on how the Senate was selected still had some delegates concerned. It was Ben Franklin that saw through the problems and found a way to a resolution. The states were concerned about money issues and Franklin came up with the idea that the House would be responsible for the money bills and the Senate would only approve or disapprove those bills. The House would be elected by the people and the Senate, by the state legislators. This was the turning point for the convention. The Supreme Court was next on the agenda. There were few problems in defining the powers of the Supreme Court. The Constitution also established inferior courts to insure the state courts would obey the decisions of the Supreme Court. It is interesting to note that the Constitution does not indicate how many would sit on the highest court of the land. The last few weeks of this convention were counting down and all of the delegates were anxious to return home. They resolved issues such as coining money, copyrights and patents and establishing post offices and roads. The procedures to impeach or check the powers of government officials were also established. The checks and balances of the three branches of the new government were in place. There was just one final question. Find a way to elect a President. Many thoughts about this procedure had been tossed around during the convention, but this was the final piece of the puzzle. Checks and balances were always a consideration. The President was the one person that might be influenced by those who put him in office. If the House had the responsibility, then the President was beholding to them. The same goes with the Senate or the Supreme Court. If the people were to directly elect the President, then there was a possibility that a national group or organization could influence the people’s vote. Then, it would be possible for the President’s decisions to be swayed by these organizations. Many times during the convention, it was stated that the delegates did not trust the idea of leaving decisions to the people. It was thought that, generally, the people did not have the sophistication or wisdom to choose wisely. It was suggested that the state legislatures could elect the President, but that did not sit well with the delegates. Population would then determine which states had the best opportunity to select a presidential candidate. Small states would not ever get a chance to promote their choice for the Presidency and only the larger, more populace states had the votes to get their candidate into office. James Wilson of Pennsylvania brought up the idea of electors. It was a scheme to satisfy the large and small states and to give the election to neither the Congress nor the people, directly. It was not a perfect plan, but it was as fair as one could make it. Madison is regarded as the “Father of the Constitution”. His leadership and wisdom gave the delegates a direction to seek the balance required to define this country and the creation of the most important document the world has ever seen. Many others provided input and ideas into these debates and without their wisdom, the Constitution would not be what it is today. There is speculation that, if Thomas Jefferson were present, the Constitution would have been much different than it is today. He was in France at the time, as our minister. His persistence of including the “rights endowed by our creator” would have been a part of the Constitution from the beginning. These rights would have to be added later and that, too, is another story. There is much more to the history of our Constitution. The articles written by those both for and against the ratification of the Constitution, are well documented. Whether the amendments should be added and for what rights are we to be assured of made up the bulk of the daily news. The ratification of the Constitution in itself was a difficult process and that will be the subject of a future article. Before they began deliberations, all took an oath to maintain secrecy and to not record information about the convention. However, James Madison did record much of the proceedings. The other delegates did not mind, as he was trusted and had a reputation for accuracy. His notes on the Constitutional Convention were found after his death and were not researched until the 1930’s when Fred Rodell, an associate professor at Yale, received permission to study Madison’s notes. His book, “55 Men,” is considered by many to be the best account of the struggles in the creation of our Constitution. Much of the information here is from Professor Rodell’s research and I am grateful to him for providing us with James Madison’s account of how our Constitution came to be. Al Tiscareno ------
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