The
Constitution of the
By Senator Brent Hill
 |
The Old Man Wept Reproduced with permission |
In my office at the
State Capitol in Boise hangs a painting by artist Del Parson. It is a dramatic
portrayal of Benjamin Franklin, James Wilson, Roger Sherman, George Washington
and James Madison signing the Constitution of the
About the only thing on which the delegates could all agree was that George Washington should preside over the convention, but even that was in jeopardy. Washington almost did not attend the convention. His brother had just died, his mother and sister were seriously ill, and Washington himself was in such pain from rheumatism that he could hardly sleep. Besides, Washington was not at all sure that the convention would be successful and hesitated to put his reputation on the line to support it. James Madison, the boyish-looking, 36-year-old delegate from Virginia finally persuaded Washington to attend.
It was already warm in May when the delegates gathered in the same building in Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence had been penned, but the temperature of the room and the emotions would heat up during the ensuing weeks.
Seventy-four delegates were appointed to the convention, but only fifty-five actually attended sessions. Rhode Island refused to send delegates. Patrick Henry, suspicious of the whole process, refused to attend, declaring that he “smelt a rat in Philadelphia, tending toward Monarchy.” Thomas Jefferson and John Adams did not attend the Convention because they were on assignments in Europe. The youngest delegate was 27-year-old Jonathan Dayton from New Jersey and the oldest was 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin, almost crippled with gout.
In contrast to the open government demanded by the public today, the sessions were held in secret—no reporters or visitors permitted. Guards were stationed at the entrances to discourage the curious. Any information was usually leaked at the local pubs after reporters had provided the naturally talkative delegates a few drinks.
Despite the controversy, the importance of the event was not lost on most. George Mason of Virginia, wrote to his son George Jr., that the fight for independence and the formation of a new government were nothing compared to “the great Business now before us” and the creation of a new constitution would influence “the Happiness or Misery of Millions yet unborn.”
Plan v. Plan
On Tuesday morning, May 29, the young governor of Virginia, Edmund Randolph, condemned the Articles of Confederation in a long debate and stressed the need for a strong national government. He presented the Virginia Plan acknowledging that it “meant a strong consolidated union in which the idea of states should be nearly annihilated.”
Many delegates from smaller states cringed at the idea of a central government swallowing state sovereignty. New Jersey attorney, William Paterson, presented a contrary plan calling only for revisions in the Articles of Confederation to allow very limited powers to the national government. The New Jersey Plan was rejected after three days of debate.
Alexander Hamilton presented his own plan on June 18. He called the British government “the best in the world” and proposed that the chief executive serve for life with veto power over all laws, similar to a monarch. Hugh Williamson of North Carolina agreed that it was “pretty certain . . . that we should at some time or other have a king.”
By July, the heat was insufferable and the air swarmed with bluebottle flies. Debate deteriorated into threats and accusations. Washington was so frustrated that he called those who opposed a strong central government “narrow minded politicians.” Another delegate warned that the convention “was on the verge of dissolution, scarce held together by the strength of an hair.” Benjamin Franklin called for daily prayers, pleading that “the Father of light . . . illuminate our understandings.” Franklin’s request was not granted since the convention had no funds to pay a preacher.
The Great Compromise
Finally, Roger Sherman from Connecticut proposed a two-house legislature, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. Under this bicameral system, each state would be equally represented in the Senate, with two delegates, and representation in the House would be based upon population. The problem of how to count slaves for representation had divided the northern and southern states. The delegates ultimately agreed to count slaves as three-fifths of a free person to calculate state populations for House representation (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3).
The Constitution was accepted by the delegates on September 17. Of the 42 delegates still present, 39 signed the Constitution. One who refused was George Mason—the same who had so excitedly written to his son about the “great Business now before us.” In disappointment over the result, he bitterly declared that he “would sooner chop off his right hand than put it to the Constitution as it now stands.”
George Washington, however, firmly supported the work of the convention stating, “It appears to me . . . little short of a miracle, that the Delegates from so many different States . . . all different from each other, in their manners, circumstances, and prejudices, should unite in forming a system of national Government, so little liable to well founded objections.” Benjamin Franklin was so moved by the magnitude of the event that “the old man wept” tears of joy as he signed the document.
The United States Constitution is a remarkable embodiment of new ideas about government by the people and the division of power between states and the national government. Its 4,543 words stand as a model of cooperative statesmanship and American pragmatism, providing the framework to create and preserve a more perfect Union. How unpardonable it would be for us—with all that we have been given—to take this great document for granted.