Part 11 (2/2)

An Advertis.e.m.e.nt of The Federalist The Opposition.-Storms of criticism at once descended upon the Const.i.tution. ”Fraudulent usurpation!” exclaimed Gerry, who had refused to sign it. ”A monster” out of the ”thick veil of secrecy,” declaimed a Pennsylvania newspaper. ”An iron-handed despotism will be the result,” protested a third. ”We, 'the low-born,'” sarcastically wrote a fourth, ”will now admit the 'six hundred well-born' immediately to establish this most n.o.ble, most excellent, and truly divine const.i.tution.” The President will become a king; Congress will be as tyrannical as Parliament in the old days; the states will be swallowed up; the rights of the people will be trampled upon; the poor man's justice will be lost in the endless delays of the federal courts-such was the strain of the protests against ratification.

Defense of the Const.i.tution.-Moved by the tempest of opposition, Hamilton, Madison, and Jay took up their pens in defense of the Const.i.tution. In a series of newspaper articles they discussed and expounded with eloquence, learning, and dignity every important clause and provision of the proposed plan. These papers, afterwards collected and published in a volume known as The Federalist, form the finest textbook on the Const.i.tution that has ever been printed. It takes its place, moreover, among the wisest and weightiest treatises on government ever written in any language in any time. Other men, not so gifted, were no less earnest in their support of ratification. In private correspondence, editorials, pamphlets, and letters to the newspapers, they urged their countrymen to forget their partisans.h.i.+p and accept a Const.i.tution which, in spite of any defects great or small, was the only guarantee against dissolution and warfare at home and dishonor and weakness abroad.

Celebrating the Ratification The Action of the State Conventions.-Before the end of the year, 1787, three states had ratified the Const.i.tution: Delaware and New Jersey unanimously and Pennsylvania after a short, though savage, contest. Connecticut and Georgia followed early the next year. Then came the battle royal in Ma.s.sachusetts, ending in ratification in February by the narrow margin of 187 votes to 168. In the spring came the news that Maryland and South Carolina were ”under the new roof.” On June 21, New Hamps.h.i.+re, where the sentiment was at first strong enough to defeat the Const.i.tution, joined the new republic, influenced by the favorable decision in Ma.s.sachusetts. Swift couriers were sent to carry the news to New York and Virginia, where the question of ratification was still undecided. Nine states had accepted it and were united, whether more saw fit to join or not.

Meanwhile, however, Virginia, after a long and searching debate, had given her approval by a narrow margin, leaving New York as the next seat of anxiety. In that state the popular vote for the delegates to the convention had been clearly and heavily against ratification. Events finally demonstrated the futility of resistance, and Hamilton by good judgment and masterly arguments was at last able to marshal a majority of thirty to twenty-seven votes in favor of ratification.

The great contest was over. All the states, except North Carolina and Rhode Island, had ratified. ”The sloop Anarchy,” wrote an ebullient journalist, ”when last heard from was ash.o.r.e on Union rocks.”

The First Election.-In the autumn of 1788, elections were held to fill the places in the new government. Public opinion was overwhelmingly in favor of Was.h.i.+ngton as the first President. Yielding to the importunities of friends, he accepted the post in the spirit of public service. On April 30, 1789, he took the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York City. ”Long live George Was.h.i.+ngton, President of the United States!” cried Chancellor Livingston as soon as the General had kissed the Bible. The cry was caught by the a.s.sembled mult.i.tude and given back. A new experiment in popular government was launched.

References

M. Farrand, The Framing of the Const.i.tution of the United States.

P.L. Ford, Essays on the Const.i.tution of the United States.

The Federalist (in many editions).

G. Hunt, Life of James Madison.

A.C. McLaughlin, The Confederation and the Const.i.tution (American Nation Series).

Questions

1. Account for the failure of the Articles of Confederation.

2. Explain the domestic difficulties of the individual states.

3. Why did efforts at reform by the Congress come to naught?

4. Narrate the events leading up to the const.i.tutional convention.

5. Who were some of the leading men in the convention? What had been their previous training?

6. State the great problems before the convention.

7. In what respects were the planting and commercial states opposed? What compromises were reached?

8. Show how the ”check and balance” system is embodied in our form of government.

9. How did the powers conferred upon the federal government help cure the defects of the Articles of Confederation?

10. In what way did the provisions for ratifying and amending the Const.i.tution depart from the old system?

11. What was the nature of the conflict over ratification?

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