Shaping a Federal Union: The United States Constitution The Early American Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, and the Issues and Arguments Surrounding the Constitution, the Ratification, and the Bill of Rights

History 141 Fall 2009

Jacob R. Gogan Pima Community College Tucson, Arizona

Table Of Contents Introduction I.

The Early American Confederation A. The Articles of Confederation strengths and weaknesses B. Finance C. Early American trade and economy D. Shays Rebellion

II.

The Constitutional Convention A. Date/Time B. Delegates C. Basic principles

III.

Issues and Arguments A. Equal Representation 1. James Madison’s “Virginia Plan” 2. James Patterson’s “New Jersey Plan” 3. Roger Sherman’s “Great Compromise” B. Slavery 1. 3/5 Compromise 2. Slave Trade C. The Separation of Powers 1. The Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches 2. Checks and Balances D. Other Issues 1. Article VI 2. Ex Post Facto Laws

IV.

Ratification and the Bill of Rights A. Federalist vs. anti-Federalists B. The Bill of Rights

Conclusion

Bibliography "ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION,," History.com, http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=201577 (accessed Nov 30, 2009). Buel, Richard Jr.. Securing the Revolution: Ideology in American Politics, 1789-1815.. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1972. "CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES,." 2009. History.com. 30 Nov 2009, 09:31 http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=206382. Marilyn, Miller. Words That Built A Nation. U.S.: Stonesong Press, 1999. Pevy, Leonard W., and Dennis J. Mahoney. The Framing and Ratification of the Constitution. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987. Shi, David, and George Tindall. America: A Narrative History, Seventh Edition, Volume 1 (America: A Narrative History). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”1

Jacob Shallus, an assistant clerk to the Pennsylvania General Assembly, penned these words nearly 222 years ago. This preamble established a government for the people and by the people. The United States Constitution is the shortest and oldest written constitution still in circulation today. The founding fathers of the American nation established this Constitution during the infancy of America, yet its poetic rhetoric still echoes in the minds of millions of Americans. The revolutionary American government drafted the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union but soon saw its flaws. Prominent American patriots, merchants, philosophers, and politicians would soon begin drafting a new and different document. The beauty of the experiment, that is the constitution, is that despite regional differences at the time Americans could compromise and unite to forge one of the greatest documents pertaining to government of all time. Before the Constitutional Convention convened on September 17, 1787, early Americans were governed by the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. The Articles of Confederation lasted just seven shorts years from 1781-1787. The Articles of Confederation had many glaring weaknesses which would eventually lead to its demise. Under the Articles of Confederation American government took the form of a unicameral legislature. There were no executive or judicial branches as well as no administrative head of government. The closest thing the Articles of Confederation had to a president was the President of Congress, which during 1781 was Robert Morris of Pennsylvania. The Articles of Confederation limited the 1

"CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES,." 2009. History.com. 30 Nov 2009, 09:31 http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=206382.

power of the congress to foreign affairs, questions of war and peace, disputes between states, coinage, the postal service, Indian affairs, and western territories; however, congress had no courts which lead to an inability to enforce resolution and ordinances, no power to levy taxes, and no concrete system of checks and balances. The Articles of Confederation also required nine states to approve measures dealing with war, treaties, coinage, finances, and the armed forces; also it required unanimous approval by the states in order to levy tariffs on imports and make amendments to the Articles. The first issue that arose from the Articles of Confederation was that of American finance. As stated before, the Articles of Confederation gave government no power to levy taxes. The President of Congress, Robert Morris, wanted to make congress more powerful by establishing a federal bank. In 1781 Morris was granted a congressional charter for the Bank of North America. This bank was established to hold government money and issue government currency. Morris’s plan for the Bank of North America would cease to exist after it failed to gain the unanimous approval required to make amendments to the Articles. Even in the first year of its existence the Articles of Confederation began to seem to many Americans a government that could not continue to exist. With the overwhelming debt of the American Revolution still lingering “the government debt, domestic and foreign, grew from $11 million to $28 million as congress paid off citizens’ and soldiers’ claims.”2 The years following the American Revolution were harsh to the infant American economy. Before the Revolutionary Way American’s livelihood was dependent upon British trade markets. After the American victory British policy excluded Americans from all British trade markets. This proved detrimental to a plethora of different professions. Merchants and 2

Shi, David, and George Tindall. America: A Narrative History, Seventh Edition, Volume 1 (America: A Narrative History). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.

artisans had to find new markets to conduct business, and farmers were oppressed with decreases in crop prices and mounting debts due to the loss of British markets. New markets meant American goods would be higher priced; thus, many Americans turned to foreign goods rather than that of American goods. The Articles of Confederation could not levy any tariffs on imports which resulted in American merchants and artisans to demand a stronger central government that could regulate foreign and domestic trade.

Also during this time Americans

were faced with a shortage of cash and other various economic difficulties. Farmers were directly affected following the Revolutionary war. These farmers saw their crop prices decrease and in turn began to amount massive amounts of debt which lead to farms being foreclosed. “In 1785-1786 seven states (Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Georgia, and north Carolina) all issued some form of paper money.”3 This newly acquired money provided little relief for farmers. The water finally boiled over for the Articles of Confederation on February 3, 1787. Captain Daniel Shays, an angered farmer and war veteran, followed by a posse of some 1,200 malcontent farmers laid siege to a federal arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts. Shays’ demands resembled that of most farmers during the 1780s. He wanted a more flexible monetary policy, relief from foreclosure until the depression ended, as well as the ability to use corn and wheat as money. Shay’s rebellion was short lived, but it planted a seed of doubt in the Articles of Confederation. It was at this time that many members of the political elite began to view the

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Shi, David, and George Tindall. America: A Narrative History, Seventh Edition, Volume 1 (America: A Narrative History). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.

Articles of Confederation as obsolete. “In 1787 Congress passed a resolution endorsing a convention for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.”4 So finally on May 25, 1787, with George Washington serving as the presiding office over the conventional, forty-two delegates at one time or another from all thirteen colonies with the exception of Rhode Island began to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates came from all walks of life; they were planters, merchants, lawyers, judges, bankers, and many of them had some form of education in either history, law, or political philosophy. Among the delegates at the convention were famous revolutionaries such as Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, George Mason, James Wilson, Roger Sherman and John Dickinson. Those notably absent from the convention were Patrick Henry, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and John Jay. When it came to the fundamental principles regarding government most delegates agreed that “government derives its just powers from the consent of the people, but that society must be protected from the tyranny of the majority; that the people at large must have a voice in their government but that checks and balances must be provided to keep any one group from dominating; that a stronger central authority was essential but that all power was subject to abuse.”5 The first real issue that arose during the Constitutional Convention was that of equal representation. Two plans were presented during the convention one from the young James Madison, “The Virginia Plan”, and the other from James Patterson, “The New Jersey Plan”. Madison’s Virginia Plan would have three separate branches, an executive, legislative, and judicial. His plan would make it so that the national government laws would be binding to not 4

Marilyn, Miller. Words That Built A Nation. U.S.: Stonesong Press, 1999.

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Shi, David, and George Tindall. America: A Narrative History, Seventh Edition, Volume 1 (America: A Narrative History). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.

only every state but every citizen as well. There would be a bicameral legislature in which the lower house would be chosen by popular vote while the upper house would be elected by state legislatures. Paterson’s New Jersey Plan took on a different shape. He called for a unicameral congress in which each state would have equal representation. Under the New Jersey Plan congress would be able to levy taxes, regulate commerce, establish a supreme court, and name a plural executive with no veto power. These two plans led to the issue of whether to apportion congressional representation by population or by state. This pitted the bigger states such as Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York against those smaller states such as Connecticut, Delaware, and New Jersey. It was this split that lead to one of the most decisive decisions in American History. Roger Sherman of Connecticut proposed a resolution to the problem, which is now known as the Great Compromise. He proposed that there be a bicameral legislature where the House of Representatives would be apportioned based on population, while the Senate would have equal representation among the states. This compromise solved the first major issued regarding equal representation among larger and smaller states. It was not until the 13th Amendment in 1865 that the institution of slavery was abolished in America. During this time many of the delegates owned slaves. The idea of abolishing slavery was not brought up during the convention; however, slaves were an issue at the Constitutional Convention. Most delegates both north and south agreed with South Carolina’s John Rutledge when he asserted “Religion and humanity [have] nothing to do with this [slavery] question. Interest alone is the governing principle of nations.”6 Without much argument the delegates of the convention agreed upon the three-fifths compromise. The three-fifths compromised basically states that for every five slaves that will 6

Shi, David, and George Tindall. America: A Narrative History, Seventh Edition, Volume 1 (America: A Narrative History). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.

generate three people added to the population. This compromise gave southerners a greater population for apportionment in the house but also a greater share of direct taxes. With the three-fifths compromise behind them the delegates were now faced with a slightly more delicate matter. Countries like Great Britain had already outlawed slave trade from Africa, and during the convention the southern and northern states were again split on this issue. Southern states depended on slave labor and the slave trade; while, the northern states were starting to become a more independent and manufacturing region. Some states at this time had already outlawed slave trade with Africa at this time. The delegates finally settled and compromised. Slave trade would not become illegal until 1808, but the government would levy a ten dollar head tax on each imported slave.7 Finally the delegates were on their way. They had sufficed the demands of small and large states; they had reached mutual agreements concerning slaver between the southern and northern states. The next thing on the agenda for the Constitutional Convention was to create separation of powers between the three branches of government. It is at this time that we see the beginning of our modern day government. The first branch discussed is that of the legislative branch. The Great Compromise meant that there was to be a bicameral legislature. The House of Representatives, or the lower house, was designed to be closer to the voters. These government officials would be elected by popular vote every two years. The upper house, or Senate, was supposed to be more isolated then their legislative counterpart; therefore, the elections for the Senate were to be every six years and staggered. By doing this the delegates

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Shi, David, and George Tindall. America: A Narrative History, Seventh Edition, Volume 1 (America: A Narrative History). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.

assured that no majority would be easily attainable, and that the member of the Senate would be freer from public scandal and influence.8 With the legislative branch of government settled the delegates then shifted their focus to the Executive Branch. The idea of a single person controlling the executive branch unnerved many delegates. George Mason of Virginia argued that having a single person in control of the executive branch would create a “fetus of monarchy.”9 Nevertheless the delegates made sure to not give the executive branch. It is at this time during the Constitutional Convention that the idea of checks and balances arises. Checks and balances arose because the delegates feared and oppressive single head of government similar to the monarchy of Great Britain. The delegates were very critical and meticulous with the deliberation of powers between the three branches of government. The president could veto acts of the congress; however, this veto could again be overturned if a 2/3 vote was agreed upon by both houses. With the title of president also comes the title of commander of chief of the armed forces, and the president is also in charge of carrying out laws. The office of the executive branch also was the power to make treaties, appoint judges, diplomats, and various officers baring a 2/3 majority from the Senate. The delegates withheld from the executive branch the ability to declare war and pieces, and more noteworthy the president can be removed from office, the British monarchy could not. It was these types of compromises that created a system of checks and balances in the federal

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Pevy, Leonard W., and Dennis J. Mahoney. The Framing and Ratification of the Constitution. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987.

Shi, David, and George Tindall. America: A Narrative History, Seventh Edition, Volume 1 (America: A Narrative History). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.

government. This system of checks and balances assures that the American government will never theoretically have a corrupt branch of government.10 The last branch discussed is that of the Judicial Branch. Most delegates at the convention agreed that having a federal court system was prudent; hence, the idea of the judicial branch brought fourth little debate. Both plans presented to the convention, the Virginia Plan and New Jersey plan, called for a supreme court. Other than the establishment of the court and the establishment of the chief justice not much more was deliberated on the issue. The number of justices in the year 2009 is nine, but given the proper legislation the number can fluctuate. With the three branches established the delegates would be on their way to forming a permanent federal government.11 There are two more essential issues that were dealt with during the Constitutional convention. As mentioned earlier the Articles of Confederation were too weak. To deal with this problem the delegates wrote in Article VI. Article VI states that the Constitution is the “supreme Law of the Land;” meaning that no state constitution or law can overrule the Constitution. The last issue that shaped the constitution was to forbid Congress to pass ex post facto laws. Ex post facto laws are laws that are put in effect after a crime has been committed. Meaning that hypothetically if stealing wasn’t illegal and you stole something you would be free, but with ex post facto laws you could steal something and it wasn’t illegal but Congress could then pass a law and charge you for stealing even though you stole before the law was passed. There were many more issues that surrounded the forming of the Constitution, and at the time many delegates as well as citizens were skeptical of the Constitution. The Constitution was 10

Shi, David, and George Tindall. America: A Narrative History, Seventh Edition, Volume 1 (America: A Narrative History). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. 11 Shi, David, and George Tindall. America: A Narrative History, Seventh Edition, Volume 1 (America: A Narrative History). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.

signed by thirty-nine American Patriots, but George Washington himself told delegates after the convention adjourned that, “I do not expect the Constitution to last for more than twenty years.”12 George Washington was mindful he knew that times change, people change, and that the Constitution would still have to be ratified by the states. And so it was done. The Constitution was signed, sealed, and delivered, but now the Constitution would have to be ratified by at least nine states to be put into effect. Copies of the Constitution were sent to various state legislatures, and it is during this time that the first forms of political parties came about in American history. Federalists, also known as Nationalists, were advocates of the Constitution. They preferred the idea of a strong central government. Federalists were usually from more urban areas, and were generally well-educated. On the other side, there were the anti-Federalists who favored a more decentralized system of government. Tending to be men of more rural areas they saw little to gain from the gain from the idea of interstate commerce, and much to lose from the addition of paper money and other laws. Famous Federalists include Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Their antiFederalist counterparts include Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, and Richard Henry Lee. Members of the Federalist Party would eventually publish essays entitled, “The Federalist” in 1787 to help persuade those anti-Federalists to ratify the Constitution. Many antiFederalists feared that the newly formed government would become oppressive and corrupt, but Madison argued otherwise when he published his essay Number 10. “Extend the sphere and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the

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Shi, David, and George Tindall. America: A Narrative History, Seventh Edition, Volume 1 (America: A Narrative History). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.

whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens.”13 Madison’s essay, Number 10, stated that based on the sheer size and scope of the United States no single group or minority could possibly hold a tyrannical majority. The split between Federalists and antiFederalists would remain for decades, but the parties agreed that the Constitution was in the best interest of the nation. The last issue in the way of the Constitution serving as the governing force of the United States was the idea of a Bill of Rights. Patrick Henry, a revered patriots and back country farmer, voiced the opinion of many farmers by conveying the fear that the new government may take powers away from the citizens. Henry argued that a declaration of rights must be forged before he and his fellow Virginians would ratify such a document. The first ten amendments of the Constitution were thus created and are now know as the Bill of Rights. With citizens feeling more at ease with the addition of ten specific and outlined rights the fight for ratification continued. It took three long years to ratify the Constitution, but eventually all thirteen states, even Rhode Island, would ratify the Constitution. On October 10, 1788 the Constitution became much more than words; it became the basis of republican government, and even today it is still the governing force behind American government. Nearly 222 years later, and the United States Constitution is still in effect. It is still the governing force behind American government and politics. It is still the law of the land; it is still a government for the people by the people. It is a symbol of America just as much as the stars and stripes. The delegates at that Constitutional Conventional in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were men of tremendous character and tremendous thought. Since the signing of the Constitution, twenty-seven amendments have been added to the Constitution. That is the beauty 13

Shi, David, and George Tindall. America: A Narrative History, Seventh Edition, Volume 1 (America: A Narrative History). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.

of its creation. Its ideas and principles stand firm while its amendments and laws can change with the growth of a nation. The United States Constitution is the shortest and oldest written constitution still in circulation today, and even in moderate day America its principles and virtues prove to be as vibrant and idealistic as the first day of its ratification with the Bill of Rights.