CHAPTER XI. the articles of confederation and the constitution. DIFFICULTIES OF CONFEDERATION.

238. Chaotic Condition at the Outbreak of the War.—As soon as the Declaration of Independence was adopted, the members of Congress saw that some form of general government would be necessary to bind the different parts of the country into common methods. Several of the states now had the advantage of regularly constituted governments; but the Continental Congress was without authority from any source whatever. Its members had been sent together by the different states without any mutual understanding or instructions, and consequently it had no power, except that of war, to enforce its acts.

239. Committee to frame Articles of Confederation.—On the day after the committee was appointed to frame the Declaration, a still larger committee was charged with the duty of preparing some plan of confederation. The difficulties met by this committee were almost insurmountable. The colonies were at that moment engaged in the work of framing permanent constitutions for themselves. Nor did the common cause of the war entirely sweep away the jealous differences between the states. The colonies had been settled by people of differing religious and political beliefs, and they had preferences for differing methods. The smaller colonies feared they would be absorbed, and the larger ones feared they would not have proper representation. The same spirit which made them desire to be free from the rule of the mother country made each state unwilling to be subject to the rule of the other states. As the Declaration of Independence had been aimed against the central authority of Great Britain, it was natural that they should distrust a strong central authority in the government they were about to establish. It was in the face of all these difficulties that the “Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union” were reported by the committee, only eight days after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

240. Difficulties of Agreement.—But the representatives found so many reasons for desiring changes that a final agreement was not reached by Congress until November of 1777. Then the articles had to go to the several states for ratification. The difficulties now seemed greater than ever before. According to the articles, every state was to have an equal vote with every other state, but to this equality of representation the larger states very strongly objected, while the smaller states stubbornly resisted every other method. There were also grave differences of opinion as to the executive branch of the new government.

241. Western Lands.—The ownership of the Western lands was the occasion of one of the most serious difficulties. The boundaries of some of the states were defined by their charters, while those of others were not. Six of the states claimed to extend as far west as the Mississippi River, while Virginia defined her boundary as extending to the northwest so far as to include the region which afterward formed Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The other states held that this territory had all been rescued from the British by common effort, and therefore that it should belong to the nation as a whole. This opinion finally prevailed. At length, after long and hot discussion, New York agreed to cede its Western lands to the general government, and this example was soon imitated by the others, although several states still reserved certain portions of their Western territory. After this concession, New Jersey was the first state to ratify the articles. Others followed so slowly that the ratification was not complete until Maryland signed on March 1, 1781, only a few months before the surrender at Yorktown. The delay shows the difficulty of obtaining even so little central authority as the articles provided for.

242. Weaknesses of the Confederation.—It immediately became evident that the confederation had very serious defects. Though a stronger government at the time could not have been adopted, the one obtained was of little value, except to show that a stronger government was demanded. By its provisions no measure could be taken by Congress without the vote of nine of the thirteen states, and even after the adoption of a measure, the confederation had no power to enforce it. The central government relied upon the individual states to carry out its laws, and the states had the option of enforcing obedience, or not, as they chose. Meantime the states themselves were under no restrictions. They passed revenue laws according to their own interests, and custom-houses had to be multiplied along the state borders. Whenever any tax was called for by Congress, to pay off the Continental troops or for any other purpose, some of the states would enforce its collection and others would not.

243. Dangers shown by Shays’ Rebellion and Other Disturbances.—In New Hampshire an armed force assailed the legislature at Exeter and demanded an issue of paper money. In Massachusetts, the collection of debts and taxes was forcibly resisted. The people in the central part of the state, led by Daniel Shays, collected into a motley army, and not only attacked the arsenal, but kept the state in a turmoil for more than six months. At length “Shays’ Rebellion,” as it was called, was put down by Governor Bowditch (1787), but with difficulty. Not one of the insurgents was punished. The states seemed to be growing farther and farther apart and more and more independent. There was really great danger that this tendency would go on till the United States, like Europe, would be made up of many independent nationalities. As if to make improvement impossible, the framers of the Articles of Confederation had provided that no change in them should be adopted unless agreed to by all the states. The consequence was that whenever any change was proposed, some state objected and the proposal was lost. It was a time of such perplexity and danger that it has been aptly called, “The Critical Period in American History.”

THE CONSTITUTION.

244. First Effort for a Convention.—During all this time Washington, Hamilton, and Madison had been writing letters to show that a change was necessary and to devise a means of bringing it about. At length, the legislature of Virginia issued a call in 1786 for a general convention to meet at Annapolis, Maryland. But the smaller states were very shy of committing themselves to any scheme proposed by any of the larger states, and only five states responded to the call. Of course nothing could be done. The very absence of representatives, however, revealed some of the difficulties of the situation.

245. Second Effort toward a Convention.—The next year another course was adopted and with greater success. The call for the convention was issued by Congress. The purpose of the call was not to frame a new constitution, but to modify the old one. Twelve of the states appointed delegates, Rhode Island, the smallest of the commonwealths, alone standing aloof. The convention met at Philadelphia in May, 1787, and unanimously chose Washington as its president.

246. Ability in the Convention.—This convention was fortunate in having prominent representatives of all classes. Every state sent its best. Of the fifty-five members, twenty-nine had been college bred. Jefferson and John Adams were in Europe. Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry opposed the convention and remained at home. With these exceptions the most eminent men of the country were present. Washington and Franklin, by their general wisdom and great experience, represented the practical judgment of men of affairs. There were John Dickinson, whose Farmer’s Letters had done so much to bring on the Revolution (§ 131), and James Wilson, a Scotchman, one of the most learned jurists the country has ever had. Hamilton and Madison, by their varied and profound knowledge of political history, brought to the convention the advantage of the best types of general scholarship. Hamilton,^[101] though only thirty years of age, was probably the ablest political thinker in the body. But his power was neutralized by the fact that New York, the state which he represented, had opposed the convention, and had sent two delegates to do what they could to prevent success. Hamilton was further handicapped by the extreme nature of his views, for he believed in a much stronger central government than could at that time be adopted.

247. James Madison.—For these reasons, the main guidance of the convention fortunately fell upon James Madison,^[102] a young man less brilliant than Hamilton, but superior to him in the art of estimating what is possible. A graduate of Princeton College, he had been from his youth a devoted student of history, had made himself thoroughly acquainted with all the best books on political science, and had paid particular attention to the republican organizations of Greece, Rome, Switzerland, and Holland. From the time he was twenty-five he had taken a prominent part in the Virginia legislature and in Congress, and he thoroughly understood the weaknesses and difficulties of the Articles of Confederation. His knowledge and experience, though united with a remarkable firmness of purpose, were presented with a kindness and sweetness of manner that commended his views to all his fellow-members. Madison, therefore, was the most influential of the members in giving the Constitution the form in which it was adopted.

248. General Spirit of the Convention.—The delegates brought together the wisdom and experience gained in framing the state constitutions and from observing the prevailing difficulties. The efforts of the convention to amend the Articles of Confederation were doomed to early failure. It was soon decided to abandon them altogether and to frame an entirely new constitution. Here the smaller states caused the greatest difficulty, for they were determined to give as little power as possible to the general government, in order that they might not be overwhelmed or absorbed. In this determination were enlisted not only New York, which was then one of the less important states, but also New Hampshire, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.

249. Representation of Slaves.—Another very serious obstacle was presented by the slave trade and the question of the representation of slaves in Congress. In the early part of the eighteenth century there were about twelve thousand slaves north of Mason and Dixon’s line, and about forty-eight thousand south of it. But at the time of the Constitutional Convention, there were about fifty thousand in the North, and not far from seven hundred thousand in the South. There had been little or no importation of slaves during the war, and the slave system was generally condemned by the best men of the South as well as by those of the North. In their opinion, it was only a question of time when it would cease altogether. But the greater number of slaves in the South made the Southern delegates determined to have them represented, while the North generally opposed such representation.

250. Strength of Central Government.—Another difficulty in the way of agreement was found in the radical differences of opinion between the members as to whether the new government was to be very weak or very strong. This was by far the most important question of all. One party held that the states should still be left with great powers, and should be practically independent; while the opposite party thought that a general government with the essential attributes of an elective monarchy was most needed. There was, however, a very general and a very natural remembrance of the fact that it was the predominating strength of the executive part of the British government that had caused separation, and there was a general disposition to avoid any similar defect.

251. Discussion of the Difficulties.—These various difficulties taxed all the faculties of the members. It sometimes seemed that not another step of progress could be made, and that the delegates would be obliged to abandon the task and go home. As discussion advanced, it became evident that no agreement could be made except through a general spirit of conciliation and compromise. The convention sat with closed doors, and for four months considered the stupendous difficulties that confronted them. At length, on the 17th day of September, 1787, they agreed upon a constitution and adjourned. It was to go into effect when ratified by the conventions of nine states.

252. Four Great Lines of Compromise.—The Constitution was built upon a basis of four great lines of mutual concession.

First, the smaller states were brought to agreement by being allowed the same representation in the Senate as the larger states; while the larger states were satisfied by being allowed to send to the House of Representatives a number of delegates to be determined by the number of inhabitants.

Second, the question of the representation of slavery in Congress was finally adjusted by providing that for determining the number of representatives of each state, Congress should add to the number of freemen three-fifths of all persons held to service. Congress was also prohibited from abolishing the foreign slave trade before 1808.

Third, the advocates of a strong central government came to an agreement with the advocates of a weak one by allowing the dividing line between the authority of the central government and of the several states to be somewhat vaguely defined, and by leaving such definition to the course of future events. It is probable that if either side had insisted on putting into words a statement authorizing its interpretation, no agreement could have been reached. This uncertainty of interpretation, though apparently necessary to an agreement on the Constitution, might be called the fundamental cause of the Civil War in 1861.

Fourth, while the President, by being made commander in chief of the army and being intrusted with the enforcement of all laws, was given great authority, he was put under rigid constitutional checks in numerous ways. In case he should exceed his authority, he could be impeached by the House of Representatives and tried by the Senate; and in case of conviction, removed from office. It was further provided that in all cases whatsoever involving differences of opinion regarding the Constitution, the Supreme Court should render authoritative decision. This authority of the Supreme Court was the most marked peculiarity of the Constitution.

253. Characteristics of the Constitution.—On the basis of these mutual concessions, the Constitution was finally adopted. It provided for three departments of government: the Legislative, to make the laws; the Executive, to execute the laws; and the Judicial, to define the laws in case of dispute. The legislature consisted of the House of Representatives, the members of which were to be chosen for two years by the people of the several states; and the Senate, consisting of two members from each state, who were to be chosen for a term of six years. The executive officer was to be a President, elected for a term of four years, by electors chosen by the people of the several states, each state to have as many electors as it had members in the Senate and the House of Representatives together. To the President was also given legislative influence through the right of veto. The judiciary was to consist of a Supreme Court, and such other courts as Congress might provide for. The judges were to be appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate, and were to hold office during good behavior. In case of misdemeanor they could be removed by impeachment. The authority given to the Supreme Court to declare acts of Congress contrary to the Constitution, and therefore null and void, was a new element in government and made the court stronger than any other court in existence. Jefferson returned from Europe just after the completion of the work of the convention, and was almost panic stricken by fear that the plan of government, if adopted by the states, would allow, if not even encourage, the establishment of monarchy. It was many years before Jefferson’s fears were allayed. The general wisdom of these provisions, however, has been acknowledged by the whole world.

254. Attitude of the States.—After the adoption of the Constitution by the convention, it went to the several states for ratification, and during the winter of 1787–1788 conventions in the respective commonwealths had the question of adoption under consideration. Its ratification was most strenuously opposed in Virginia, in New York, and in Rhode Island. Patrick Henry was the most eloquent of these opponents, his opposition being founded on the belief that the general government would gradually grow so strong as to interfere with the governments of the individual states. Of the states unfavorable to the Constitution, New Hampshire was the first to yield, in June, 1788. New York and Virginia soon followed. Rhode Island and North Carolina held out, and the Constitution went into effect without their consent. In order to satisfy those who thought the Federal government had too much power, ten amendments to the Constitution, embodying a Bill of Rights designed to restrict those powers, were adopted in 1791. The final adoption of the Constitution was brought about very largely through the influence of a remarkable series of letters written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, and afterward collected into the volume known as The Federalist.

255. Washington, the First President.—When, soon after the adoption of the Constitution, the first general election was held, it was found that every elector voted for Washington, who was therefore unanimously elected as the first President. John Adams, having the next number of votes, was elected Vice President. On April 30, 1789, they were inaugurated on the balcony of the Federal Building, on Wall Street, New York City, which was then the seat of government.

256. Ordinance for governing the Northwest.—While the Constitutional Convention was in session at Philadelphia, the Congress of the Confederation was in session in New York City. On the 30th of July, 1787, Congress passed the memorable “Ordinance for the Organization of Government in the Northwest,” that vast and important territory which now comprises the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and a part of Minnesota. This ordinance established among others four provisions of fundamental importance, which have contributed immensely to the development of the North Central states. These four fundamental provisions were the following:—

1. “Slavery and involuntary servitude shall forever be excluded.” This provision exempted the region from those perplexing discussions which afterward troubled Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska.

2. “Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary for the welfare of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.” In this provision common schools, high schools, normal schools, and universities found their constitutional justification, and accordingly, in all the states formed from the Northwest Territory, schools of all grades have been supported by taxation. The example thus set has been followed by all the states since admitted to the Union.

3. “The navigable rivers leading into the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between them, shall be common highways and forever free.” This provision secured that freedom of communication between the states which has encouraged very rapid material growth.

4. “The inhabitants shall forever enjoy religious freedom, the habeas corpus, trial by jury, and equal civil and political privileges.” This provision not only secured perfect independence of religious thought, but protected all the people, immigrants as well as others, in the enjoyment of political freedom.

Though the binding authority of this ordinance was subsequently declared by the Supreme Court to have been superseded by the adoption of the Constitution, its influence on the development of the Northwest was unquestionably very great.

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