Benson John Lossing

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jealousies of the states—weakness of congress—views of washington and his compatriots—washington's letter to james warren on the confederation—conference at mount vernon—washington suggests a national commercial convention—hamilton's views of the confederation—the continentalist—hamilton recommends a general convention of states to amend the confederation—seconded by the new york legislature—letter of jay to washington—washington's reply—an impending crisis—washington's second letter to jay—washington's influence in his retirement—convention at annapolis a failure—another recommended—washington appointed a delegate from virginia—he hesitates—congress recommends a convention—washington accepts the appointment and proceeds to philadelphia.

We have had occasion, from time to time, to notice the jealousies of individual states toward the continental Congress during the war, and the consequent weakness of that body, as an executive of the will of the people, at times when strength and energetic action were most needed.

It was with great difficulty that the states were brought to agree to the Articles of Confederation, and nothing but the pressure of a common danger, which required unity of action, could have induced them to surrender even so much of their individual sovereignty as those articles required. When, therefore, the common danger had passed, and the people felt security in the pursuits of peace, sectional and provincial pride began to operate powerfully in dissolving the union of the states. The Congress, doubtful of their power, and but little relied upon by the great mass of the people as an instrument for the promotion of national prosperity, were incompetent to execute treaties, to regulate commerce, or to provide for the payment of debts contracted for the confederation, amounting in the aggregate, foreign and domestic, to a little more than forty millions of dollars. And that body itself was often distracted by party dissentions, and rendered powerless to exercise even its acknowledged authority, through disagreement.

To Washington and other sagacious minds, the Articles of Confederation had been regarded as essentially defective as a system of government, long before the war had ceased. They perceived the necessity for a greater centralization of power in the general government; and that necessity became painfully apparent when peace came, and the people of the several states found themselves in the condition of independent sovereignty. The system of credit for the extinction of the national debt, and to provide for the national expenditures, devised by the Congress, was tardily accepted by most of the states, and utterly neglected by others. Local interests and prejudices were consulted instead of the national welfare; treaty stipulations were disregarded, and the confederation became, in many respects, a dead letter.

“The confederation appears to me,” Washington wrote to James Warren, in October, 1785, “to be little more than a shadow without the substance, and Congress a nugatory body, their ordinances being little attended to. To me it is a solecism in politics, indeed, it is one of the most extraordinary things in nature, that we should confederate as a nation, and yet be afraid to give the rulers of that nation (who are the creatures of our own making, appointed for a limited and short duration, and who are amenable for every action, and may be recalled at any moment, and are subject to all the evils which they may be instrumental in producing) sufficient powers to order and direct the affairs of the same. By such policy as this the wheels of government are clogged, and our brightest prospects, and that high expectation which was entertained of us by the wondering world, are turned into astonishment; and, from the high ground on which we stood, we are descending into the vale of confusion and darkness.

“That we have it in our power to become one of the most respectable nations upon earth, admits, in my humble opinion, of no doubt, if we would but pursue a wise, just, and liberal policy toward one another, and keep good faith with the rest of the world. That our resources are ample and increasing, none can deny; but while they are grudgingly applied, or not applied at all, we give a vital stab to public faith, and shall sink, in the eyes of Europe, into contempt.

“It has long been a speculative question among philosophers and wise men, whether foreign commerce is of real advantage to any country; that is, whether the luxury, effeminacy, and corruptions, which are introduced along with it, are counterbalanced by the convenience and wealth which it brings. But the decision of this question is of very little importance to us. We have abundant reason to be convinced, that the spirit of trade which pervades these states, is not to be restrained. It behooves us, then, to establish just principles; and this can not, any more than other matters of national concerns, be done by thirteen heads differently constructed and organized. The necessity, therefore, of a controlling power is obvious; and why it should be withheld is beyond my comprehension.”

A little earlier than this, Washington had been engaged in grave discussions at Mount Vernon, with commissioners who had been appointed by the assemblies of Virginia and Maryland, to form a compact in relation to the navigation of the Potomac and Pocomoke rivers, and a part of Chesapeake bay. During the conference he suggested the idea of a conjunction of the several states in arrangements of a commercial nature, over which the Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, had no control. In this suggestion lay the kernel of future most important action, which finally led to the great result of a convention of the states, the abandonment of the old confederation, and the adoption of the Federal Constitution.

But earlier far than this, one of the most extraordinary young men of the last century—indeed, of any century—had, with wonderful sagacity, perceived the evils that would naturally be developed by a weak central government, and had pleaded eloquently with the people to give the Congress more power. That young man was Alexander Hamilton, who, as early as 1781, put forth his views on the subject in a series of papers, under the title of The Continentalist. He was then only twenty-four years of age, yet no man in the country appeared to have clearer views of what constituted true national policy, than he. Indeed, he spoke with the wisdom of a statesman of threescore years; and with Washington and others he deeply lamented the mischievous effects of the practical influence of the doctrine of state rights in its ultra phases. “An extreme jealousy of power,” he said, “is the attendant of all popular revolutions, and has seldom been without its evils. It is to this source we are to trace many of the fatal mistakes which have so deeply endangered the common cause; particularly that defect—a want of power in Congress.”

The Continentalist was published in the New York Packet, printed at Fishkill, in Duchess county, and the series were devoted chiefly to a discussion of the defects of the confederation. They excited great local and general interest; and finally Hamilton succeeded in having the subject of a general convention brought before the New York legislature, in 1782, while in session at Poughkeepsie. The idea Was a popular one with them, and on Sunday, the twenty-first of July, 1782, that body passed a series of resolutions, in the last of which it was remarked, “that it is essential to the common welfare, that there should be as soon as possible, a conference of the whole on the subject, and that it would be advisable for this purpose to propose to Congress to recommend, and to each state to adopt, the measure of assembling a GENERAL CONVENTION OF THE STATES, specially authorized to revise and amend the CONFEDERATION, reserving the right to the respective legislatures to ratify their determination.”

1786

This recommendation was pondered in other states, but the public authorities were not ready to adopt it. At length the suggestion of Washington, concerning a general commercial convention, was acted upon by the Virginia legislature. That action drew a letter from John Jay to Washington, in March, 1786, in which he said:—

“Experience has pointed out errors in our national government which call for correction, and which threaten to blast the fruit we expected from our tree of liberty. The correction proposed by Virginia may do some good, and would, perhaps, do more if it comprehended more objects. An opinion begins to prevail that a general convention for revising the Articles of Confederation would be expedient. Whether the people are yet ripe for such a measure, or whether the system proposed to be attained by it is only to be expected from calamity and commotion, is difficult to ascertain. I think we are in a delicate situation, and a variety of considerations and circumstances give me uneasiness.”

To this Washington responded in May, saying: “I coincide perfectly in sentiment with you, my dear sir, that there are errors in our national government which call for correction; loudly, I would add; but I shall find myself happily mistaken, if the remedies are at hand. We are certainly in a delicate situation; but my fear is, that the people are not yet sufficiently misled to retract from error. To be plain, I think there is more wickedness than ignorance mixed in our councils. Under this impression I scarcely know what opinion to entertain of a general convention. That it is necessary to revise and amend the Articles of Confederation, I entertain no doubt; but what may be the consequences of such an attempt, is doubtful. Yet something must be done, or the fabric must fall, for it certainly is tottering.”

It was the general impression, at that time, that an alarming crisis in public affairs was at hand, and during the whole summer of 1786, Washington was in constant correspondence with leading minds in different parts of the country. To Jay he again wrote in August, saying:—

His sentiments and opinions did have great weight, and in his retirement at Mount Vernon, Washington exercised a most powerful influence. To the patriotic and thoughtful, his words were oracular, and the ear of the nation leaned in earnest silence toward Mount Vernon at that crisis, to catch the faintest whisper from the lips of the retired soldier, who was about to emerge as a sagacious statesman.

In September, 1786, commissioners met at Annapolis, at the suggestion of the legislature of Virginia, “to take into consideration the trade of the United States,” and “to report to the several states such an act relative to this great object, as, when unanimously ratified by them,” would enable “the United States in Congress assembled,” effectually to provide for such a uniform system in their commercial relations as might be necessary to their common interest and their social harmony.

Only five states (Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York) were represented in the convention. The deputies assembled on the eleventh, and appointed John Dickenson, of Pennsylvania, chairman. A committee was appointed to prepare a draft of a report to be made to the legislatures of the several states there represented. That committee reported on the fourteenth, when, as a majority of the states were not represented in the convention, it was thought advisable to postpone further action. They adjourned, after recommending to the several states the appointment of deputies to meet in convention for a similar purpose, in May following. They also prepared a letter to Congress, to accompany a copy of the report to the several states represented, in which the defects of the Articles of Confederation were set forth.

When the Virginia assembly met, they resolved to appoint seven delegates to represent that state in the proposed convention, and placed Washington's name at the head of the list of deputies selected. The appointment was made by the unanimous voice of the assembly, and the fact was first communicated to him by Mr. Madison. Washington was embarrassed. He heartily approved of the measure, and was willing to leave the retirement of private life for a season, to serve his country in a dark and critical hour; but he could not do so at that time, without being obnoxious to the charge of inconsistency, and of disrespect to a class of his fellow-citizens, who, above all others, he most loved.

“I presume you have heard, sir,” he said to Madison, “that I was first appointed, and have since been re-chosen, president of the society of the Cincinnati; and you may have understood, also, that the triennial general meeting of this body is to be held in Philadelphia the first Monday in May next. Some particular reasons, combining with the peculiar situation of my private concerns, the necessity of paying attention to them, a wish for retirement and relaxation from public cares, and rheumatic pains which I begin to feel very sensibly, induced me to address a circular letter to each state society, informing them of my intention not to be at the next meeting, and of my desire not to be re-chosen president.”

Under these circumstances, and as the convention was to assemble at the same place and at about the same time, he felt that he ought to decline serving, for he could not appear there without giving offence to the members of the society. They might, with reason, have grounds for suspecting his sincerity, or even of his having deserted the officers who had so nobly supported him during the war for independence. He, therefore, in reply to the governor's official notification of his appointment, expressed a wish that some other gentleman should be substituted for himself.

Washington did not absolutely refuse to serve, and Governor Randolph suggested that perhaps before the time for the assembling of the convention the objections in his mind might be removed. His name was therefore continued at the head of the Virginia convention.

Time moved on, and the subject of the convention of the states occupied a large place in the public mind. Washington received many letters. Some of these from his warm, personal friends expressed doubts of the propriety of his attending the convention, and others advised against it. Some thought that, as it did not originate with the supreme legislature, acting under the articles of confederation which that convention was called to revise, it would be illegal; and those who were very tender of Washington's character, and had doubts concerning the results of such convention, advised against his going, as his brilliant reputation might suffer, should the whole affair prove abortive; while others, having heard insinuations that the opposers of the convention were monarchists, advised his going, to show that he favored it, and to give the weight of his name to a really republican movement in which the best interests of his country were involved.

Circumstances did finally occur which removed all objections from Washington's mind. The Congress legalized the convention by a resolution which declared it expedient, and fixing the day for its meeting. That day was the second Monday in May, and was chosen in reference to the general meeting of the society of the Cincinnati, which was to take place a week earlier, that, thereby, Washington might be allowed to meet with his brothers of the fraternity if he chose. Another circumstance was the insinuation just alluded to, that the opponents of the convention were monarchists, who were willing to have the difficulties and dangers of the country increase, under the weak control of the confederation, until republicanism should become hateful to the people; and a third circumstance was a dangerous insurrection in Massachusetts which had grown out of efforts to enforce federal laws. Washington was unwilling to be classed among the opponents of the convention, or to remain inactive, while violence was assuming to defy all law, and when an era of anarchy in his country seemed about to dawn. Added to these considerations, and the sanction of the convention by law, his friends, whose minds had been changed in the course of a few months, now urged him, by every consideration of patriotism, to come forth from his retirement, for the salvation of the country depended in a great measure upon his exertions. Washington no longer hesitated, and prepared to go to the convention at the head of the Virginia deputies.

He resolved not to go uninformed upon the great subject that would engage the attention of that body, and he commenced a course of preparation. “His knowledge of the institutions of his country and of its political forms,” says Sparks, “both in their general character and minute affiliated relations, gained by inquiry and long experience, was probably as complete as that of any other man. But he was not satisfied with this alone. He read the history and examined the principles of the ancient and modern confederacies. There is a paper in his handwriting which contains an abstract of each, and in which are noted, in a methodical order, their chief characteristics, the kinds of authority they possessed, their modes of operation, and their defects. The confederacies analyzed in this paper are the Lycian, Amphictyonic, AchÆn, Helvetic, Belgic, and Germanic. He also read the standard works on general politics and the science of government, abridging parts of them, according to his usual practice, that he might impress the essential points more deeply on his mind.” He resolved to do all in his power, in that convention, to affect a radical cure of the political maladies with which his country was afflicted.

Washington set out from Mount Vernon on the ninth of May, in his carriage, for Philadelphia, to attend the convention. He arrived at Chester on the thirteenth, and was there met by General Mifflin (who was then the speaker of the Pennsylvania assembly), Generals Knox and Varnum, Colonels Humphreys and Meigs, and Majors Jackson and Nicholas, by whom he was escorted toward Philadelphia. At Gray's ferry, on the Schuylkill, a company of light-horse under Colonel Miles met and escorted him into the city, when the bells were rung in honor of his arrival. On the pressing invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Morris, he took lodgings with them; and as soon as the dust of travel could be removed, he called upon Doctor Franklin, who was at that time president of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The following day was the time appointed for the assembling of the convention.