USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement of the colony to the adoption of the present constitution, vol. II > Part 39
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The vote of the committee, placing both branches of the legislature upon the same basis, of numerical representation, was especially offensive to the minority. Patterson, of New Jersey, Lansing, of New York, and others, representing the smaller states, had therefore performed the double duty of
-
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DEBATE CONTINUED.
[1787.]
attending the debates, and preparing, as they found time, a system that embodied the sentiments of a portion of the minority which had been voted down.
As soon as the Virginia scheme, as amended by the com- mittee, had been brought before the convention, this new one, then and since known as the "New Jersey Plan," was exhibited by Patterson. This scheme was as unlike the one already reported as could well be conceived. It proposed to retain the old Continental Congress, giving to it power to levy duties on imported goods, impose taxes, and regulate trade with other nations. By its provisions, the executive was to consist of more than one person ; a federal judiciary was to be instituted, and acts of Congress and treaties made with foreign powers were to be the supreme law .*
It is not at all probable that either Patterson, or any of the other gentlemen who advocated the "New Jersey Plan," expected that it could ever receive, in the shape in which it was presented, the approbation of the convention. However, it served as a protest against the Virginia Plan, and certainly contained some provisions and embodied some principles of a highly important character, which in a modified form still survive in the Constitution of the United States, and give to it much of that solidity and at the same time expansive elas- ticity, which are so well adapted to the wants of our grow- ing millions and constantly increasing territory.
As must have been anticipated, the two plans of govern- ment were referred to a new committee of the whole, and subjected to the ordeal of debate. While this discussion was going on, and waxing more and more warm, a new party appeared in the field, and with a fearlessness that amazed the contending factions, offered battle to them both. This knight, bearing a "banner with a strange device," was Alex- ander Hamilton. Not only did he dissent from the Virginia and the New Jersey systems, but he differed from the other New York delegates. He did not dare to trust the govern- ment in the hands of the people. He was afraid of republics,
* Hildreth, iii. 492.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
and dreaded the shifting and changeable Proteus, called demo- cracy. He therefore proposed, that as the people had grown up under the firm rule of the British constitution, the new form of government should approach as nearly to that model as would be consistent with the character of our inhabitants and the multiform interests of the state governments. He desired that the executive and the second branch of the national legislature should be appointed during good behavior. He proposed that the executive should be called governor; that the senate should be chosen by electors whom the peo- ple should select; that the first branch of the national legis- lature should be chosen by the people, with a three years' term of office; that the governors should be appointed by the national legislature, and have the power of vetoing all the laws enacted by the state legislatures. Hamilton advo- cated this impracticable system, with an ability worthy of a better cause. Fortunately it was that there were in the convention so many delegates who had no theories either to adopt or to approximate, but who saw in the preservation of the state legislatures the principal safe-guard of the national government. To the smaller states, this one feature in the Hamilton plan would have been total destruction, and to the general government, a certain instrument of suicide.
After making a speech in favor of his plan, and submitting a sketch of it in writing, he left the convention for a period of six weeks. The new system found few friends. The New Jersey plan fared little better ; and after a short discus- sion, the vote in favor of the Virginia scheme, as amended, obtained a very decided majority. Connecticut voted unani- mously for reporting, as before, the Virginia plan to the con- vention.
The debate was now resumed before the convention with fresh vigor, and every detail of the proposed constitution was subjected to the closest examination and severest criticism. The old wound that had been partially healed-the danger that the small states would be overwhelmed and lose their individual sovereignty-was soon made to bleed afresh. To
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A NEW NAME.
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allay the excitement, Ellsworth made a motion that the words, "government of the United States," should be sub- stituted for the offensive term, "national government," which sounded like a harsh synonym for consolidation, in the ears of the delegates from the smaller states. This motion pre- vailed ; but as the evil still existed though called by a softer name, the cause of complaint was by no means removed. How many votes the states were respectively to have in the legislature of the general government, was of more import- ance than the name by which that government was to be called. The discussion on this vital question grew more and more exciting as it advanced, and at last became bitter and vehement. Dr. Franklin moved that a chaplain should be chosen, and that prayers should be read, to bring the minds of the delegates to a right frame. Mr. Madison opposed the motion, fearing lest the measure, should it be adopted at that late hour, might startle the public with the anticipation of some desperate issue close at hand. A motion of adjourn- ment was substituted for the proposition of Franklin, which was carried, and the excited minds of the debaters had time to cool.
The ratio of representation that had been adopted by the committee of the whole, for the first branch of the legisla- ture, finally prevailed in the convention. Then came the crisis of the debate. What should be the ratio in the second branch ? Ellsworth made a motion that the states should be equally represented in that body, and pressed home upon the committee all the arguments that such a mind as his could urge upon a question that seemed to involve the very existence of the state that he had been appointed to defend. His vast learning and clear powers of analysis were brought to bear upon this interesting question, and elicited the admira- tion even of the bitterest opponents of the motion. Breath- less as had been the silence that prevailed while the debate was going on, and while its result was yet doubtful, no sooner was it made known, than the pent up flames, that had been so long smothered in the breasts of the delegates from the
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
smaller states, burst forth like the fires of a volcano. Dis- cord reigned for a while in the chamber, and the convention seemed about to be shattered in pieces by its own explosive elements.
Deeply as he felt the poison of the sting inflicted by this vote upon the bosom of the state for which he would gladly have died, Sherman was calm and self-possessed as if he had been placed there to represent the motions of the planets in their orbits or the unrelaxing grasp of the law of gravitation. Determined not to resort to extremes until the resources of reason and argument, and all the ordinary appliances by which men are wrought upon, had been exhausted, deter- mined most of all to govern himself that he might the better control others, he rose and moved that a committee of con- ference should be appointed of one delegate from each of the states represented there. This motion at once prevailed, and the convention adjourned for three days. The 4th of July was celebrated during the period of the adjournment, and lent the warm light of liberty to the temperate counsels of the more moderate members of the convention.
Dr. Franklin proposed to the committee of conference, that the states should be equally represented in the second or upper branch of the legislature, and that all bills of appro- priation should originate with the first or popular branch, which was to be chosen in accordance with the three-fifths ratio, and upon a basis of one representative to every forty thou- sand inhabitants. The delegates from the larger states were deeply chagrined that they should have fallen into the net spread for them by Sherman, before their eyes, while the members of the old minority were delighted at the result of the experiment.
Side issues now arose, that diverted the current of discus- sion from the main question, how the states should be repre- sented in the upper branch. The national party then brought forward the consideration of the question, on what basis the members of the popular branch of the legislature should be chosen, and how many there should be. This inquiry
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THE APPORTIONMENT.
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branched off into a variety of issues more or less complex, that tended to distract the attention of the delegates and divide their minds. The mode of apportioning the members of the lower house, was referred to a select committee of five, who reported in favor of fifty-six members, to represent the states according to the two most important elements, of wealth and population. The number recommended was thought to be too small, and the distribution wrong. A second select committee was chosen, to review this part of the report of the former one. This investigation was more fortunate, and resulted in the presentation of a plan of appor- tionment that was satisfactory, and finally became a part of the constitution. It gave to the several states a representa- tion as follows :- Virginia, ten; Pennsylvania and Massachu- setts, each, eight ; Maryland and New York, each, six ; Con- necticut and the Carolinas, each, five; New Jersey, four ; New Hampshire and Georgia, each, three; and Delaware and Rhode Island, each, a single representative.
This progress, so highly encouraging, was suddenly arrested by the inquiry, how the future apportionment should be made. This brought up the most delicate and still vexed question of negro slavery. Patterson was opposed to any scheme by which slaves, not counted in the representation of the state governments in which they were respectively owned, should form any part of the basis that was to support the first branch of the national legislature. If they were treated as property where they belonged, he expressed him- self unable to see why they should stand on a different foot- ing in relation to the general government.
Madison replied that if this was to be the rule, the claims of the smaller states to an equal representation in either branch of the legislature, to preserve their sovereignty and guard their property, were equally without foundation.
Governor Morris proposed to leave this matter of future proportionment to the legislature. Rutledge expressed him- self in favor of this proposition. Randolph, Mason, and Wilson, were opposed to it on the ground that it would place
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
the majority in the power of the minority. They thought the matter should be settled then, once for all. Randolph suggested that a periodical census should be taken, and that it should govern the apportionment. Williamson moved, by way of amendment, that in taking the proposed census, the whole number of freemen and three-fifths of all others, should be the rule of apportionment. Butler and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, were in favor of having the slaves and freemen alike taken into account in the representative estimate. Morris was opposed even to the three-fifths basis, because he thought it favored the slave-trade, and that the slave-trade was a curse. Butler's proposition to count blacks equal with the whites, was readily voted down, as it was supported only by the three states of South Carolina, Georgia, and Delaware. Then came up the motion of Williamson, that slaves should count three to five in the census. This motion was also defeated. Randolph's proposition in relation to a periodical census, shared the same fate. The report of the committee, recommending that future apportionments should be made by the legislature according to wealth and numbers, was the next topic of consideration. Morris made a motion that taxation should be in proportion to representation-which was adopted. This called out Davie, of North Carolina. "He was sure," he said, "that North Carolina would never confederate on any terms that did not rate them at least as three-fifths. If the eastern states meant, therefore, to exclude them altogether, the business was at an end." Here was the old fire-brand again thrown into the convention. It was obvious that Davie had hit upon the most sensitive nerve of the south, and that the delegates from the slave-states would not yield the point. It was then that the gentlemen repre- senting Connecticut came forward as mediators .* Johnson expressed it as his opinion that population was the surest
* A highly respectable authority from Massachusetts, who has laid the whole world under great obligations to him, has represented the delegates from Connec- ticut as " aspiring to act as mediators." Had he said that they were emphati- cally the gentlemen in the convention from the eastern states to mediate successfully, the remark would have been more accurate. Such men as Roger
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BASIS OF REPRESENTATION.
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measure of wealth. He said he was willing that blacks as well as whites should be counted. This was a greater con- cession than Ellsworth thought it necessary to make. He therefore called up the motion made by Williamson, that all the whites and three-fifths of the blacks should constitute the basis of taxation, and that taxation should be the basis of representation. This proposition thus amended and simplified, finally prevailed, after a protracted debate. The delegates from Connecticut all voted for it; New Jersey, and Dela- ware, against it; while Massachusetts, and South Carolina, were divided.
The proposition reported by the committee of one from each state, that the states should be equally represented in the second branch of the national legislature, seemed after this discussion more likely to meet with favor than it had before done, now that the three-fifths compromise had been thrown into the scale. It was therefore renewed. Still an- other attempt was made to qualify it in a very essential degree by Charles Pinckney, who moved that the proposed legislative body should consist of thirty-six members-five from Virginia, four from each of the states of Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, three from each of the states of Connec- ticut, New York, Maryland, and the Carolinas, while New Hampshire and Georgia, were each to send two, and Dela- ware and Rhode Island, one each. Of course the Virginia delegation advocated the proposition with all their eloquence. This debate brought out Sherman and Ellsworth, who both opposed the amendment, and contended for an equal repre- sentation in the senate, without regard to the size of the states. As the Connecticut delegates had been the mediators in relation to a point regarded so vital by the slave-holding states, they were able, aside from their intrinsic weight of character, to wield a mighty influence in this discussion. Gerry, as he usually had done during the debate, fell in with the views of Sherman, and Strong also voted in the same
Sherman, Oliver Ellsworth, and William Samuel Johnson, seldom aspire to any- thing beyond what nature has fitted them to do.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
way. Pinckney's motion was lost, and the report of the committee was then adopted-Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and North Carolina, voting in the affirmative, and Virginia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Georgia, with a part of the Massachusetts delegates, in the negative. New York had long before retired from the con- vention in disgust.
It was now the turn of the consolidating party to be alarmed. Rising with the dignified solemnity that sat so gracefully upon him, Randolph moved that the convention should adjourn. He wished to give the large states time to "con- sider the steps proper to be taken in the present solemn crisis, and that the small states might also deliberate on the means of reconciliation." This piece of dramatic acting, admirably played off as it was, was met by another equally adroit. Pat- terson, treating the motion for adjournment as a proposition to bring the convention to an end, turned the guns of his opponent upon him with great effect. "He thought it was indeed high time to adjourn ; that the rule of secrecy ought to be rescinded, and their constituents consulted. No con- ciliation could be admissable on the part of the smaller states on any other ground than equality of votes in the second branch. If Mr. Randolph would reduce to form his motion to adjourn sine die, he would second it with all his heart."
Randolph rose to explain. He declared that he only pro- posed to adjourn until the next day, to give time to devise some plan of agreement.
The motion prevailed. A consultation was held by the delegates from the larger states. Some advised a separate union among themselves ; others were averse to it. The next day a motion was made to reconsider. It was lost.
Thus, inch by inch, was the legislative branch of the con- stitution debated in the convention, with an unwearied per- sistency and courage that did honor to both parties.
Then came the consideration of the executive office, which was finally adjusted with much equanimity of temper on the part of all concerned. The great questions for consideration,
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PRESIDENTIAL TERM.
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were the mode of electing the President, his term of office, and his re-eligibility. Once it was voted that the choice should be made by electors appointed for that purpose by the state legislatures, and the number of such electors to which each state should be entitled was agreed upon. This was recon- sidered, and the choice was given to the national legislature. In relation to the length of the presidential term, great diver- sity of opinion existed. Six years, was once agreed upon, and then reconsidered. "During good behavior," was voted for by the states of New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia-but was not carried. The term of four years was retained.
The report of the committee of the whole, as amended, was adopted by the convention, and referred to a special commit- tee of detail, consisting of Rutledge, Randolph, Gorham, Ellsworth, and Wilson. To this committee also were refer- red Patterson's New Jersey plan, and the draft made by Charles Pinckney. Motions were made, instructing this committee to report property qualifications for the executive, the judiciary, and the members of the legislature-a proposi- tion which was advocated by Madison and Gerry, and opposed by Dickinson, one of the wealthiest men in the con- vention, who thought the object aimed at might better be obtained by limiting the right to vote for President to free- holders. It was, however, carried-Connecticut, Pennsyl- vania, and Delaware, voting in the negative.
The committee of detail, after deliberating for ten days, brought in a rough sketch of the constitution, as it now stands. The name of Congress, was given to the national legislature; the first branch was designated as the House of Representatives, and the second branch as the Senate. The chief executive officer of the government was called a President. Several important items in the constitution were again discussed and amendments were proposed, but no material alterations were made. Thus amended and finally adopted by the conven- tion, the constitution was sent into the several states for ratification.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
In Connecticut, a convention to ratify the constitution met at Hartford, on the 3d of January, 1788. Over this con- vention, the Hon. Matthew Griswold, of Lyme, presided, and Jedediah Strong, Esq., of Litchfield, was its secretary. On the 4th, the debates were opened by Oliver Ellsworth in a speech of which the following is believed to be a substan- tially accurate report. It is copied from the " Connecticut Courant."
"Mr. President,-It is observable, that there is no preface to the proposed Constitution ; but it evidently pre-supposes two things; one is, the necessity of a federal government, the other is the inefficiency of the old articles of confedera- tion. A union is necessary for the purposes of national defense. United, we are strong; divided, we are weak. It is easy for hostile nations to sweep off a number of separate states one after another. Witness the states in the neighbor- hood of ancient Rome. They were successively subdued by that ambitious city, which they might have conquered with the utmost ease if they had been united. Witness the Canaanitish nations, whose divided situation rendered them an easy prey. Witness England, which, when divided into a number of separate states, was twice conquered by an inferior force. Thus it always happens to small states, and to great ones, if divided. Or if to avoid this, they connect themselves with some powerful state, their situation is not much better. This shows us the necessity of our combining our whole force ; and as to national purposes, becoming one state.
A union, sir, is likewise necessary, considered with rela- tion to economy. Small states have enemies as well as great ones. They must provide for their defense. The expense of it, which would be moderate for a large kingdom, would be intolerable to a petty state. The Dutch are wealthy, but they are one of the smallest of the European nations, and their taxes are higher than in any other country of Europe. Their taxes amount to forty shillings per pound, while those of England do not exceed half that sum.
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SPEECH OF ELLSWORTH.
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We must unite in order to preserve peace among ourselves. If we are divided, what is to hinder wars from breaking out among the states ? States, as well as individuals, are subject to ambition, to avarice, to those jarring passions which disturb the peace of society. What is to check these ? If there is a parental hand over the whole, this, and nothing else, can restrain the unruly conduct of the members.
Union is necessary to preserve commutative justice between the states. If divided, what is to hinder the large states from oppressing the small ? What is to defend us from the ambition and rapacity of New York, when she has spread over that vast territory which she claims and holds ? Do we not already see in her the seeds of an overbearing ambition ? On the other side there is a large and powerful state. Have we not already begun to be tributaries ? If we do not im- prove the present critical time, if we do not unite, shall we not be like Issachar of old, a strong ass crouching down between two burdens? New Jersey and Delaware have seen this, and have adopted the constitution unanimously.
A more energetic system is necessary. The present is merely advisory. It has no coercive power. Without this, government is ineffectual, or rather, is no government at all. But it is said such a power is not necessary. States will not do wrong. They need only to be told their duty, and they will do it. I ask, sir, what warrant is there for this assertion ? Do not states do wrong? Whence come wars? One of two hostile nations must be in the wrong. But it is said, among sister states this can never be presumed. But do not we know, that when friends become enemies, their enmity is the most virulent ? The seventeen provinces of the Nether- lands were once confederated ; they fought under the same banner. Antwerp, hard pressed by Phillip, applied to the other states for relief. Holland, a rival in trade, opposed, and prevented the needful succors. Antwerp was made a sacrifice. I wish I could say, there were no seeds of similar injustice springing up among us. Is there not in one of our states injustice too barefaced for eastern despotism? That
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state is small ; it does little hurt to any but itself. But it has a spirit, which would make a Tophet of the universe. But some will say, we formerly did well without any union. I answer, our situation is materially changed. While Great Britain held her authority, she awed us. She appointed gov- ernors and councils for the American provinces. She had a negative upon our laws. But now, our circumstances are so altered, that there is no arguing what we shall be from what we have been.
It is said that other confederacies have not had the princi- ple of coercion. Is this so? Let us attend to those con- federacies which have resembled our own. Some time before Alexander, the Grecian states confederated together. The Amphyctionic council, consisting of deputies from those states, met at Delphos, and had authority to regulate the gen- eral interests of Greece. This council did enforce its decrees by coercion. The Beotians once infringed upon a decree of the Amphyctions. A heavy mulct was laid upon them. They refused to pay it. Upon that, their whole territory was confiscated. They were then glad to compound the mat- ter. After the death of Alexander, the Achaian League was formed. The decrees of this confederacy were enforced by arms. The ÆEtolian League was formed by some other Grecian cities in opposition to the Achean, and there was no peace between them till they were conquered, and reduced to a Roman province. They were then all obliged to sit down in peace under the same yoke of despotism.
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