USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the commonwealth period. 1775-1820 v. III > Part 30
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1 " The difficulty," says John Ad- ams to R. Price, April 19, 1790, in Works, ix. 564, " of bringing mil- lions to agree in any measures, to act by any rule, can never be conceived by him who has not tried it. It is incredible how small is the number, in any nation, of those wlio compre- hend any system of constitution or administration, and those few it is wholly impossible to unite."
2 Governor Hancock was indis- posed during a large part of the time of the sessions of the convention, and
297
DISCUSSION ON THESE PROPOSALS.
stance of this proposition was, that if, in the judgment of the CHAP. convention, there were defects in the constitution, and amend- VII. ments were deemed necessary, it might be advisable to define 1788. these amendments, and forward them to Congress with the vote of ratification, as a signification of the wishes of the state, and an intimation of their desire, before the subject was fully disposed of, that the whole instrument should be carefully revised.1 Four or five of the states had assented to the con- stitution without amendments, though with evident reluctance. In six of the states, conventions had not yet been held. Hence, if, at this juncture, Massachusetts stepped in, and defined her position, as her resolutions had ever had their influence, " the necessary amendments would be introduced more early and more safely " than by any other course.
The discussion on this proposition was continued for several days, the best men in the convention taking part in the de- bate ; a committee was likewise appointed to draw up the
Judge William Cushing filled his place as acting president. The charge has been made, that unfair means were, to some extent, resorted to, to effect the passage of a vote in favor of the constitution. " The newspapers," it has been said, "teemed with essays in every variety of form; and what argument was unable to effect, satire, lampoon, and scurrility were exhausted to accomplish. Some arts were re- sorted to, which were supposed to be justified by the greatness of the ob- ject. Personal addresses, not un- mixed with threats, were made to some of the members, and a marked distinction in private intercourse was observed towards the 'irreclaimable malignants,' and those who might be persuaded to change their opinions." The course of Governor Hancock has also been the subject of severe re- flections ; and it has been insinuated that the amendments referred to in the text were draughted by the friends of the constitution, who waited upon
1
his excellency, and tendered to him the honor of proposing them in con- vention. "The charm was irresisti- ble. Wrapped in his flannels, Han-' cock, in a day or two, took the chair of the convention, and a scene ensued more in the character of a dramatic representation, than of that serious and important business which was the occasion of the assembly." Aus- tin's Life of Gerry, ii. 70-78.
1 Debates, &c., 161 et seq. Comp. Madison Papers, ii. 643-672. " The intelligence from Massachusetts be- gins to be rather ominous to the con- stitution. The interest opposed to it is reënforced by all connected with the late insurrection, and by the Prov- ince of Maine, which apprehends dif- ficulties under the new system in obtaining a separate government, greater than may be otherwise ex- perienced. The decision of Massa- chusetts, in either way, will decide the vote of this state, [Virginia.] "
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298
THE QUESTION TAKEN.
CHAP. amendments ; and, on the sixth of February, the main ques- VII. tion was taken, and decided in the affirmative by a vote of 1788. one hundred and eighty-seven to one hundred and sixty-eight. Feb. 6. The delegates from Suffolk county, which then embraced the present county of Norfolk, voted thirty-four yeas to five nays ; 1 in Essex, the vote stood thirty-eight to six ; 2 in Middlesex, seventeen to twenty-five ; 3 in Hampshire, thirty-three to nine- teen ; 4 in Plymouth, twenty-two to six ; 5 in Barnstable, seven to two ; 6 in Bristol, ten to twelve ; 7 in York, six to eleven ; in Duke's, both towns voted in the affirmative ; in Worcester, seven to forty-three ; 8 in Cumberland, ten to eight ; in Lin-
1 Captain Southworth, of Stough- ton, Mr. Comstock, of Wrentham, Mr. Randall, of Sharon, Mr. Richard- son, Jun., of Medway, and Rev. Noah Alden, of Bellingham, were the five dissentients. One each of the dele- gation from Stoughton and Wren- tham voted in the affirmative, and all of the delegates from Boston, Rox- bury, Dorchester, Milton, Weymouth, Hingham, Braintree, Brookline, Ded- ham, Needham, Medfield, Walpole, Franklin, Chelsea, Foxboro', and Hull.
2 In the affirmative, Salem, New- bury, Newburyport, Beverly, Ipswich, Marblehead, Gloucester, Lynn and Lynnfield, Haverhill, Topsfield, Salis- bury, Amesbury, Bradford, Wenham, Manchester; in the negative, Dan- vers, Andover, Rowley, Boxford, and Methuen. One of the three delegates from Andover voted yea.
3 In the affirmative, Cambridge, Charlestown, Concord, Newton, Fra- mingham, Lexington, Shelburne, Sud- bury, Malden, Weston,. Medford, Stow, Waltham, Dracut, Dunstable, Lincoln ; in the negative, Water- town, Woburn, Reading, Marlboro', Billerica, Chelmsford, Hopkinton, Westford, Groton, Shirley, Pepperell, Townsend, Bedford, Holliston, Acton and Carlisle, Wilmington, Tewksbury, Littleton, Ashby, Natick, Stoneham, and East Sudbury.
4 In the affirmative, Springfield, Northampton and Easthampton, Southampton, Hadley, South Hadley, Hatfield, Westfield, Northfield, Brim- field, Charlemont, Chester, Worth- ington, Chesterfield, Norwich, West- hampton, Cunningham and Plain- field, Buckland, and Longmeadow ; in the negative, West Springfield, Wil- braham, Amherst, Granby, Whately, Williamsburg, Deerfield, Greenfield, Shelburne, Conway, Sunderland, Mon- tague, S. Brimfield, Monson, Pelham, Greenwich, Blandford, Palmer, Gran- ville, New Salem, Belchertown, Cole- rain, Ware, Warwick and Orange, Bernardston, Ashfield, Shutesbury, Southwick, Ludlow, and Leverett.
5 In the affirmative, Plymouth, Scituate, Marshfield, Bridgewater, Duxbury, Pembroke, Kingston, Han- over, Abington, Halifax, and Ware- ham; in the negative, Rochester and Plympton ; divided, Middleboro'.
6 In the affirmative, Barnstable, Yarmouth, Harwich, Wellfleet, and Falmouth; in the negative, Sand- wich.
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7 In the affirmative, Attleboro', Dighton, Freetown, New Bedford, Westport; in the negative, Reho- both, Swanzey, Dartmouth, Norton, Easton, and Mansfield; divided, Taunton.
8 In the affirmative, Lancaster, Southboro', Bolton, Leominster,
Teste
2. 0
299
RESULT OF THE VOTE.
coln, nine to seven ; and in Berkshire, seven to fifteen.1 The CHAP. strongest negative vote, it will be seen, was cast in the coun- VII. ties in which the disturbances had recently occurred, and in 1788. the District of Maine. The strongest affirmative vote was cast in the first settled towns and counties in the state - Bos- ton and Plymouth, in this respect, standing shoulder to shoul- der, the descendants of the Pilgrims and the descendants of the Puritans acting together. The larger towns, the seats of trade and mechanical industry, with very few exceptions voted in the affirmative ; the smaller towns, inhabited by a rural population, by a large majority voted in the negative. Thus is it often the case, - and experience confirms the conclusion, - that the rural districts are jealous of the commercial, and that apparent difference of interest separates men widely from each other in their political views.2
Western, Athol, and Sterling; in the negative, Worcester, Mendon, Brook- field, Oxford, Charlton, Sutton, Leices- ter, Spencer, Rutland, Paxton, Oak- ham, Barre, Hubbardston, New Brain- tree, Westboro', Northboro', Shrews- bury, Lunenburg, Fitchburg, Ux- bridge, Harvard, Dudley, Upton, Sturbridge, Hardwick, Holden, Doug- las, Grafton, Petersham, Royals- ton, Westminster, Templeton, Ash- burnham, Winchendon, Northbridge, Ward, Milford, and Boylston.
1 In the affirmative, Sheffield and Mt. Washington, Great Barrington, Stockbridge, Williamstown, Becket, and New Marlboro'; in the negative, Pittsfield, Richmond, Lenox, Lanes- boro', Adams, Egremont, W. Stock- bridge, Alford, Tyringham, Loudon, Windsor, Partridgefield, Hancock, Lee, Washington, Sandisfield.
Comp. Sparks's Washington, ix. 310, 311, note, 333, note; Carey's Am. Museum for 1788, iii. 347-358. In nearly all the great commercial cities, as Boston, New York, Phila- delphia, Baltimore, and Charleston, the acceptance of the new system was celebrated with no little pomp; and
in Philadelphia, in particular, the pro- ceedings were on a scale of unusual magnificence. In Providence, how- ever, an attempt to add to the cere- monies of the fourth of July rejoicings that the constitution was to go into effect, was defeated by a mob of a thousand men from the neighboring country towns, some of them armed, and headed by a judge of the Supreme Court, who compelled the citizens to strike out from their programme all reference to the constitution. The proceedings in New York were like- wise sneered at in Greenleaf's Political Register, and a disparaging account of the procession was given; and in Albany a violent collision took place, in which clubs and stones, and even swords and bayonets, were freely used. Comp. Carey's Am. Museum for 1788, iii. 163-165, ii. 57-78; Hildreth's U. S., 2d series, i. 25-30. " The triumph of the constitution party in Massa- chusetts," says Austin, Life of Gerry, ii. 79, " was celebrated with all the pageantry of conquest. No victory of the revolution was announced with greater enthusiasm, and on no occa- sion was the exultation of success
300
NATURE OF THE AMENDMENTS PROPOSED.
CHAP. VII.
The amendments to the constitution were embodied in nine articles, the substance of which was, that all powers not ex- 1788. pressly delegated to Congress should be reserved to the states ; that there should be one representative to every thirty thou- sand inhabitants until the number reached two hundred ; that the powers of the fourth section of the first article should be exercised only in case of the neglect or refusal of any state to make the regulations mentioned in it ; that direct taxes should be laid only as a last resort, in the failure of other sources of revenue ; that no commercial monopolies should be created ; that trials for capital offences should be preceded by an indict- ment by a grand jury, except in a few specified cases ; that the Supreme Judicial Court should have no jurisdiction of causes between citizens of different states, unless the matter in dispute was of the value, at the least, of three thousand dol- lars ; that civil actions between such citizens should be tried by a jury, if the parties requested ; and that Congress should at no time consent that any person holding an office of trust .or profit under the United States should accept a title of nobility, or any other title or office, from any king, prince, or foreign state.1
more offensively displayed. The van- quished in battle had been treated with greater kindness than those in debate. Instead of the courteous de- meanor which the gallant conqueror of a foreign foe deems it honorable to assume, there was a display of that supercilious superiority which marks the triumphs of a servile war. The state of parties, neither in the con- vention nor among the people, could have justified this most 'extravagant rejoicing, had it not been considered the most effective measure to swell the actual strength of the majority, and to extend the influence of Massa- chusetts into states where conventions were yet to assemble. Doubtful of the real state of public opinion, the con- stitution party determined to assume
its control, and to secure by apparent acclamation what had been carried with exceeding difficulty through the forms of debate."
1 Debates, &c., 223, 224; Elliot's Debates ; Carey's Am. Museum for 1788, ni. 161, 162, iv. 146-158. For the amendments proposed by the other states, see Hist. Cong., 146 et seq. ; Elliot's Debates ; Hildreth's U. S., 2d series, i. 112-118; Pitkin's U. S., ii. 331-335. Pennsylvania pro- posed fourteen; Maryland, twenty- eight ; South Carolina, four; New Hampshire, twelve; Virginia, twenty; New York, thirty-two; North Caro- lina, twenty-six ; and Rhode Island twenty-one; - but in many cases the suggestions were identical or very similar. None of them seriously af-
301
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CLOSE OF THE CONVENTION.
The assent and ratification of the state, with the recommen- CHAP. dation and injunction attached, was ordered to be engrossed VII. on parchment, signed by the president and vice president of 1788. the convention, countersigned by the secretary, and transmit- ted " to the United States in Congress assembled ; " and, after several gentlemen, who had formerly opposed the constitution, had expressed their intention to concur in the action of the state, and to endeavor to promote unity, the pay roll was passed, and a vote of thanks to the president, the vice presi- dent, and the reverend clergy who had officiated as chaplains ; and it was "voted, that, when the business of the convention shall be completed, the members will proceed to the State House to take an affectionate leave of each other." 1
Thus closed the Massachusetts convention for the ratifica- tion of the constitution. The small majority in favor of that ratification is proof that the constitution did not meet the approval of all ; and the fact that, in every state, many oppo- nents were found,2 shows how difficult- nay, impossible -it is, even under the most favorable circumstances, for the wisest and best to frame an unexceptionable system of government. It will be conceded, however, by those who look at the sub- ject in its broadest relations, that perhaps, upon the whole, it was better for the interests of the country, and more conducive
fected the practical operation of the new government, or interfered with the great compromises on which the whole system was based.
1
Debates, &c., 224, 231.
2 Marshall's Washington, v. 132. " So balanced were parties in some of them," says the latter, " that even after the subject had been discussed for a considerable time, the fate of the constitution could hardly be conjec- tured; and so small, in many in- stances, was the majority in its favor, as to afford strong ground for the opinion that, had the influence of character been removed, the intrinsic
merits of the instrument would not have secured its adoption. Indeed, it is scarcely to be doubted that, in some of the adopting states, a ma- jority of the people were in the oppo- sition. In all of them, the numerous amendments which were proposed, demonstrate the reluctance with which the new government was accepted ; and that a dread of dismemberment, not an approbation of the particular system under consideration, had in- duced an acquiescence in it." Sce also Hildreth's U. S., 2d series, i. 29, 35.
302
ACTION OF CONGRESS.
CHAP. to a spirit of submission, that there should have been doubts VII. of the success of the scheme, rather than an overweening con- 1788. fidence in its triumph. This, of itself, was a check against innovations and all rash attempts to subvert the government. It strengthened that conservative element, without which soci- - ety rapidly degenerates. It fostered a jealousy of both measures and men. The bounds of authority were watched with vigi- lance. Encroachments and usurpations were speedily checked. And the people, to this day, cherish a reverential regard for that union, effected at the cost of so much treasure and blood, and around which the hopes of the nation are clustered.1 " Our constitution," wrote John Adams, " was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." 2 Such has ever been, and such, it is to be hoped, will continue to be, the general character of the people of this country.
The ratification of the constitution having been made by the vote of the requisite number of states,3 the General Con- Sep. 13. gress passed a resolve " that the first Wednesday in January next be the day for appointing electors in the several states which before the said day shall have ratified the said constitu- tion ; that the first Wednesday in February next be the day for the electors to assemble in their respective states, and vote for a president ; and that the first Wednesday in March next be the time, and the present seat of Congress [New York]
1 Comp. N. Am. Rev. for July, 1841, 53.
2 Letter of Oct. 11, 1798, to the Officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Mass., in Works, ix. 229.
3 The ratification by the different states took place as follows : -
Delaware, December 7, 1787. Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787. New Jersey, December 18, 1787. Georgia, January 2, 1788. Connecticut, January 9, 1788.
Massachusetts, February 6, 1788. Maryland, April 28, 1788. South Carolina, May 23, 1788. New Hampshire, June 21, 1788. Virginia, June 26, 1788.
New York, July 26, 1788. N. Carolina, November 21, 1789. Rhode Island, May 29, 1790.
The dates vary in different tables, as Delaware, December 3; Pennsyl- vania, December 13; New Jersey, December 19; Virginia, June 25; North Carolina, December 21.
303
1
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WASHINGTON LOOKED TO FOR PRESIDENT.
the place, for commencing proceedings under said constitu- CHAP. tion." 1 VII.
All eyes, from the beginning, were turned to General Wash- 1788. ington as the one who, above all others, was preeminently qualified to fill so important a station as that of first president of the United States. It was believed, by those who knew him best, that he might be placed at the head of the nation without exciting the spirit of envy ; that he alone possessed, in an unlimited degree, the confidence of the people ; and that, under his auspices, the friends of the new government might reasonably hope to see it introduced with a firmness, and con- ducted with an ability, a prudence, and a forecast, which would enable it to resist the assaults of its foes and the plots of its adversaries. But Washington was inclined to domestic retire- ment, and earnestly desired to spend the evening of his life in the bosom of his family, aloof from the scene of political con- tention. Could any inducements prevail with him to relin- quish these views, and to gratify the wishes of his friends and the public ? " We cannot do without you." " You must be the president. No other man can draw forth the abilities of
1 Statesman's Manual, ii. 1507. The building in which Congress was to meet, and which the Continental Congress had previously occupied, was the old City Hall, of New York, situ- ated on Wall Street, opposite Broad Street - the site of the present United States Custom House; but, as this structure had fallen into de- cay, repairs were necessary; the funds for the same, in the exhausted state of the treasury, were advanced by several wealthy citizens ; and the reno- vated edifice, called " Federal Hall," was placed by the city at the dis- posal of the government. Hildreth's U. S., 2d series, i. 46. By the terms of the new constitution, Massachu- setts was entitled to eight representa- tives in the General Congress : and the first election, which was warmly con- tested, took place in 1789. At the first
trial, but four were chosen - Fish- er Ames, George Partridge, George Leonard, and George Thatcher. The vacancies were subsequently filled by the choice of Elbridge Gerry, Benja- min Goodhue, Jonathan Grout, and Theodore Sedgwick. Bradford, ii. 335 ; Austin's Life of Gerry, ii. chap. iii .; Hildreth's U. S., 2d series, i. 42, 43. Samuel Adams was the com- petitor of Fisher Ames; Grout, from the Worcester district, was an anti- federalist, and a partisan of Shays ; Theodore Sedgwick was a federalist ; the opponent of Gerry, in the Middle- sex district, was Nathaniel Gorham ; and Benjamin Goodhue was from the Essex district. Partridge was chosen from the Plymouth district, and Leon- ard and Thatcher from the others. The senators chosen were Tristram Dalton and Caleb Strong.
304
ACCEPTANCE OF THE TRUST URGED UPON HIM.
JHAP. our country into the various departments of civil life." " With- VII. out you, the government can have but little chance of success,
1788. and the people of that happiness which its prosperity must yield." Such was the burden of the letters he received from his companions in arms, and from distinguished civilians.1 Nor were these persuasions without their effect. At first, his scruples seemed to be insurmountable. Distrust of his own abilities, and the modesty which had always distinguished his character, led him to fear that, amidst so many obstacles as must necessarily arise, and the conflict of opinion which had not yet subsided, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the best intentioned to manage so prudently as to escape all censure ; and though he was ready to sacrifice, at the call of his country, personal ease and domestic tranquillity, he could not conceal from himself the fact, that, to extricate the coun- try from its financial embarrassments, and to establish a gen- eral system of policy which, if pursued, would insure permanent felicity to the nation, required a more than ordinary degree of patriotism, and an abnegation of self and of the motives which are often most powerful with the aspiring, to discharge successfully the arduous duties which his station would im- pose.2
1 Sparks's Washington, ix. 371 et seq. ; Marshall's Washington, v. 133 -150; Hamilton's Works, i. 474.
2 See his letters to different friends, in Sparks's Washington, x. " Al- though," he wrote to Catharine Ma- caulay Graham, January 9, 1790, "neither the present age nor posterity may possibly give me full credit for the feelings which I have experienced on this subject, yet I have a conscious- ness, that nothing short of an absolute conviction of duty could ever have brought me upon the scenes of public life again. The establishment of our new government seemed to me to be the last great experiment for pro- moting human happiness by a rea-
sonable compact in civil society. I was to be, in the first instance, in a considerable degree, a government of accommodation, as well as a govern- ment of laws. Much was to be done by prudence, much by conciliation, much by firmness. Few, who are not philosophical speculators, can realize the difficult and delicate part which a man in my situation had to act. All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external happiness of elevated office. To me, there is nothing in it beyond the lustre which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity."
305
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HIS ACQUIESCENCE AND CHOICE.
Happily for the country, he did not long remain in suspense. CHAP. Convinced as he was that " nothing but harmony, honesty, VII. industry, and frugality " were "necessary to make us a great 1789. and happy people," he was at the same time ready to acknowl- edge that "the present posture of affairs, and the prevailing disposition of his countrymen, promised to cooperate in estab- lishing these four great and essential pillars of public felici- ty ; "1 and when he was informed by Charles Thompson, the Apr. 14. secretary of the old Congress, that, by the unanimous and uninfluenced vote of an immense continent,2 he was called to the chief magistracy, he left his home, where his hopes had Apr. 16. been garnered, to " embark again on the tempestuous ocean of public life." 3 John Adams, of Massachusetts, who had re- ceived the next highest vote, was to be associated with him in the office of vice president ; and, two days before the arrival of Washington at New York, - whither he was attended by the prayers of the people, and by warm demon- strations of unbounded respect, - Mr. Adams took his seat in the Senate, and addressed that body in a dignified speech, con- Apr. 21. gratulating them upon " the formation of a national constitu- tion, and the fair prospect of a consistent administration of a. government of laws." 4
1 Marshall's Washington, v. 150. 2 The electors met in the different states in February, 1789, to cast their votes for president, &c .; and the elections of senators and representa- tives to Congress took place about the same time. Washington received sixty-nine votes - the whole number cast; and John Adams thirty-four, thus lacking one of a majority, but sufficient, as the constitution stood, to make him vice president. Hildreth's U. S., 2d series, i. 40, 48, 49. The electors from Massachusetts were Wil- liam Cushing, William Shepard, Wil- liam Sever, Walter Spooner, David Sewall, Caleb Davis, Francis Dana, Samuel Henshaw, Samuel Phillips, VOL. III. 20
Jun., and Moses Gill. Bradford, ii. 335.
3 Washington to Edward Rutledge, May 5, 1789, in Sparks's Washing- ton, x. 1.
4 Jour. Sen., 14, 15; J. Adams's Works, ix .; Hist. Cong., 25-27; Marshall's Washington, v. 161, 162; Sparks's Washington. x. App. 1; Hildreth's U. S., 2d series, i. 53-58. It should be observed that, on the day appointed for the assembling of Con- gress, - March 4, 1789, - only eight senators and thirteen representatives appeared, - not a quorum of either body; nor was it until the first of April that a quorum of the House was present, and it was the sixth be-
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