The convention was equally positive in dealing with the problem of the number of states necessary to establish the new Constitution.Attempts to change the Articles had failed because amendment required the approval of every state and there was always at least one recalcitrant member of the union.The opposition to a new Constitution was undoubtedly formidable.Rhode Island had even refused to take part in framing it,and her hostility was deep and open.So the convention cast aside the provision of the Articles of Confederation which required unanimous approval for any change in the plan of government;it decreed that the new Constitution should go into effect when ratified by nine states.
In providing for future changes in the Constitution itself the convention also thrust aside the old rule of unanimous approval,and decided that an amendment could be made on a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states.This change was of profound significance.Every state agreed to be bound in the future by amendments duly adopted even in case it did not approve them itself.America in this way set out upon the high road that led from a league of states to a nation.
The Struggle over Ratification
On September 17,1787,the Constitution,having been finally drafted in clear and simple language,a model to all makers of fundamental law,was adopted.The convention,after nearly four months of debate in secret session,flung open the doors and presented to the Americans the finished plan for the new government.Then the great debate passed to the people.
The Opposition.-Storms of criticism at once descended upon the Constitution."Fraud-ulent usurpation!"exclaimed Gerry,who had refused to sign it."A monster"out of the "thick veil of secrecy,"declaimed a Pennsylvanianewspaper."An iron-handed despotism will be An Advertisement of the Federalistthe result,"protested a third."We,'the low-born,'"sarcastically wrote a fourth,"will now admit the 'six hundred well-born'immediately to establish this most noble,most excellent,and truly divine constitution."The President will become a king;Congress will be as tyrannical as Parliament in the old days;the states will be swallowed up;the rights of the people will be trampled upon;the poor man's justice will be lost in the endless delays of the federal courts-such was the strain of the protests against ratification.
Defense of the Constitution.-Moved by the tempest of opposition,Ham-ilton,Madison,and Jay took up their pens in defense of the Constitution.In a series of newspaper articles they discussed and expounded with eloquence,learning,and dignity every im-portant clause and provision of the proposed plan.These pa-pers,afterwards collected and published in a volume known as The Federalist,form the fin-est textbook on the Constitution that has ever been printed.It takes its place,moreover,among the wisest and weightiest trea-tises on government ever writ-ten in any language in any time.Other men,not so gifted,were no less earnest in their support of ratification.In private correspon-dence,editorials,pamphlets,and letters to the newspapers,they urged their countrymen to forgettheir partisanship and accept aCelebrating the Ratification
Constitution which,in spite of any defects great or small,was the only guarantee against dissolution and warfare at home and dishonor and weakness abroad.
The Action of the State Conventions.-Before the end of the year,1787,three states had ratified the Constitution:Delaware and New Jersey unani-mously and Pennsylvania after a short,though savage,contest.Connecticut and Georgia followed early the next year.Then came the battle royal in Massachu-setts,ending in ratification in February by the narrow margin of 187votes to168.In the spring came the news that Maryland and South Carolina were "under the new roof."On June 21,New Hampshire,where the sentiment was at first strong enough to defeat the Constitution,joined the new republic,influencedby the favorable decision in Massachusetts.Swift couriers were sent to carry the news to New York and Virginia,where the question of ratification was still un-decided.Nine states had accepted it and were united,whether more saw fit to join or not.
Meanwhile,however,Virginia,after a long and searching debate,had given her approval by a narrow margin,leaving New York as the next seat of anxiety.In that state the popular vote for the delegates to the convention had been clearly and heavily against ratification.Events finally demonstrated the futility of resistance,and Hamilton by good judgment and masterly arguments was at last able to marshal a majority of thirty to twenty-seven votes in favor of ratification.
The great contest was over.All the states,except North Carolina and Rhode Island,had ratified."The sloop Anarchy,"wrote an ebullient journalist,"when last heard from was ashore on Union rocks."
The First Election.-In the autumn of 1788,elections were held to fill the places in the new government.Public opinion was overwhelmingly in favor of Washington as the first President.Yielding to the importunities of friends,he accepted the post in the spirit of public service.On April 30,1789,he took the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York City."Long live George Washington,President of the United States!"cried Chancellor Livingston as soon as the Gen-eral had kissed the Bible.The cry was caught by the assembled multitude and given back.A new experiment in popular government was launched.
QUESTIONS
1.Account for the failure of the Articles of Confederation.
2.Explain the domestic difficulties of the individual states.
3.Why did efforts at reform by the Congress come to naught?
4.Narrate the events leading up to the constitutional convention.