James Madison arrived in
Philadelphia two weeks before the Constitution Convention convened. In his satchel, he had the outline of
what would become The
Virginia Plan. He knew
how divided the Continental Congress was over the idea of convening a
Constitution Convention. He knew
first hand, the deep division in his own Virginia Legislature. He knew that most of the delegates who
came to Philadelphia would have strict instructions to agree to nothing that
would diminish state sovereignty.
The Continental Congress authorized the Convention to only “revise” the
articles of Confederation.
The Virginia Plan abolished the
articles of Confederation, and created a whole new form of government. By arriving early, Madison could meet
and visit informally with the delegates as they arrived, and sort of “test the
water” before he unveiled his radical plan. Before the Convention convened, he met with the Virginia
delegation, which included George Washington. They agreed that they should introduce the Virginia Plan as
ideas to “correct and enlarge” the articles of Confederation.
No sooner had the Virginia Plan
been introduced, when Pennsylvania delegate, Govurneur Morris, pointed out that
the plan neither corrected nor enlarged the articles of Confederation, but
instead, the plan abolished the articles.
The head-on confrontation which
the Virginia delegation hoped to avoid, divided the Convention on the very
first day of debate. Under the
articles of Confederation, small states had one vote, as did the large states. This arrangement created a government
of states. Madison’s plan called
for proportional representation in two houses of Congress, thereby giving large
states many more votes in Congress than the small states. This arrangement, Madison reasoned,
would create a government of the people.
Of course, small states were not impressed with Madison’s reasoning.
The debate raged on for weeks
during the hot Philadelphia summer.
Delegates threatened to walk out of the Convention, and thus end any
hope of revising the articles.
Finally, Roger Sherman of Connecticut proposed a compromise: delegates
to the lower house of congress should be elected on a proportional basis, but
delegates to the upper house of congress would have one vote for each state,
regardless of the state’s size.
Madison, Ben Franklin, and other
influential delegates opposed the compromise. Passions ran so high that the shouting almost came to blows,
but when the aging, and highly respected Ben Franklin rose to speak, silence
fell across the room. Quietly, he
reminded the delegates that the future of the union depended on their
actions. He reminded them
that during the war for independence, when their army faced impossible
challenges, they didn’t quit and go home.
Instead, he said, they all turned to their Creator to ask for guidance
and help. He reminded them that
surely, if God knows when a sparrow falls, no great nation can rise without his
guidance and help.
They referred the issue to a
committee to refine the compromise to come up with an acceptable solution, and
moved on to other issues of governance.
alexander Hamilton, from New
York, was not at all happy with the compromise, nor the Virginia Plan. He envisioned a government much like
Britain’s. He was willing for the
people to elect delegates to the lower house of Congress, but he wanted the Senate
to be populated by aristocrats, who served for life. He wanted, not a president, but a “Governor,” who served for
life, chosen by aristocrats.
Hamilton’s ideas were too much like the government the young nation had
just defeated. His plan was soundly rejected.
New Jersey offered another
alternative. This plan would have
retained the one-vote-per-state concept, but would have created an executive
office, appointed by Congress, and subject to recall by State governors. It would have allowed Congress to tax
the states, rather than request funds, and it would have allowed the national
Congress to override State laws.
This plan too, was soundly rejected.
The compromise committee proposed
that the lower house be elected based on population, and that the upper house
consist of two Senators, selected by the States. Madison saw this as a defeat, but Washington and Franklin,
both of whom preferred proportional representation in the Senate, convinced him
that without this great compromise, the small States would leave the convention
and the entire effort, and the Union, would fail.
This great compromise, and
literally hundreds of other compromises hammered out during the Summer of 1787,
produced the greatest achievement in self-governance the human intellect has
ever produced. This system of
governance guarantees perpetual tension between the States and the central
government, with the power of resolution resting in the hands of the people. This system guarantees an open door to
all ideas, and provides a legislative procedure to test, refine, and polish
those ideas into either implementation, or oblivion.
This system allows the people to
correct government’s mistakes, and reverse its decisions. But this system requires the constant
vigilance of the people. History
demonstrates that government - any government - left to its own pursuits, will
abandon the purpose for which it is created, and seek to strengthen and enrich
itself.
The Constitution created in
Philadelphia in 1787 created a Republic - a government that gives the people
the power to keep it in check. The
responsibility for its continued success rests upon the shoulders of every
citizen.
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