The Summer of 1787: Founding Fathers Who Created the US Constitution - Simon & Schuster American History Book | Perfect for History Buffs, Constitution Studies & Political Science Enthusiasts

Squabbles among the states were prevalent. Maryland and Virginia argued about tolls and taxes and fishing on their borders. Connecticut and Pennsylvania fought over land. New York and New Hampshire fought over Vermont. New Jersey despised New York's taxes on shipping. Madison believed in 1785 that the states could never regulate trade fairly. Only a national government could do this. But the Articles of Confederation did not allow this. Madison lamented that no money came into the federal treasury, trade was terrible, and the states had problems with paper money. Madison and Hamilton and just 10 more met in Annapolis and issued a call for a new convention to meet in Philadelphia. Other problems included Britain occupying forts in the west and Spain closing the Mississippi.Shays Rebellion had neighbors warring with each other. Farmers raged at merchants who controlled the state government and issued taxes to pay off the war debt, confiscating farms when payment was unable to be made. Adams had predicted that establishing a national government would be ¨the most intricate, the most important, the most dangerous and delicate business.¨ Four months after Shays Rebellion America would create the longest lasting document in self-rule.Jefferson believed in rebellion. Washington said this was proof of the need of a strong national government. The states had different economies. New England depended on fishing and shipping. The Middle States, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania, grew grain and had infant industries. The South had slave based agriculture and depended on exports of tobacco from Virginia and Maryland and rice and indigo from South Carolina. Some Americans proposed dissolving the Confederation and creating 4 nations. Washington and Madison believed the states had too much power and the national not enough. Congress had issued unsecured bills of credit which became worthless, ¨not worth a Continental.¨ Madison excoriated the states for issuing paper money. States with ports taxed shipments to bordering states. The only source of funds were property taxes and poll taxes. The states could not pay congress without them. But the people could not pay. Some states simply did not pay Congress. Massachusetts chose to confiscate the land for failure to pay property taxes and incited a rebellion. The states refused their obligations to the Confederation Congress. There was no executive nor courts. Congress managed everything by its one state one vote rule.12 of the states sent 74 delegates to the Convention. Rhode Island refused when they learned they would not be permitted to issue paper money. Only 55 made it to Philadelphia and only 30 attended the full four months of deliberations. Jefferson and Adams did not attend as they were in France and Britain respectively. On May 14 Washington and Madison walked to the Pennsylvania State House, today called Independence Hall, for the start of the Convention. The Virginia Plan was the basis for the deliberations. It called for a legislature, the House, to control the entire government. The people would elect the House who would then choose the Senate and both bodies would select the executive and appoint all judges. 2 issues would cause problems. The big states sought to end one state one vote. The southern states wanted to count the slaves, as 40 % of their population was not free.James Wilson from Pennsylvania would make an alliance with the slave states to overturn one state one vote. Massachusetts, Virginia and Pennsylvania were the large states, all others small. It was a very long convention, leaving topics and returning to them many times. This was a question of democracy according to Wilson. ¨Are not the citizens of Pennsylvania equal to those of New Jersey?¨ They should have equal representation as votes should be allocated according to population. Wilson made a deal with South Carolina to support proportional representation. This is where the slaves would count for three fifths of a person. Elbridge Gerry tried to stop this rule. He was of medium stature, with a stutter and an eye that contracted and expanded. He said that slaves were bought and sold like cattle and therefore should not be counted. He lost the vote 9 to 2 as only New Jersey and Delaware voted against. Wilson and his alliance won yet another vote regarding the Senate. It too would be based on representation.Hamilton spoke up at the convention and made one of his major errors of his career. He said that democracy was not a good system of government because the people ¨seldom judge or determine right.¨ He said it is better to give power to the rich and well born. He wanted to eliminate the states and state government and have a strong national government. He then said that the British government, a monarchy, was the best in the world and nothing less would do in America. He said the chief executive should serve a life term.The delegates did not anticipate such a long stay in Philadelphia. Many suffered economically, borrowing money to cover expenses. But none left for financial reasons. Madison said the Constitution was the work of many people and not a single writer. He himself lost about 40 of 70 votes. The representation issue continued to cause dissension. Franklin proposed proportional representation in the House and equal votes in the Senate. Franklin disagreed with much of the Constitution in its final form. He was more inclined to democracy than many of the delegates. The one vote for the states in the Senate was the final outcome and the big states said that if this was not agreed to that there would have been no Constitution. In this way they sold it to their state assemblies. Madison wrote that ¨reconciling the larger states to the equality of the Senate is known to have been the most threatening (difficulty) that was encountered in framing the Constitution. A novel approach to new states was taken. Throughout history the conquerors enjoyed the spoils. But the convention agreed that new states would share in the same privileges as previous states. Mason, Wilson, and Madison led the delegates in these republican ideals. They would treat the West fairly. But Wilson then added the all-encompassing power to ¨make all laws that shall be necessary and proper¨ to carry out Congress's responsibilities. This essentially bypassed the enumerated powers. Hamilton used this like a magician. Of course we know that the Convention also established both national and state governments, separate, but with one superior over the other. General Pinckney of South Carolina boasted of the rights granted to protect slavery. The decision had been made that the legislature would choose the president, and then John Dickinson entered the room. The minutes were read to him as a courtesy and he insisted that the people should elect the President. The previous decision was reversed.Gerry was one of 3 who opposed the Constitution. He said that the government should not have a standing army. The ever silent Washington spoke up against him and carried the day. Mason did not like the aristocratic Senate, nor did he like the continuation of the slave trade. Randolph was always indecisive. None of the 3 liked the necessary and proper clause. And the convention made the unforgiveable error of not including a Bill of Rights. Patrick Henry in the Virginia ratifying convention railed against not having a bill of rights to defend the citizenry against the all-powerful Congress. Governor Morris wrote the preamble which has proven to be the best ever written of all the constitutions in the history of the world. Gerry would be Madison's vice in his second term, a position which he was against as he refused to sign the Constitution. The term gerrymandering comes from his salamander like division of voting districts. Mason's relation with Washington and Madison grew icy. Madison and Washington had a close working relationship when they left Philadelphia but it didn't last. In the first 15 years of the Constitution, 12 amendments were passed including the Bill of Rights. The twelfth fixed the mess regarding presidential elections. Hamilton manipulated the broken system.