Congress should be given control over commerce but should be forbidden to pass any act prohibiting the importation of slaves before 1808, though it might levy a tax of ten dollars each on all slaves imported. Of this last provision, however, Congress never took advantage. It should not be supposed that these three were the only compromises of the Constitution; it has been said of it, indeed, that it was nothing but a series of compromises. These three, however, were of vital importance, since a failure to reach an agreement on any of these points would have resulted almost inevitably in the dissolution of the convention. Ratification. In accordance with the last article of the new Constitution, providing for its ratification on the twentieth of September, 1787, it was submitted to Congress, where it was subjected to criticism for eight days before it was sent to the state legislatures, to be by them in turn submitted to conventions chosen by the people of the several states. It was not until June 21, 1788, that the ratification of the nine states necessary to the establishment of the new government was secured. Thereupon Congress made preparations for putting the Constitution into operation, and the other states, finding themselves confronted with the alternative of joining the Union or standing alone in the world, since the old government established by the Articles of Confederation had been annihilated, ratified, one by one, Rhode Island holding out until the end of May, 1790. Struggle over Ratification. Except in the smaller states, to which very considerable concessions had been made, ratification was nearly everywhere secured with difficulty. Had the matter been left to a direct vote of the people, taken all over the country on the same day, it is doubtful if it could have been secured at all. Fortunately, as Mr. Bryce has noted, "The conventions were composed of able men, who listened to thoughtful arguments, and were themselves influenced by the authority of their leaders." Out of this struggle over ratification emerged the first two great political parties in the United States. The supporters of the Constitution were called Federalists; the opponents, Antifederalists. The Federalist Party was in general the party of the moneyed classes - the public creditors, the merchants, the lawyers; the Antifederalist the party of the debtor class, the advocates of paper money in general, the less wealthy portion of the community. The Antifederalists objected, among other things, to the absence of a Bill of Rights in the new Constitution; to the power of taxation given the national legislature; to the power granted to the federal judiciary; to the paying of congressmen out of the federal treasury, thus making them independent of the states; to the voting by individuals instead of by states in the national legislature in short, to what they considered the too aristocratic, too centralized form of the new government. On the other hand, the views of the Federalist Party found expression most ably and thoroughly through the series of remarkable political essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, and afterwards collected and published under the title of The Federalist. Their effectiveness in helping to secure ratification has been already mentioned. Other influences, too, were at work. The support of such tried and trusted men as Washington and Madison, the compromises made to different sections and interests, the example of other states - all had their effect upon doubtful states; but unquestionably the two most potent influences were the almost universal economic 1 Bryce, Vol. I, p. 27. distress and the dread of foreign powers, especially Spain and England, who were believed, perhaps not wholly without reason, to be only awaiting a favorable opportunity for absorbing the youthful nation. Establishment of the New Government. As soon as the ratification of the necessary nine states was secured, Congress passed an act providing for the establishment and organization of the new government. The first Wednesday in January, 1789, was designated as the day for appointing electors; the first Wednesday in February, for assembling and voting for president; and the first Wednesday in March, for "commencing the proceedings under the said Constitution." It was not until April first, however, that a quorum was secured in the House of Representatives and that body was organized, while in the Senate a quorum was first present on April sixth. Thereupon the votes were counted and Washington was declared elected. Some further delay ensued, but finally, on April thirtieth, occurred the inauguration of Washington and the installation of the new government. Library References. Macy, pp. 38-40; Hinsdale, pp. 82-116; Bryce, Vol. I, chap. iii; Fiske, pp. 217-219; Channing, pp. 254-262, 270-275; Montgomery, pp. 214-218; Curtis, Vol. I, chaps. xv-xxxvi; Fiske, Critical Period, pp. 214-350; Roberts, Vol. II, pp. 446447; Hart, chap. vi; Lalor, Article on the Constitutional Convention; Bancroft, Vol. VI, Book II, chap. viii, Books III-IV, Book V, chaps. ii-iii; Schouler, Vol. I, pp. 28-70; McMaster, Vol. I, pp. 390-399, 417-423, 436-502. QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT 1. Describe the political conditions which made necessary the present constitution of the United States. 2. What evils was the United States constitution intended to remedy? Does it remedy those evils? Give reasons. 3. What state took the first step that led to the formation of the present Constitution? 4. When and where was the Constitution made? Name six objects stated in the preamble. 5. How was the Constitution framed? Name the three great compromises of the Constitution. 6. What differences of opinion existed between the framers of the Constitution as to the powers of the federal government? What are these differences sometimes called? 7. What is meant by the statement: "The House of Representatives represents the national idea; the Senate represents the federal idea"? 8. State the provisions under which the Constitution took effect. 9. The sessions of the Constitutional Convention were all executive; that is, the public was excluded from all meetings and the work of the convention kept secret until after final adjournment. Was this a wise thing to do? Why? 10. Give the date of the Constitutional Convention; the place; the names of the colonies represented; the name of the presiding officer; and the name of the "peacemaker." 11. Who submitted the plan of government for the large states? for the small states? State the two most important reasons for adopting the Constitution. 12. Who is called the "Father of the Constitution"? Why? 13. Name the first two political parties. State the principles of each. 14. What was The Federalist"? 15. When and where was Washington inaugurated? Give the oath of office required of the president upon entering upon the duties of his office? CHAPTER XVIII THE CONSTITUTION: ITS ORIGIN AND NATURE Its Origin. In regard to the originality of the Constitution the most opposite views have been entertained. Mr. Gladstone's remark that it is "the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man" has generally been construed, whether it was so intended or not, as an assertion of its originality. On the other hand, Sir Henry Maine says that it is "in reality a version of the British constitution " as it then was. Both these statements are misleading, though both contain an element of truth. As a matter of fact, the convention wisely based its work as little as possible upon untried theories. Only where colonial or state experience furnished no precedent did they risk an invention of their own. At the same time, there were in the situation before the convention some elements that were new some problems for which the framers were compelled to devise new solutions. As for the British constitution, it unquestionably exercised a very considerable influence upon the framers of our Constitution, but not directly, as Sir Henry Maine's remark implies. On the contrary, that influence came to them filtered, for the most part, through the channels of colonial, Revolutionary, or early national experience. Origin of Special Provisions. Nothing could be truer than the oft-quoted observation that nearly every provision of the federal constitution that has worked well was |