CONSTITUTION OF UNITED STATES 1560 CONSTITUTION OF UNITED STATES 



sented. The debates made it plain that for- 

 eign and interstate commerce could not be 

 regulated by a government so lacking in author- 

 ity as the government of the Confederation, 

 so Congress was asked to call a convention 

 to provide a constitution of adequate scope. 

 The response was prompt; Congress named 

 Philadelphia, then the national capital, as the 

 place of meeting, and appointed as the day 

 the second Monday in May, 1787. The call 

 was 



" for the sole and express purpose of 

 revising the Articles of Confederation and re- 

 portlns to Congress and the several Legislatures 

 such alterations and provisions therein as should, 

 when agreed to In Congress and confirmed by the 

 States, render the Federal Constitution adequate 

 to the exigencies of Government and the preser- 

 vation of the Union." 



The convention met under the Presidency of 

 George Washington; sixty-five members were 

 appointed by the states, but only fifty-five 

 were able to attend. The task imposed was 

 accomplished in the brief space of four months, 

 and the Constitution as reported to Congress 

 was declared nearly a hundred years later by 

 the English Premier, Gladstone, to be "the 

 most wonderful work ever struck off at a 

 given time by the brain and purpose of man." 



Difficulties beset the members at every turn. 

 Radical differences of opinion were held by 

 men strong and able to maintain themselves 

 in debate. Several important compromises 

 were written into the document as a result of 

 conflicting views; possibly because they were 

 compromises, people have looked upon them in 

 late years as somewhat extreme precautionary 

 measures. The first compromise related to the 

 Presidency. Some desired strong, centralized, 

 individual authority; others feared it. As de- 

 cided, the President was clothed with great 

 powers, but for a short term of office, while 

 his power to make appointments and to con- 

 clude treaties can be exercised only with the 

 consent of the Senate. 



The second conflict was between large and 

 small states, the former demanding power in 

 proportion to their voting strength, the latter 

 naturally opposing it. By agreement, the 

 power of all states in the Senate was to be 

 equal, but in the House of Representatives 

 membership should be in proportion to popu- 

 lation. The third compromise related to slav- 

 ery; it was agreed that fugitive slaves should 

 be delivered up by states to which they might 

 flee for refuge, and that for twenty years 

 (until 1808) no law should be passed prohibit- 



ing importation of slaves. Another subject on 

 which middle ground was taken related to the 

 manner of choosing the President. One ele- 

 ment contended for election by direct vote of 

 the people; another for choice by Congress. 

 The latter element feared the ignorance of the 

 people; the former feared the power of a small 

 group of men in a matter of such vast impor- 

 tance. Out of the disagreement came the 

 electoral college, the choice by the people of 

 men called electors, who should be entrusted 

 with the selection of the Chief Executive. 



Outline of the Constitution. There are seven 

 general divisions of the Constitution, called 

 articles; each article is subdivided into sections, 

 and each section into specific clauses. The 

 general outline of subjects treated is as follows: 



Article I. Organization of Legislative Depart- 

 ment, and powers of Congress. 



Article II. The Executive Department, powers 

 and duties of the President, and manner of elec- 

 tion. 



Article III. The organization of the Judicial 

 Department, and the extent of its powers. 



Article IV. Powers granted to the states. 



Article V. Method of amendment. 



Article VI. Validity of contracts prior to adop- 

 tion of the Constitution, the supremacy of the 

 Constitution, and oath or affirmation required of 

 officials. 



Article VII. Ratification necessary to put the 

 Constitution into effect. 



Adoption of the Constitution. That the pro- 

 ceedings of the convention were not unanimous 

 may be gathered from the fact that of fifty-five 

 members present only thirty-nine signed the 

 Constitution; sixteen either refused to sign or 

 left before the instrument was fully completed. 

 Article VII provided that the Constitution 

 should be effective as the supreme law of the 

 land as soon as ratified by nine states. Event- 

 ually the entire thirteen ratified it in the fol- 

 lowing order, by vote of conventions held in 

 each state for the purpose of deciding whether 

 the state should ratify or reject: 



Delaware, Dec. 7, 1787 ; unanimously. 



Pennsylvania, Dec. 12, 1787 ; vote, 46 to 23. 



New Jersey, Dec. 18, 1787 ; unanimously. 



Georgia, Jan. 2, 1788 ; unanimously. 

 Connecticut, Jan. 9, 1788; vote, 128 to 40. 



Massachusetts, Feb. 6, 1788 ; vote, 187 to 168. 



Maryland, April 28, 1788; vote, 63 to 12. 



South Carolina, May 23, 1788 ; vote, 149 to 73. 



New Hampshire, June 21, 1788 ; vote, 57 to 46. 



Virginia, June 25, 1788 ; vote, 89 to 79. 



New York, July 26, 1788 ; vote, 30 to 28. 



North Carolina, Nov. 21, 1789 ; vote, 193 to 75. 



Rhode Island, May 29, 1790 ; vote, 34 to 32. 



Amendments to the Constitution. There 

 would have been more prompt acceptance of 



