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98-668: The text of the Fugitive Slave Clause is: No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due. As in the other references in the Constitution dealing with slavery,

196-564: A "convenient number" of federal judges would form a Council of Revision with the power to veto any act of Congress. This veto could be overridden by an unspecified number of votes in both houses of Congress. James Wilson feared that the Virginia Plan made the executive too dependent on Congress. He argued that there should be a single, unitary executive . Members of a multiple executive would most likely be chosen from different regions and represent regional interests. In Wilson's view, only

294-483: A chief executive called a president. The president and his cabinet would have veto power over legislation. The plan also included a national judiciary. On May 30, the Convention agreed, at the request of Gouverneur Morris , "that a national government ought to be established consisting of a supreme Legislative, Executive and Judiciary". This was the convention's first move towards going beyond its mandate merely to amend

392-453: A chief executive who would be energetic, independent, and accountable. He believed that the moderate level of class conflict in American society produced a level of sociability and inter-class friendships that could make the presidency the symbolic leader of the entire American people. Wilson did not consider the possibility of bitterly polarized political parties . He saw popular sovereignty as

490-681: A document titled, "Vices of the Political System of the United States," which systematically evaluated the American political system and offered solutions for its weaknesses. Due to his advance preparation, Madison's blueprint for constitutional revision became the starting point for the convention's deliberations. Madison believed the solution to America's problems was to be found in a strong central government. Congress needed compulsory taxation authority as well as power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce. To prevent state interference with

588-732: A federal army that would be able to put down such insurrections. These and other issues greatly worried many of the Founders that the Union as it existed up to that point was in danger of breaking apart. In September 1786, delegates from five states met at the Annapolis Convention and invited all states to a larger convention to be held in Philadelphia in 1787. On February 21, 1787, the Confederation Congress endorsed this convention "for

686-629: A permanent alliance to coordinate American efforts to win the Revolutionary War . This alliance, the United States, was governed according to the Articles of Confederation , which was more of a treaty between independent countries than a national constitution. The Articles were adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 but not ratified by all states until 1781. Under the Articles,

784-454: A punishment for crime," rendering the clause mostly moot. However, it has been noted in connection with the Fugitive Slave Clause that people can still be held to service or labor under limited circumstances; the U.S. Supreme Court stated in United States v. Kozminski , 487 U.S. 931, 943 (1988), that "not all situations in which labor is compelled by physical coercion or force of law violate

882-451: A single chief executive to be called the President; how a president would be elected; the length of a presidential term and the number of allowable terms; what offenses should be impeachable; and whether judges should be chosen by the legislature or the executive. Finally, slavery was also a contentious issue, with the delegates debating the insertion of a fugitive slave clause; whether to allow

980-456: A single delegate to cast its vote. New York required all three of its delegates to be present. If too few of a state's delegates were in attendance, the state did not cast a vote. After two of New York's three delegates, John Lansing Jr. and Robert Yates , abandoned the convention on July 10 with no intention of returning, New York was unable to vote on any further proposals, although Alexander Hamilton would continue to occasionally speak during

1078-481: A single executive could represent the entire nation while giving "energy, dispatch, and responsibility" to the government. Wilson used his understanding of civic virtue as defined by the Scottish Enlightenment to help design the presidency. The challenge was to design a properly constituted executive that was fit for a republic and based on civic virtue by the general citizenry. He spoke 56 times calling for

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1176-443: A single faction could more easily control the government within a state but would have a more difficult time dominating a national government comprising many different interest groups. The government could be designed to further insulate officeholders from the pressures of a majority faction. To protect both national authority and minority rights, Madison believed Congress should be granted veto power over state laws. While waiting for

1274-477: A single person." This motion was seconded by Charles Pinckney, whose plan called for a single executive and specifically named this official a "president". Edmund Randolph agreed with Wilson that the executive needed "vigor", but he disapproved of a unitary executive, which he feared was "the foetus of monarchy". Randolph and George Mason led the opposition against a unitary executive, but most delegates agreed with Wilson. The prospect that George Washington would be

1372-455: A single vote either for or against a proposal in accordance with the majority opinion of the state's delegates. This rule increased the power of the smaller states. When a state's delegates divided evenly on a motion, the state did not cast a vote. Throughout the convention, delegates would regularly come and go. Only 30 to 40 delegates were present on a typical day, and each state had its own quorum requirements. Maryland and Connecticut allowed

1470-738: A strong chief executive. Under the Articles of Confederation, the closest thing to an executive was the Committee of the States , which was empowered to transact government business while Congress was in recess. However, this body was largely inactive. The revolutionary state constitutions made the governors subordinate to the legislatures, denying them executive veto power over legislation. Without veto power, governors were unable to block legislation that threatened minority rights. States chose governors in different ways. Many state constitutions empowered legislatures to select them, but several allowed direct election by

1568-670: The Continental Army in the late American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and proponent of a stronger national government, to become President of the convention. The result of the convention was the creation of the Constitution of the United States , placing the Convention among the most significant events in American history . The convention took place in the old Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall , in Philadelphia . At

1666-546: The New Jersey Plan , the Confederation Congress would remain unicameral with each state having one vote. Congress would be allowed to levy tariffs and other taxes as well as regulate trade and commerce. Congress would elect a plural "federal executive" whose members would serve a single term and could be removed by Congress at the request of a majority of state governors. There would also be a federal judiciary to apply US law. Federal judges would serve for life and be appointed by

1764-604: The Three-Fifths Compromise on June 11. This resolution apportioned seats in the House of Representatives based on a state's free population plus three-fifths of its slave population. Nine states voted in favor, with only New Jersey and Delaware against. This compromise would give the South at least a dozen additional congressmen and electoral college votes. That same day, the large-state/slave-state alliance also succeeded in applying

1862-424: The electoral college —the states would be divided into districts in which voters would choose electors who would then elect the president. This would preserve the separation of powers and keep the state legislatures out of the selection process. Initially, however, this scheme received little support. The issue of the executive was one of the last major issues to be resolved. Resolution was achieved by adjustment to

1960-469: The Articles of Confederation and instead produce an entirely new government. Once it had agreed to the idea of a supreme national government, the convention began debating specific parts of the Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan called for the unicameral Confederation Congress to be replaced with a bicameral Congress. This would be a truly national legislature with power to make laws "in all cases to which

2058-1201: The Coming of the Civil War, 1840-1861 1970 - Leadership of Abraham Lincoln (Problems in American History) 1976 - The Impending Crisis (completed and edited by) 1978 - Tradition, Conflict and Modernization (Studies in Social Discontinuity) 1978 - The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics 1979 - The Minor Affair: An Adventure in Forgery and Detection 1980 - The South and Three Sectional Crises 1981 - Slavery, Law, and Politics: The Dred Scott Case in Historical Perspective 1987 - Lincoln in Text and Context: Collected Essays 1989 - Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832-1858 1989 - Lincoln: Speeches and Writings: Volume 2: 1859-1865 1989 - Constitutions and Constitutionalism in

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2156-481: The Confederation Congress and veto power over state laws. There was some opposition to the popular election of the lower house or House of Representatives . Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts and Roger Sherman of Connecticut feared the people were too easily misled by demagogues and that popular election could lead to mob rule and anarchy. Pierce Butler of South Carolina believed that only wealthy men of property could be trusted with political power. The majority of

2254-464: The Confederation government lacked effective means to enforce its own laws and treaties against state non-compliance. It soon became evident to nearly all that the Confederation government, as originally organized, was inadequate for managing the various problems confronting the United States. Once the crucial task of winning the war had passed, states began to look to their own interests rather than

2352-402: The Convention if proportional representation replaced equal representation, so debate on apportionment was postponed. On June 9, William Paterson of New Jersey reminded the delegates that they were sent to Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation, not to establish a national government. While he agreed that the Confederation Congress needed new powers, including the power to coerce

2450-645: The Pulitzer Prize. In 1997 he won the Lincoln Prize . Born on August 21, 1920, in Sterling, Illinois . From 1953 to 1984 Fehrenbacher taught American history at Stanford University . Fehrenbacher died in Stanford, California . He was survived by his wife Virginia, three children, numerous grandchildren, a sister, Shirley, and two brothers, Robert and Marvin. His posthumous book, The Slaveholding Republic: An Account of

2548-463: The Senate would appoint them. The small state delegates were alarmed at the plan taking shape: a supreme national government that could override state laws and proportional representation in both houses of Congress. William Paterson and other delegates from New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland and New York created an alternative plan that consisted of several amendments to the Articles of Confederation. Under

2646-614: The Slaveholding South 1995 - Sectional Crisis and Southern Constitutionalism 1996 - Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln (compiled and edited with Virginia) 2001 - The Slaveholding Republic: An Account of the United States government's Relations to Slavery (completed and edited by Ward M. McAfee) This biography of an American historian is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Committee on Style The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Although

2744-594: The Thirteenth Amendment." Donald Fehrenbacher Don Edward Fehrenbacher (August 21, 1920 – December 13, 1997) was an American historian. He wrote on politics, slavery, and Abraham Lincoln . He won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for History for The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics , his book about the Dred Scott Decision . In 1977 David M. Potter 's The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861 , which he edited and completed, won

2842-661: The U.S. Constitution, the Constitution of the Confederate States mentioned slavery by name and specified African Americans as the subject. It contained a much more rigid form of the Fugitive Slave Clause. In 1864, during the Civil War , an effort to repeal this clause of the Constitution failed. The subsequent passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery "except as

2940-817: The United States government's Relations to Slavery (completed and edited by Ward M. McAfee), won the Avery O. Craven Award from the Organization of American Historians in 2002. 1957 - Chicago Giant: A Biography of "Long John" Wentworth 1962 - Prelude To Greatness: Lincoln In The 1850s 1964 - A Basic History of California 1964 - Abraham Lincoln: A Documentary Portrait Through His Speeches and Writings 1968 - California: An Illustrated History 1968 - Changing Image of Lincoln in American Historiography 1969 - Era of Expansion 1800-1848 1970 - The Leadership of Abraham Lincoln 1970 - Manifest Destiny and

3038-452: The United States shall escape into another State, he or she shall not be discharged from such service or labor, in consequence of any regulations subsisting in the State to which they escape, but shall be delivered up to the person justly claiming their service or labor. Afterwards, the Convention's Committee on Style formed a digest of the plan, to which many of the delegates later sought to have

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3136-538: The United States was essentially a federation of independent republics, with the Articles guaranteeing state sovereignty and independence. The Confederation was governed by the Congress of the Confederation , a unicameral legislature whose members were chosen by their state legislatures and where each state was entitled to one vote. Congress's powers were limited to waging war and directing foreign affairs. It could not levy taxes or tariffs, and it could only request money from

3234-470: The Virginia Plan by making it seem moderate by comparison. The plan was so out of step with political reality that it was not even debated, and Hamilton would be troubled for years by accusations that he was a monarchist . On June 19, the delegates voted on the New Jersey Plan. With the support of the slave states and Connecticut, the large states defeated the plan by a 7–3 margin. Maryland's delegation

3332-474: The abolition of the slave trade; and whether slaves were to be counted in proportional representation. Most of the time during the convention was spent on deciding these issues. Progress was slow until mid-July, when the Connecticut Compromise resolved enough lingering arguments for a draft written by the Committee of Detail to gain acceptance. Though more modifications and compromises were made over

3430-494: The average voter would be too ignorant about the candidates to make an informed decision. Sherman proposed an arrangement similar to a parliamentary system in which the executive should be appointed by and directly accountable to the legislature. A majority of delegates favored the president's election by Congress for a seven-year term, though there was concern that this would give the legislature too much power. Southern delegates supported selection by state legislatures, but this

3528-498: The cement that held America together linking the interests of the people and of the presidential administration. Wilson envisioned a president who would be a man of the people and who embodied the national responsibility for the public good and provided transparency and accountability by being a highly visible national leader, as opposed to numerous largely anonymous congressmen. On June 1, Wilson proposed that "the Executive consist of

3626-399: The convention began, however, most of the delegates – though not all – came to agree in general terms that the goal would be a new system of government, not simply a revised version of the Articles of Confederation. Several broad outlines were proposed and debated, most notably Madison's Virginia Plan and William Paterson 's New Jersey Plan . The Virginia Plan was selected as the basis for

3724-473: The convention had to be postponed when very few of the selected delegates were present on that day due to the difficulty of travel in the late 18th century. On May 14, only delegates from Virginia and Pennsylvania were present. It was not until May 25 that a quorum of seven states was secured and the convention could begin inside the Pennsylvania State House . New Hampshire delegates would not join

3822-448: The convention to formally begin, Madison sketched out his initial proposal, which became known as the Virginia Plan and reflected his views as a strong nationalist . The Virginia and Pennsylvania delegates agreed with Madison's plan and formed what came to be the predominant coalition within the convention. The plan was modeled on the state governments and was written in the form of fifteen resolutions outlining basic principles. It lacked

3920-420: The convention until July 23, more than halfway through the proceedings. Among the first things that the Convention did were to choose a presiding officer, unanimously electing George Washington to be the president of the convention. The convention then adopted rules drafted by a committee whose members were George Wythe (chairman), Charles Pinckney , and Alexander Hamilton . Each state delegation received

4018-427: The convention was intended to revise the league of states and first system of government under the Articles of Confederation , the intention from the outset of many of its proponents, chief among them James Madison of Virginia and Alexander Hamilton of New York, was to create a new frame of government rather than fix the existing one. The delegates elected George Washington of Virginia, former commanding general of

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4116-430: The convention, however, supported popular election. George Mason of Virginia said the lower house was "to be the grand depository of the democratic principle of the government." There was general agreement that the upper house or Senate should be smaller and more selective than the lower house. Its members should be gentlemen drawn from the most intelligent and virtuous among the citizenry. Experience had convinced

4214-561: The country's. By the mid-1780s, states were refusing to provide Congress with funding, which meant the government could not meet the interest on its foreign debt, pay the soldiers stationed along the Ohio River, or defend American navigation rights on the Mississippi River against Spanish interference. In 1782, Rhode Island vetoed an amendment that would have allowed Congress to levy taxes on imports to pay off federal debts. A second attempt

4312-410: The debates. The rules allowed delegates to demand reconsideration of any decision previously voted on. This enabled the delegates to take straw votes to measure the strength of controversial proposals and to change their minds as they worked for consensus. It was also agreed that the discussions and votes would be kept secret until the conclusion of the meeting. Despite the sweltering summer heat,

4410-478: The delegates that such an upper house was necessary to tame the excesses of the democratically elected lower house. The Virginia Plan's method of selecting the Senate was more controversial. Members concerned with preserving state power wanted state legislatures to select senators, while James Wilson of Pennsylvania proposed direct election by the people. It was not until June 7 that the delegates unanimously decided that state legislatures would choose senators. On

4508-452: The electoral college proposal. At the time, before the formation of modern political parties, there was widespread concern that candidates would routinely fail to secure a majority of electors in the electoral college. The method of resolving this problem, therefore, was a contested issue. Most thought that the House of Representatives should then choose the president since it most closely reflected

4606-425: The executive. On June 2, John Dickinson of Delaware proposed that the president be removed from office by Congress at the request of a majority of state legislatures. Madison and Wilson opposed this state interference in the national executive branch. Sherman argued that Congress should be able to remove the president for any reason in what was essentially a vote of no-confidence . George Mason worried that would make

4704-556: The executives. Laws enacted by Congress would take precedence over state laws. This plan was introduced on June 15. On June 18, Alexander Hamilton of New York presented his own plan that was at odds with both the Virginia and New Jersey plans. It called for the constitution to be modeled on the British government . The bicameral legislature included a lower house called the Assembly elected by

4802-468: The federal government's authority, Madison believed there needed to be a way to enforce the federal supremacy, such as an explicit right of Congress to use force against non-compliant states and the creation of a federal court system. Madison also believed the method of representation in Congress had to change. Since under Madison's plan, Congress would exercise authority over citizens directly—not simply through

4900-439: The first president may have allowed the proponents of a unitary executive to accumulate a large coalition. Wilson's motion for a single executive passed on June 4. Initially, the convention set the executive's term of office to seven years, but this would be revisited. Wilson also argued that the executive should be directly elected by the people. Only through direct election could the executive be independent of both Congress and

4998-471: The following weeks, most of this draft can be found in the finished version of the Constitution. After several more issues were debated and resolved, the Committee of Style produced the final version in early September. It was voted on by the delegates, inscribed on parchment by Jacob Shallus with engraving for printing, and signed by 39 of 55 delegates on September 17, 1787. The completed proposed Constitution

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5096-566: The issue. The ambiguity was resolved with the Somerset v Stewart decision in 1772. Lord Mansfield ordered that a fugitive slave from Massachusetts who had reached England, where slavery was not a legally recognised status (although not positively prohibited until the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ) was a free person who could not be legally returned to his previous owners. Absent a long-standing local custom or positive legislation requiring

5194-414: The legislature into an upper and lower house was familiar and had wide support. The British Parliament had an elected House of Commons and a hereditary House of Lords . All the states had bicameral legislatures except for Pennsylvania. The delegates quickly agreed that each house of Congress should be able to originate bills. They also agreed that the new Congress would have all the legislative powers of

5292-459: The legislature, specifically the composition and election procedures for the Senate as the upper legislative house of a bicameral Congress , and whether proportional representation was to be defined by a state's geography or by its population. The role of the executive was also hotly debated, including the key issues of whether to divide the executive power among three people or vest the power in

5390-470: The legislature, which was viewed as most representative of the people, including power traditionally considered as belonging to the executive and judicial branches. State governors lacked significant authority, and state courts and judges were under the control of the legislative branch at the time. The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and the 13 states created

5488-443: The link had to be severed between the two, thus creating the "third branch" of the judiciary which had been without any direct precedent before this point. On June 4, delegates unanimously agreed to a national judiciary "of one supreme tribunal and one or more inferior tribunals". The delegates disagreed on how federal judges should be chosen. The Virginia Plan called for the national legislature to appoint judges. James Wilson wanted

5586-410: The lower house from candidates nominated by state legislatures. Immediately after agreeing to form a supreme national government, the delegates turned to the Virginia Plan's proposal for proportional representation in Congress. Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, the most populous states, were unhappy with the one-vote-per-state rule in the Confederation Congress because they could be outvoted by

5684-405: The measure of our power. [T]hey denoted also the sentiments of the States on the subject of our deliberation. The idea of a national [Government] as contradistinguished from a federal one, never entered into the mind of any of them, and to the public mind we must accommodate ourselves. We have no power to go beyond the federal scheme, and if we had the people are not ripe for any other. We must follow

5782-408: The new government, and the delegates quickly reached consensus on a general blueprint of a federal government which has three branches ( legislative , executive , and judicial ) along with the basic role of each branch. However, disagreement over the specific design and powers of the branches delayed progress for weeks and threatened the success of the convention. The most contentious disputes involved

5880-451: The next century, it rarely did), he noted, representatives could not be assigned. Calculating such quotas would also be difficult due to lack of reliable data. Basing representation on the number of "free inhabitants" was unpopular with delegates from the South, where forty percent of the population was enslaved. In addition, the small states were opposed to any change that decreased their own influence. Delaware's delegation threatened to leave

5978-419: The other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority. The Senate, therefore, ought to be this body; and to answer these purposes, they ought to have permanency and stability. —James Madison, as recorded by Robert Yates, Tuesday June 26, 1787 On May 31, the delegates discussed the structure of Congress and how its members would be selected. The division of

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6076-570: The people for three year terms. The people would choose electors who would elect the members of a Senate who served for life. Electors would also choose a single executive called the governor who would also serve for life. The governor would have an absolute veto over bills. There would also be a national judiciary whose members would serve for life. Hamilton called for the abolition of the states (or at least their reduction to sub-jurisdictions with limited powers). Some scholars have suggested that Hamilton presented this radical plan to help secure passage of

6174-428: The people. In Pennsylvania, the people elected an executive council and the legislature appointed one of its members to be chief executive. The Virginia Plan proposed a national executive chosen by Congress. It would have power to execute national laws and be vested with the power to make war and treaties. Whether the executive would be a single person or a group of people was not defined. The executive together with

6272-448: The people; the people will not follow us. In England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people, the property of landed proprietors would be insecure. An agrarian law would soon take place. If these observations be just, our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation. Landholders ought to have a share in the government, to support these invaluable interests, and to balance and check

6370-540: The power of the national government; however, the supporters of the Virginia Plan ensured that it, rather than Pinckney's plan, received the most consideration. Many of Pinckney's ideas did appear in the final draft of the Constitution. His plan called for a bicameral legislature made up of a House of Delegates and a Senate. The popularly elected House would elect senators who would serve for four-year terms and represent one of four regions. The national legislature would have veto power over state laws. The legislature would elect

6468-471: The president a "mere creature of the legislature" and violate the separation of powers. Dickinson's motion was rejected, but in the aftermath of the vote there was still no consensus over how an unfit president should be removed from office. On June 4, the delegates debated the Council of Revision. Wilson and Alexander Hamilton of New York disagreed with the mixing of executive and judicial branches. They wanted

6566-457: The president to appoint judges to increase the power of that office. On June 13, the revised report on the Virginia Plan was issued. This report summarized the decisions made by the delegates in the first two weeks of the convention. It was agreed that a "national judiciary be established, to consist of one supreme tribunal". Congress would have the power to create and appoint inferior courts. Judges were to hold office "during good behavior" , and

6664-453: The president to have an absolute veto to guarantee his independence from the legislative branch. Remembering how colonial governors used their veto to "extort money" from the legislature, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania opposed giving the president an absolute veto. Gerry proposed that a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress be able to overrule any veto of the Council of Revision. This

6762-414: The provision "would oblige the Executive of the State to do it at public expence", while Sherman stated that he "saw no more propriety in the public seizing and surrendering a slave or servant, than a horse". After these objections, the discussion was dropped. The next day Butler proposed the following language which was passed with no debate or objections. If any person bound to service or labor in any of

6860-570: The question of proportional representation, the three large states still faced opposition from the eight small states. James Wilson realized that the large states needed the support of the Deep South states of Georgia and the Carolinas. For these southern delegates, the main priority was protection of slavery . Working with John Rutledge of South Carolina, Wilson, along with Charles Pinckney of South Carolina and Roger Sherman of Connecticut, proposed

6958-588: The return, judges were bound by English law to ignore the prior legal status of the fugitive under foreign laws. Although the decision did not affect the colonies directly and despite a general record of cooperation by northern colonies, law professor Steven Lubet wrote: Nonetheless, the Somerset precedent was frightening to southern slaveholders. It had been widely published in America, and often over-interpreted as having completely abolished slavery under British law. News of

7056-470: The ruling had spread by word of mouth among slaves, which of course was troubling to their masters. During and after the American Revolutionary War under the Articles of Confederation , there was no way to compel free states to capture fugitive slaves from other states and return them to their former masters, although there were provisions for the extradition of criminals. Despite this, there

7154-408: The separate states are incompetent." It would also be able to veto state laws. Representation in both houses of Congress would be apportioned according either to quotas of contribution (a state's wealth as reflected in the taxes it paid) or the size of each state's non-slave population. The lower house of Congress would be directly elected by the people, while the upper house would be elected by

7252-425: The smaller states despite representing more than half of the nation's population. Nevertheless, the delegates were divided over the best way to apportion representatives. Quotas of contribution appealed to southern delegates because they would include slave property, but Rufus King of Massachusetts highlighted the impractical side of such a scheme. If the national government did not impose direct taxes (which, for

7350-453: The sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation". The Congress only endorsed the convention on the grounds it would produce a report upon which necessary changes to the Articles could be introduced and ratified. Rhode Island was the only state that refused to send delegates, and it was the last state to ratify the Constitution in May 1790. Originally planned to begin on May 14,

7448-436: The states and could not force delinquent states to pay. Since the Articles could only be amended by a unanimous vote of the states, each state had effective veto power over any proposed change. A super majority (nine of thirteen state delegations) was required for Congress to pass major legislation such as declaring war, making treaties, or borrowing money. The Confederation had no executive or judicial branches, which meant

7546-510: The states, he was adamant that a confederation required equal representation for states. James Madison records his words as follows: [The Articles of the Confederation] were therefore the proper basis of all the proceedings of the Convention. We ought to keep within its limits, or we should be charged by our constituents with usurpation . . . the Commissions under which we acted were not only

7644-442: The states. This view was unpopular. A few delegates such as Roger Sherman, Elbridge Gerry, and Pierce Butler opposed the direct election of the executive because they considered the people too easily manipulated. However, most delegates were not questioning the intelligence of the voters; rather, what concerned them was the slowness by which information spread in the late 18th century. Due to a lack of information, delegates feared that

7742-404: The states—representation ought to be apportioned by population, with more populous states having more votes in Congress. Madison was also concerned with preventing a tyranny of the majority . The government needed to be neutral between the various factions or interest groups that divided society—creditors and debtors, rich and poor, or farmers, merchants and manufacturers. Madison believed that

7840-515: The summer of 1787. At the time, few nations had nonhereditary executives that could serve as models. The Dutch Republic was led by a stadtholder , but this office was usually inherited by members of the House of Orange . The Swiss Confederacy had no single leader, and the elective monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were viewed as corrupt. As a result of their colonial experience, Americans distrusted

7938-462: The system of checks and balances that would become central to the US Constitution. It called for a supreme national government and was a radical departure from the Articles of Confederation. On May 29, Edmund Randolph , the governor of Virginia, presented the Virginia Plan to the convention. The same day, Charles Pinckney of South Carolina introduced his own plan that also greatly increased

8036-476: The three-fifths ratio to Senate seats (though this was later overturned). As English law had typically recognized government as having two separate functions—law making embodied in the legislature and law executing embodied in the king and his courts—the division of the legislature from the executive and judiciary was a natural and uncontested point. Even so, the form the executive should take, its powers and its selection would be sources of constant dispute through

8134-660: The time, the convention was not referred to as a constitutional convention . It was contemporarily known as the Federal Convention , the Philadelphia Convention , or the Grand Convention at Philadelphia . Nor did most of the delegates arrive intending to draft a new constitution. Many assumed that the purpose of the convention was to discuss and draft improvements to the existing Articles of Confederation , and would not have agreed to participate otherwise. Once

8232-412: The trade of neighboring states. In 1784, Congress proposed an amendment to give it powers over foreign trade; however, it failed to receive unanimous approval by the states. Many upper-class Americans complained that state constitutions were too democratic and, as a result, legislators were more concerned with maintaining popular approval than doing what was best for the nation. The most pressing example

8330-418: The will of the people. This caused dissension among delegates from smaller states, who realized that this would put their states at a disadvantage. To resolve this dispute, the Convention agreed that the House would elect the president if no candidate had an electoral college majority, but that each state delegation would vote as a bloc, rather than individually. The Virginia Plan made no provision for removing

8428-484: The windows of the meeting hall were nailed shut to keep the proceedings a secret from the public. Although William Jackson was elected as secretary, his records were brief and included very little detail. Madison's Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 remain the most complete record of the convention, along with notes kept by Yates through mid-July. Due to the pledge to secrecy, Madison's account

8526-708: The word "legally" struck out, fearing this might favor the idea that "slavery was legal in a moral view". When South Carolina seceded from the Union in late 1860, its secession convention issued the Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union . The declaration placed heavy emphasis on the importance of the Fugitive Slave Clause to South Carolina and accused Northern states of flagrantly violating it, going as far as naming specific states. Unlike

8624-422: The words "slave" and "slavery" are not used in this clause. Historian Donald Fehrenbacher believes that throughout the Constitution there was the intent to make it clear that slavery existed only under state law, not federal law. In this instance, Fehrenbacher concludes: Most revealing in this respect was a last-minute change in the fugitive-clause whereby the phrase "legally held to service or labor in one state"

8722-500: Was amended to replace the council with the president alone, but Madison insisted on retaining a Council of Revision and consideration of the veto power was postponed. In the English tradition, judges were seen as agents of the king and his court who represented him throughout his realm. Madison believed that in the American states, this direct link between state executives and judges was a source of corruption through patronage , and thought

8820-516: Was changed to read "held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof." The revision made it impossible to infer from the passage that the Constitution itself legally sanctioned slavery. Prior to the American Revolution , there were no generally accepted principles of international law that required sovereign states to return fugitive slaves who had fled to their territory. English court decisions and opinions came down on both sides of

8918-589: Was little discussion concerning the issue of fugitive slaves. After the Three-Fifths Compromise resolved the issue of how to count slaves in the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States House of Representatives , two South Carolina delegates, Charles Pinckney and Pierce Butler , on August 28, 1787, proposed that fugitive slaves should be "delivered up like criminals". James Wilson of Pennsylvania and Roger Sherman of Connecticut originally objected. Wilson argued that

9016-585: Was made to approve a federal impost in 1785; however, this time it was New York which disapproved. The Confederation Congress also lacked the power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce. Britain, France and Spain imposed restrictions on American ships and products, while the U.S. was unable to coordinate retaliatory trade policies. When Massachusetts and Pennsylvania placed reciprocal duties on British trade, neighboring states such as Connecticut and Delaware established free ports to gain an economic advantage. Some states even began applying customs duties against

9114-480: Was not a widespread belief that this was a problem or that Northern states failed to cooperate on the issue. This was due at least in part to the fact that by 1787 only Vermont and Massachusetts had outlawed or effectively outlawed slavery. At the Constitutional Convention , many slavery issues were debated and for a time slavery was a major impediment to passage of the new constitution. However, there

9212-418: Was not published until after his death in 1836, while Yates's notes on the convention's first two months were published in 1821. James Madison of Virginia arrived in Philadelphia eleven days early and determined to set the convention's agenda. Before the convention, Madison studied republics and confederacies throughout history, such as ancient Greece and contemporary Switzerland. In April 1787, he drafted

9310-447: Was opposed by nationalists such as Madison who feared that such a president would become a power broker between different states' interests rather than a symbol of national unity. Eventually however, on June 2 the convention proposed and agreed to the national legislature choosing the executive for a single 7-year term, a proposal which of course later changed. Realizing that direct election was impossible, Wilson proposed what would become

9408-511: Was printed in several copies for review which began the debates and ratification process . Soon after it was also printed in newspapers for public review. During the American Revolution , the 13 American states replaced their colonial governments with republican constitutions based on the principle of separation of powers , organizing government into legislative , executive , and judicial branches. These revolutionary constitutions endorsed legislative supremacy by placing most power in

9506-533: Was proposed that Congress be given power to prevent such populist laws. When the government of Massachusetts refused to enact similar relief legislation, rural farmers resorted to violence in Shays' Rebellion (1786–1787). This rebellion was led by a former Revolutionary War captain, Daniel Shays , a small farmer with tax debts, who had never received payment for his service in the Continental Army . The rebellion took months for Massachusetts to put down, and some desired

9604-421: Was the way state legislatures responded to calls for economic relief. Many people were unable to pay taxes and debts due to a post-war economic depression that was exacerbated by a scarcity of gold and silver coins. States responded by issuing paper currency , which often depreciated in value, and by making it easier to defer tax and debt payments. These policies favored debtors at the expense of creditors, and it

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