DEAR SIR,
I wrote you some days since, to request you to inform
me when there was a prospect of your finishing, as I in-
tended to be with you, for certain reasons, before the
conclusion.
I wrote you some days since, to request you to inform
me when there was a prospect of your finishing, as I in-
tended to be with you, for certain reasons, before the
conclusion.
Hamilton - 1834 - Life on Hamilton - v2
org/access_use#pd-google
? 524
THE LIFE Of
have an equal vote in the second branch of the legislature.
At its termination the increased strength of the states right
party was shown by an equal division of the votes--five
states being in favour of the proposition and five in the ne-
gative--Maryland divided.
The pertinacity with which the claims to an equal par-
ticipation in the second branch were pressed, following the
warmth previously exhibited on the question of electing
the first branch by the people, threatened an utter prostra-
tion of all hope of concurring in a plan of government.
Under these circumstances, General Cotesworth Pinck-
ney proposed to appoint a committee to adjust the embar-
rassing controversy.
Martin objected to the measure as an attempt to com-
promise, and, feeling the strength of his party, declared,
"You must give each state an equal suffrage, or our business
is at an end. " Sherman replied, that "we had reached a
point from which we cannot move in either direction," and
urged the committee.
Gouverneur Morris followed, insisting on the necessity of
an aristocracy " of men of great and established property"
in the second branch, to be checked by the democratic
branch, and thus give stability to the government. "A
senate for seven years, excluded from office, would be," he
observed, "one of the baubles of the general government.
A government by compact is no government. While I
avow myself," he said, " the advocate of a strong govern-
ment, I admit that the influence of the rich must be guard-
ed: and a pure democracy is equally oppressive to the
lower orders of the community. " He threw out these re-
marks for the consideration of the committee to be ap-
pointed. Wilson did not approve of this expedient. If
adopted, he was for a smaller committee. Madison ob-
jected to it as only a source of delay. If appointed " from
each state, we shall have in it the whole force of state pre-
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? HAMILTON.
525
judices. " "The great difficulty is to conquer former opin-
ions. The motion can as well be decided here as in com-
mittee. " Gerry urged accommodation as absolutely neces-
sary, hoping that the defects might be amended by a future
convention. The motion was carried by nine states, Jer-
sey and Delaware dissenting, and a committee of a mem-
ber from each state was chosen by ballot, composed chiefly
of the advocates of the Jersey plan.
On the fifth of July a compromise was reported. It
proposed to give to each state one representative for every
forty thousand inhabitants, computing three-fifths of the
slaves as one white, and to a state containing a less num-
ber, one representative,- to compose the first branch; vest-
ing in that branch the exclusive origin and control of
money bills;--that in the second branch, each state should
have one vote. ,
The advocates of a strong government opposed the pro-
position. Wilson insisted upon a division of the question.
Madison declared that the originating money bills was no
concession on the part of the smaller states, as seven states
combining in the second branch, could control the first; it
being small in number and well connected, will ever pre-
vail. No provision is made as to the regulation of trade,
imposts, treaties. We are driven to an unhappy dilemma
Two-thirds of the inhabitants of the union are to please
the remaining third by sacrificing their essential rights.
In behalf of this compromise it was asserted, that the
power over money bills was an equivalent for the equal
representation in the senate. That it properly belonged to
the democratic branch. The senate being farther removed
from the people, would be less attentive to economy. It
was analogous to the parliamentary usage of England. *
The members most strenuous for retaining power in the
? Geny's State of Facts.
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THE LIFE OF
states wished to postpone the consideration of the first
proposition in order to enter upon the second, which was
not acceded to; and the question, whether numbers or rela-
tive contribution should determine the proportion of suf-
frage, was referred to a special committee. It was then
proposed to consider the constitution of the second branch.
This was postponed by the vote of six states--Massachu-
setts and New-York divided.
Having given a vote in favour of conferring on the first
branch the originating money bills, and thus fulfilling that
part of the proposed compromise, it was moved that in the
second branch the states should have an equal vote, which
was approved. On the ninth of July the special commit-
tee reported an apportionment of the members of the first
branch among the states, and that the legislature be au-
thorized to augment the number from time to time, and in
case a state be divided, or two or more united, or a new
state be created within the limits of the United States, it
be empowered to regulate the number of representatives
upon the principles of their wealth and number of inhabit-
ants; the provisional clause was approved, the equal vote
in the second branch temporarily sanctioned, and the ratio
was established on a conjectural basis. An objection being
taken to the small number of representatives, this sub-
ject was referred to the grand committee from each state. *
The following day King reported a new Scale of repre-
sentation, increased from fifty-six to sixty-five members.
At this important moment, when a large concession had
been made to the advocates of an equal power in the
states, and a basis had been formed upon which a compound
* Madison states a proposition, proceeding from himself, as a proper ground
of compromise; that in the first branch the states should be represented ac-
cording to the number of free inhabitants, and in the second, which had for
one of its primary objects the guardianship of property, according to the whole
number, including slaves--in effect, a southern predominance.
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? HAMILTON.
527
government, in part national, and in part federal, was to
be established, Yates and Lansing retired finally from
the convention. * On the last day on which they appeared,
Washington replied to Hamilton.
WASHINGTON TO HAMILTON.
Philadelphia, 10th July, 1787.
DEAR SIR,
I thank you for your communication of the third. When
I refer you to the state of the counsels which prevailed at
the period you left this city, and add that they are now,
if possible, in a worse train than ever, you will find but
little ground on which the hope of a good establishment
can be formed. In a word, I almost despair of seeing a
favourable issue to the proceedings of the convention, and
do therefore repent having had any agency in the busi-
ness.
The men who oppose a strong and energetic govern-
ment, are, in my opinion, narrow-minded politicians, or
are under the influence of local views.
The apprehension expressed by them, that the people
will not accede to the form proposed, is the ostensible, not
the real cause of opposition; but admitting that the pre-
sent sentiment is as they prognosticate, the question ought
nevertheless to be, is it oris it not the best form? If the for-
mer, recommend it, and it will assuredly obtain maugre
opposition.
/ am sorry you went away--/ wish you were back. The
crisis is equally important and alarming, and no opposition,
under such circumstances, should discourage exertions, till
the structure is fixed. I will not, at this time, trouble you
with more than my best wishes and sincere regards.
? July 10.
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THE LIFE OF
A stronger contrast cannot be drawn, than is seen in
the tone of this correspondence, and in the conduct of the
governing party in New-York.
On the one side, the utmost solicitude to seize this "crit-
ical opportunity for establishing the prosperity of this
country on a solid foundation;" on the other, a cold and
selfish desertion of it at the moment of its utmost peril.
It was not possible to have taken a course more calcula-
ted to arrest the proceedings of the convention; and when
the juncture at which the delegates from New-York re-
tired is considered, no doubt can be entertained that such
was the object.
That they acted in accordance with Clinton, was proved
by his deportment at this time. Unreserved declarations
were made by him, that no good was to be expected from
the appointment or deliberations of this body. That the
most probable result was, that the country would be thrown
into confusion by the measure. That it was by no means
a necessary one, as the confederation had not undergone
a sufficient trial, and probably, on a more full experiment,
would be found to answer all the purposes of the union.
"Clinton,"" Hamilton remarked, " was not a man govern-
ed in ordinary cases by sudden impulse; though of an
irritable temper, when not under the immediate influence
of irritation, he was circumspect and guarded, and seldom
acted or spoke without premeditation or design. "
Such declarations from such a source, could only have
been intended to excite prejudices against whatever plan
should be proposed by the convention. Feeling that Clin-
ton's conduct might, and fearing that it would, induce the
mischief he so confidently and openly predicted, Hamilton
resolved to exhibit it before the public in all its deformity.
He immediately published a pointed animadversion, charg-
ing these declarations upon him, and avowing a readiness
to substantiate them.
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? H A MI I. TON.
520
Having thus interposed his personal influence to counter-
act this insidious policy by an appeal to the people, he
hastened to Philadelphia, and there, without a vote, stand-
ing alone, and unsupported by his state, he renewed his
exertions to compose the heats and heal the differences
which had arisen, and, as far as was in his power, to aid in
directing the course of the convention.
The discussion of the compromise was protracted until
late in July, when the first of the propositions having been
modified, both were adopted, though by a voti. indicating
a wide difference of opinion. Five states were in favour
of them, but they were those of secondary importance.
Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia, voted
against them; and the important commonwealth of Mas-
sachusetts was divided. During this debate the number
of representatives was apportioned to each state, in the first
congress. It was declared that the representation ought
to be proportioned to direct taxation, and to ascertain the
necessary alterations in it, that a periodical census should
be taken. South Carolina and Georgia, seeking to increase
their relative weight, would have embraced in this census
all their slaves; but the three-fifths compromise, although
at first rejected,* was finally adopted. An effort was also
made to establish the principle, that the representation of
the new states to be admitted into the union, should never
exceed that of the original thirteen; but this unequal pro-
position was defeated. f
In determining the period when a census should be taken,
a similar contest for power was also seen. The vote was
at first unanimous for a re-apportionment at the expiration
of fifteen years. Then two years were proposed'; then six;
then twenty; a decennial census was ultimately established.
* Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, voting for it.
t Affirmative, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland
07
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? 530
THE LIFE OF
The principles of the constitution of the first branch be-
ing settled, those of the second were considered. A pro-
posal was made to fix the number of senators at thirty-six,
and to apportion them among the states. Massachusetts
and Virginia urged this change warmly, but it was resolv-
ed that each state should have an equal vote. The com-
promise on this point being effected, a new contest for
power was seen in the several modifications suggested in
the structure of the other departments of the government,
and in the extent and distribution of its powers.
The legislative powers of the government were now
considered, and a general declaratory clause was passed,
having in view subsequent alterations. It was not to be
expected that the proposed negative of Madison on the
state laws, would be retained; it was only supported by
the votes of three states, and in lieu of it, the legislative
acts of the United States, and treaties made under its au-
thority, were declared to be the supreme law of the land.
The institution of the executive department was the
next subject of deliberation. This marked instance was
now seen of the influences whicli were operating: Randolph
had insisted earnestly on a plural executive; he suggest-
ed, as giving a reasonable security to the smaller states, the
appointment of one executive, to be elected by an equality of
state votes. The delegates from Virginia, who had hesitated,
yielding, it was unanimously dec! ared that the national exec-
utive was to consist of one person. The effort was renewed
to render him eligible by the electors of the people. It was
then proposed that he should be chosen by electors ap-
pointed by the legislatures of the states; but the choice was
given to the national legislature, in conformity with the
original proposition of Virginia. He was declared to be
re-eligible. The trusts of carrying into execution the na-
tional laws, and of appointing the national officers, subject
to the negative of two-thirds of the legislature, were con-
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? HAMILTON.
? 31
fided to him: and a motion was made to substitute for a
term of seven years, the provision that he should hold his
office during good behaviour. This important substitute
was supported by the votes of four states, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia; but the term of
seven years was retained.
A judiciary during good behaviour was next established;
and, after an effort to confids the appointment of the
judges to the executive department solely, and then, as
Hamilton had proposed in his plan, to require the consent
of the senate, the appointment was given to the senate;
another concession to state influence. Its jurisdiction was
declared to extend to cases arising under laws passed by
the general legislature, and to such other questions as in-
volve the national peace and harmony.
The discussion was continued until the twenty-sixth of
July, much time being devoted to the institution of the
executive, and to the consideration of a proposal to require
certain qualifications of landed property and citizenship
in the members of each department of the government.
The modified resolutions were then referred to a commit-
tee of detail to prepare and report the outline of a constitu-
tion on the sixth of August, to which time the convention
adjourned. A draft of a constitution was on that day
reported, founded upon the principles which had been pre-
viously adopted, with many supplementary provisions.
The compromise, thus far, had only extended to the
structure of the government; its influence was now chiefly
seen in the limitations of its powers--limitations which
may be, with much probability, ascribed to Randolph and
Ellsworth, who, with Rutledge, Gorham, and Wilson, com-
posed the committee of detail.
This supposition is founded on a fact, which, it is be- ?
lieved, has not heretofore attracted attention.
On the twenty-second of August, seventeen hundred
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? 532
THE LIFE OF
and eighty-one, Randolph, Ellsworth, and Varnum, who
had been appointed a committee to prepare an exposition
of the confederation, made a report. They stated that they
ought to be discharged, because "the omission to enume-
rate any of the powers of congress would become an ar-
gument against their existence, and that it will be early
enough to insist on them when they shall be exercised
and disputed. "
Having specified in what particulars "the confedera-
tion requires execution," they proceeded to enumerate the
cases in which they deemed the extension of the powers
of congress necessary.
This exposition of the existing powers of the confede-
ration, and this enumeration of the proposed supplemental
powers, may be regarded as the source from which the detail
of the legislative powers enumerated in this plan of a con-
stitution is derived. One marked difference is observed.
By the report, the concurrence of two-thirds of congress
was required in the exercise of the great powers of war,
treaty, and revenue, while in this draft of the constitution
such concurrence is only made necessary to the passage
of a navigation act--a vicious check upon legislation, cer-
tain to result in evasive refinements. The convention
having refused to go into committee, this plan of a consti-
tution was discussed in the house. In its general outline
may be seen the extent to which Hamilton's system was
followed, and in the similarity of some of the modifications
which were proposed, the part he took as the discussion
progressed.
He continued in the convention until after the thirteenth
of August, when it is seen by the journal, that instead of
the provision requiring as a qualification for a seat in the
house of representatives that the candidate should have been
a citizen seven years, he urged that citizenship and inhabi-
tancy were sufficient prc-rcquisites, leaving to the discre-
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? HAMILTON.
533
tion of the legislature to prescribe such rules of naturali-
zation as should be found expedient. He was soon after
compelled again to repair to New-York.
The following letters evince his determination to give his
sanction to its proceedings, under a conviction that what-
ever plan should be adopted, would be an improvement
upon the articles of the confederation, and that a dissolu-
tion of that body without the recommendation of a sub-
stitute, would produce a dissolution of the union.
HAMILTON TO RUFUS KING.
DEAR SIR,
Since my arrival here, I have written to my colleagues,
informing them if either of them would come down, I
would accompany him to Philadelphia: so much for the
sake of propriety and public opinion. <<
In the mean time, if any material alteration should hap-
pen to be made in the plan now before the convention, I
will be obliged to you for a communication of it. I will
also be obliged to you to let me know when your conclu-
sion is at hand, for I would choose to be present at that
time.
New. York, August 20, 1787.
THE SAME TO THE SAME.
DEAR SIR,
I wrote you some days since, to request you to inform
me when there was a prospect of your finishing, as I in-
tended to be with you, for certain reasons, before the
conclusion.
It is whispered here, that some late changes in youi
scheme have taken place, which give it a higher tone. Is
this the case? I leave town to-day to attend a circuit in
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? 534
THE LIFE OF
a neighbouring county, from which I shall return the last
of the week, and shall be glad to find a line from you, ex-
planatory of the period of the probable termination of
your business.
New-York, August 28, 1787.
i anxiety for the establishment of an energetic nation-
vernment was increased by a circumstance which
indicates the unsettled state of the public feeling, the dis-
trusts of the community, and the mad projects which the
deranged affairs of the country had engendered.
During his sojourn at New-Yerk, a report was mention-
ed in a gazette* of that city, that ajjroject was in embryo
for the establishment of a monarchy^ at the head of which
it was contemplated to place the bishop of Osnaburgh.
This report was traced to a political letter, which had
been circulated, in Connecticut, suggesting this plot.
The extraordinary nature of this suggestion, whether in-
tended to excite prejudices against the convention, or to
alarm the anti-federalists to an adoption of such a consti-
tution as it should propose, or as an experiment upon pub-
lic opinion, engaged the attention of Hamilton. He im-
mediately addressed a letter to Colonel Wadsworth, asking
a solution of this enigma, in which he observes, "The his-
tory of its appearance among us, is, that it was sent by
one Whetmore, of Strafford, formerly in the paymaster-
general's office, to a person in this city. .
"I am at a loss clearly to understand its object, and have
some suspicion that it has been fabricated to excite jeal-
ousies against the convention, with a view to an opposition
to their recommendations; at all events, I wish you, if
possible, to trace its source, and send it to you for that
purpose.
* Daily Advertiser, August 18, 1787
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? HAMILTON. 535
"Whetmore must of course say where he got it, and by
pursuing the information, we may at last come at the au-
thor. Let me know the political connections of this man,
and the complexion of the people most active in the circu-
lation of the letter. " It appears from the reply of Colonel
Wadsworth, that he had referred the inquiry to Colonel
Humphries, whose letter to Hamilton of the first of Sep-
tember, states that this letter had been printed in a Fair-
field paper of the twenty-fifth of July past. "Whetmore
informs me that when he first saw it, it was in the hands
of one Jared Mansfield, who, I believe, has formerly been
reputed a loyalist. Indeed, it seems to have been received
and circulated with avidity by that class of people, wheth-
er fabricated by them or not. I think there is little doubt
it was manufactured in this state. Some think the real
design was to excite the apprehensions of the anti-federal-
ists, with the idea that the most disastrous consequences
are to be expected, unless we shall accept the proceedings
of the convention; but others, with more reason, that it
was intended to feel the public pulse, and to discover
whether the public mind would be startled with proposi-
tions of royalty. The quondam tories have undoubtedly
conceived hopes of a future union with Great Britain, from
the inefficacy of our government, and the tumults which
prevailed in Massachusetts during the last winter.
"It seems, by a conversation I have had here, that the
ultimate practicability of introducing the bishop of Osna-
burgh, is not a novel idea among those who were formerly
termed loyalists. Ever since the peace, it has been occa-
sionally talked of and wished for. Yesterday, where I
dined, half jest, half earnest, he was given as the first
toast.
"I leave you now, my dear friend, to reflect how ripe
we are for the most mad and ruinous project that can be
suggested, especially when, in addition to this view, we
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? THE LIFE OF
take into consideration how thoroughly the patriotic part
of the community, the friends of an efficient government,
are discouraged with the present system, and irritated at
the popular demagogues, who are determined to keep
themselves in office at the risk of every thing.
"I am happy to see you have had the boldness to attack,
in a public paper, the anti-federal dogmas of a great per-
sonage of your state. Go on, and prosper. Were the men
of talents and honesty throughout the continent properly
combined into one phalanx, I am confident they would be
competent to hew their way through all opposition, and
establish a government calculated to promote the happi-
ness of mankind, and make the revolution a blessing in-
stead of a curse. " Here this matter terminated. It ap-
pears from a subsequent memorandum of Hamilton's, that
though there was little to fear from the project, that he
did not consider it entirely destitute of reality.
His allusion, in his letter to King, to "whispered
changes" in the scheme which gave it a higher tone, re-
ferred to several additional powers proposed to be vested
in the legislature, which were referred; to a modification
in the mode of electing, and in the duration and powers
of the executive; to an enlargement of the jurisdiction of
the judicial department; and to a full declaration of the
supremacy of the constitution and laws of the United
States,--in all of which may be seen an adoption of, or ap-
proximation to, the principles in his plan.
The tone of the convention was evidently undergoing a
change, and the chief collision at this period grew out of
an effort on the part of the non-slaveholding states to re-
strain the extension of that evil, and on the part of the
planting states to exclude the power of levying duties on
exports, and, by requiring the assent of two-thirds of the
legislature to the enactment of a navigation act, or to acts
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? HAMILTON.
537
regulating commerce,* to provide against a danger long the
source of great but groundless apprehension in that part
of the union.
In the beginning of September, Hamilton resumed his
seat in the convention. No means exist of showing mi-
nutely the several propositions of which he was the author.
The great modifications the system underwent subse-
quent to this period, in conformity with his previously
avowed opinions, and the close analogy between parts of
the existing constitution and the plan of government he
had framed, give the evidence of his efficient participation
in the closing labours of that body. That he was elected a
member of the last committee appointed, with instructions
to revise the style and arrange the articles agreed to by
the house, refutes the impression sought to be given, that he
remained, at so interesting a crisis of this country, an almost
inactive spectator of the proceedings of a great council,
to the formation of which he had devoted all his energies.
A statement of a member of that committee of revisal,
of distinguished talent and character, is to the point on
this question. "If," Doctor Johnson remarked, " the con-
stitution did not succeed on trial, Hamilton was less re-
sponsible for that result than any other member,-for he
fully and frankly pointed out to the convention what he
apprehended were the infirmities to which it was liable.
And if it answered the fond expectations of the public,
the community would be more indebted to Hamilton than
to any other member; for, after its essential outlines were
agreed to, he laboured most indefatigably to heal those in-
firmities, and to guard against the evils to which they might
expose it. "
* In a division on this question of commercial regulation, Aug. 29, the
votes were for the restriction, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Geor.
gia: against it, the other seven states, including South Carolina.
68
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? 538
THE LIFE OF
On the fourth of September, the grand committee of
each state made an important report.
One branch of it gave full fiscal power to the govern-
ment. The legislature were invested with a " power to
lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay
the debts, and to provide for the common defence and gen-
eral welfare of the United States. "
The office of the executive had been reconsidered. His
term was reduced from seven to four years, and, adopting
in part Hamilton's views, he was to be chosen by electors;
but, reluctant to relinquish the policy which would con-
sider the states, and not the people, of the union as the
basis of the constitution, each state was to appoint, " in
such manner as its legislature may direct, a number of
/ electors equal to its representation in congress. " If the
candidate should not have a majority of the ballots of the
whole number of electors, the eventual choice devolved on
the senate.
Hamilton was opposed to this provision--it being an
essential part of his policy, that the chief magistrate should
not be chosen by any pre-existing body, and should be the
representative of the people, and not of the states. The
eventual choice by the senate was also repugnant to his
views. He saw, as an inevitable consequence, that many
of the states, to secure to their senators an ultimate control
over the executive, would defeat the choice by electors.
Rather than incur this evil, to which, as the president
was re-eligible, would be superadded the danger of a cor-
rupt influence being exerted by him upon the senate, he is
represented as preferring that the highest electoral ballot,
though not that of a majority, should appoint him.
The constitution of this office was a subject of consid-
eration until near the termination of their deliberations:
an effort being made, but defeated, to extend the execu-
tive term from four years to seven, to declare him not
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? HAIHUTOII.
539
re-eligible, and to restore the choice to the national legis-
lature.
Hamilton's views as to the structure of the government,
were modified during the progress of these discussions.
In his minutes of the debates taken at an early period
of its deliberations, this remark is found: "At the period
which terminates the duration of the executive, there will
be always an awful crisis in the national situation. " This
apprehension grew with his reflections; and when he saw
that the senate were to be chosen for a period of only six
years, with terms ceasing by rotation, and to be chosen by
the states in their sovereign capacities, and not by electors
of the people, it became a necessary consequence that he
would limit the duration of the executive office propor-
tionably. A president of so great duration as good beha-
viour, with a senate of so limited a duration, would soon
have become its master.
Influenced by these considerations, he drew up a second
plan while the convention was sitting, which limited the
term of the president to only three years.
The powers of the president were again discussed, and
were established according to the provisions in his first
plan. He was declared to be commander-in-chief of the
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of
the several states. All treaties were to be made by him,
with the advice and consent of the senate, with this quali-
fication, that "two-thirds of the senators present concur. "
In defining the power of appointment, with the exception
that the senate were to have a voice in that of the heads
of the executive departments, his plan was also closely
followed. The other provisions as to this great office,
were analogous to those he had devised; and though with-
out the guards he had sought to interpose, the great prin-
ciple was finally established, that he was to be chosen
through the medium of electors chosen by the people.
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THE LIFE OF
His first plan, it is seen, contemplated a house of repre-
sentatives, to consist in the first instance of one hundred
members. This number was proposed by Hugh William-
son, but was not approved.
A house of representatives, to consist of sixty-five mem-
bers, which the scheme then before the convention had in
view, he thought was on so narrow a scale as to be dan-
gerous, and justly to warrant a jealousy for the liberty of
the country. It was the more important in his view to
enlarge it, because of the determination to give the event-
ual choice of the president to that branch of the legislature,
and from a belief, as he remarked, " that the connection be-
tween the president and senate would tend to perpetuate
him by corrupt influence. "* Hamilton's "earnestness and
anxiety " on this point were felt by Washington, and after
the convention had refused to enlarge the representation, at
the last moment of its sitting, when he rose to put the final
question on the constitution, he requested that the ratio of
representation should be established at thirty instead of
forty thousand for each representative, until a census should
be taken. The diminished ratio was unanimously assented
to. In further security of liberty, Hamilton's important
precaution had been adopted, excluding any "religious
test" as a qualification for office, but omitting the prohibi-
tion in his plan of the establishment " by law of any reli-
gious sect or denomination. "
One article of the draft then before that body provided
that, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of
the states in the union for an amendment of the constitu-
tion, the legislature of the United States should call a con-
vention for that purpose.
To this article two serious objections existed: one, that
such an application would not be made by the states, unless
* Madison's Debates, 1533.
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? HAMILTON.
541
with a view to increase their powers, and the more enfee-
ble the general government; the other, the danger to be
apprehended of throwing open the whole constitution to a
future convention, a measure which might result in a dis-
solution of the union.
Hamilton's plan avoided these evils. Unwilling to lose
his hold upon the constitution about to be recommended as
the great bond of union, it provided that amendments
might be proposed by the legislature of the United States,
two-thirds of its members concurring, which, if ratified by
the legislatures or conventions of two-thirds of the states
composing the union, should become parts. of the still ex-
isting constitution.
His plan also probably led to the provisions in the fifth
article of the constitution, which was the result of a com-
promise.
The draft of a constitution reported on the sixth of Au-
gust, proposed that it should be laid before congress for
their approbation, and declared it as " the opinion of the
convention," that it should be afterwards submitted to a
convention, to be chosen in each state under the recom-
mendation of its legislature, to receive its ratification.
Should congress not have thought proper to submit the
constitution to be ratified, an event which, from the tem-
per previously displayed by that body, was not improbable,
the labours of the convention would have been regarded
as little more than a solemn farce.
Hamilton's plan declared, "that this constitution shall
be submitted to the consideration of conventions in the
several states, the members whereof shull be chosen by the
people, under the direction of their legislatures; the rati-
fication of each state being final, with power to each con-
vention, thus immediately expressing the will of the people
to appoint its senators and representatives, who, as Wash-
ington wodd be the choice, were to elect the first president.
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? 542
THE LIFE OF
Thus the establishment of the constitution was ensured,
the people of each state ratifying it, becoming by that act
parties to it, and forming the nucleus of a more extended
union.
The last article of the present constitution was evidently
framed in reference to this provision, though it embodied
a vicious principle of the confederation; declaring that
"the ratification of the conventions of nine* states shall be
sufficient for the establishment of the constitution between
the states so ratifying" it.
A revised plan of the constitution was reported by John-
son, on the twelfth of September, with a letter to congress
stating it to be the result of a spirit of amity, and of that
mutual deference and concession which the peculiarity of
their political situation rendered indispensable. Several
amendments having been made to the plan, an engrossed
copy was read before the convention on the seventeenth
of September.
Though doubting much of the efficacy of several of its
provisions, Hamilton earnestly urged the unanimous ap-
proval of all the members of the convention. Three--
Gerry, Mason, and Randolph--withheld their assent;
all the other delegates affixed their signatures, among
which Hamilton's name appears as the sole representative
of New-York.
From the previous narrative, it appears that any uncom-
pcllcd disclosure of the proceedings of the federal conven-
tion, was a breach of an express stipulation among its mem-
bers. It was to be expected that those who could violate
that stipulation, would not be very scrupulous as to the ac-
curacy of their statements.
The eminent position Hamilton held before this nation,
would naturally excite opposition and lead to misrepre-
* Seven had been proposed, then ten, then nine.
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? HAMILTON.
543
sentation. In the absence of real grounds of inculpation,
the more apt would be the resort to imputations of opinions
offensive to the easily excited suspicions of a jealous popu-
lation.
Such was the policy of his enemies. His theoretic doubts
of the permanency of purely democratic institutions, and
of their power to promote the happiness of a community,
and his approval of the British constitution, however quali-
fied, the open avowal of which ought to have produced
the opposite effect, were tortured into evidence of opinions
unfriendly to liberty, and these opinions were soon repre-
sented as designs.
Some additional statements are thus rendered necessary.
In the reply previously referred to, made by Hamilton to
an anonymous attack in the year seventeen hundred and
ninety-two, at the seat of government, when nearly all the
members of the convention were living, to a charge that
he "opposed the constitution in the grand convention, be-
cause it was too republican," he remarked, "This I af-
firm to be a gross misrepresentation. To prove it so, it
were sufficient to appeal to a single fact, namely, that the
gentleman alluded to was the only member from the state
to which he belonged who signed the constitution, and, it is
notorious, against the prevailing weight of the official in-
fluence of the state, and against what would probably be
the opinion of a large majority of his fellow-citizens, till
better information should correct their first impressions.
How, then, can he be believed to have opposed a thing
which he actually agreed to, and that in so unsupported a
situation and under circumstances of such peculiar respon-
sibility? To this, I shall add two more facts :--One, that
the member in question never made a proposition to the
convention which was not conformable to the republican
theory. The other, that the highest toned of any of the
propositions made by him, was actually voted for by the
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? 544
THE LIFE OF
representatives of several states, including some of the
principal ones, and including individuals who, in the esti-
mation of those who deem themselves the only republicans,
are pre-eminent for republican character. More than this
I am not at liberty to say. "*
* That Virginia voted for a president during good behaviour, is seen in the
journal of the seventeenth of July, and that Madison gave one of these votes
is not controverted by him in his report of the proceedings of that day. He
only seeks to explain it. His statement is, that Doctor McClurg moved this
term of service, with the comment, that" the probable object of this motion was
merely to enforce the argument against the re-eligibility of the executive ma-
gistrate by holding out a tenure during good behaviour, as the alternative for
keeping him independent of the legislature. " Madison reports his own
speech on this motion, which, as far as it relates to it, docs not disapprove it,
and adds this observation in a note: "The view here taken of the subject,
was meant to aid in parrying the animadversions likely to fall on the motion
of Doctor McClurg, for whom J. M. had a particular regard. The Doctor,
though possessing talents of the highest order, was modest and unaccustom-
ed to exert them in public debate. " It will be recollected that this explana-
tion is given after Hamilton's public and then uncontradicted charge, that
Madison's views on this subject did not differ from his own. Complaisance
strained to its utmost limit might induce these remarks to parry animadver-
sions on a friend, but complaisance did not require that Madison should not
merely have sought to parry censure of the proposition of a friend which ho
wished himself to be regarded as disapproving, but that he should have record-
ed his rote in favour of it.
? 524
THE LIFE Of
have an equal vote in the second branch of the legislature.
At its termination the increased strength of the states right
party was shown by an equal division of the votes--five
states being in favour of the proposition and five in the ne-
gative--Maryland divided.
The pertinacity with which the claims to an equal par-
ticipation in the second branch were pressed, following the
warmth previously exhibited on the question of electing
the first branch by the people, threatened an utter prostra-
tion of all hope of concurring in a plan of government.
Under these circumstances, General Cotesworth Pinck-
ney proposed to appoint a committee to adjust the embar-
rassing controversy.
Martin objected to the measure as an attempt to com-
promise, and, feeling the strength of his party, declared,
"You must give each state an equal suffrage, or our business
is at an end. " Sherman replied, that "we had reached a
point from which we cannot move in either direction," and
urged the committee.
Gouverneur Morris followed, insisting on the necessity of
an aristocracy " of men of great and established property"
in the second branch, to be checked by the democratic
branch, and thus give stability to the government. "A
senate for seven years, excluded from office, would be," he
observed, "one of the baubles of the general government.
A government by compact is no government. While I
avow myself," he said, " the advocate of a strong govern-
ment, I admit that the influence of the rich must be guard-
ed: and a pure democracy is equally oppressive to the
lower orders of the community. " He threw out these re-
marks for the consideration of the committee to be ap-
pointed. Wilson did not approve of this expedient. If
adopted, he was for a smaller committee. Madison ob-
jected to it as only a source of delay. If appointed " from
each state, we shall have in it the whole force of state pre-
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? HAMILTON.
525
judices. " "The great difficulty is to conquer former opin-
ions. The motion can as well be decided here as in com-
mittee. " Gerry urged accommodation as absolutely neces-
sary, hoping that the defects might be amended by a future
convention. The motion was carried by nine states, Jer-
sey and Delaware dissenting, and a committee of a mem-
ber from each state was chosen by ballot, composed chiefly
of the advocates of the Jersey plan.
On the fifth of July a compromise was reported. It
proposed to give to each state one representative for every
forty thousand inhabitants, computing three-fifths of the
slaves as one white, and to a state containing a less num-
ber, one representative,- to compose the first branch; vest-
ing in that branch the exclusive origin and control of
money bills;--that in the second branch, each state should
have one vote. ,
The advocates of a strong government opposed the pro-
position. Wilson insisted upon a division of the question.
Madison declared that the originating money bills was no
concession on the part of the smaller states, as seven states
combining in the second branch, could control the first; it
being small in number and well connected, will ever pre-
vail. No provision is made as to the regulation of trade,
imposts, treaties. We are driven to an unhappy dilemma
Two-thirds of the inhabitants of the union are to please
the remaining third by sacrificing their essential rights.
In behalf of this compromise it was asserted, that the
power over money bills was an equivalent for the equal
representation in the senate. That it properly belonged to
the democratic branch. The senate being farther removed
from the people, would be less attentive to economy. It
was analogous to the parliamentary usage of England. *
The members most strenuous for retaining power in the
? Geny's State of Facts.
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? 526
THE LIFE OF
states wished to postpone the consideration of the first
proposition in order to enter upon the second, which was
not acceded to; and the question, whether numbers or rela-
tive contribution should determine the proportion of suf-
frage, was referred to a special committee. It was then
proposed to consider the constitution of the second branch.
This was postponed by the vote of six states--Massachu-
setts and New-York divided.
Having given a vote in favour of conferring on the first
branch the originating money bills, and thus fulfilling that
part of the proposed compromise, it was moved that in the
second branch the states should have an equal vote, which
was approved. On the ninth of July the special commit-
tee reported an apportionment of the members of the first
branch among the states, and that the legislature be au-
thorized to augment the number from time to time, and in
case a state be divided, or two or more united, or a new
state be created within the limits of the United States, it
be empowered to regulate the number of representatives
upon the principles of their wealth and number of inhabit-
ants; the provisional clause was approved, the equal vote
in the second branch temporarily sanctioned, and the ratio
was established on a conjectural basis. An objection being
taken to the small number of representatives, this sub-
ject was referred to the grand committee from each state. *
The following day King reported a new Scale of repre-
sentation, increased from fifty-six to sixty-five members.
At this important moment, when a large concession had
been made to the advocates of an equal power in the
states, and a basis had been formed upon which a compound
* Madison states a proposition, proceeding from himself, as a proper ground
of compromise; that in the first branch the states should be represented ac-
cording to the number of free inhabitants, and in the second, which had for
one of its primary objects the guardianship of property, according to the whole
number, including slaves--in effect, a southern predominance.
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? HAMILTON.
527
government, in part national, and in part federal, was to
be established, Yates and Lansing retired finally from
the convention. * On the last day on which they appeared,
Washington replied to Hamilton.
WASHINGTON TO HAMILTON.
Philadelphia, 10th July, 1787.
DEAR SIR,
I thank you for your communication of the third. When
I refer you to the state of the counsels which prevailed at
the period you left this city, and add that they are now,
if possible, in a worse train than ever, you will find but
little ground on which the hope of a good establishment
can be formed. In a word, I almost despair of seeing a
favourable issue to the proceedings of the convention, and
do therefore repent having had any agency in the busi-
ness.
The men who oppose a strong and energetic govern-
ment, are, in my opinion, narrow-minded politicians, or
are under the influence of local views.
The apprehension expressed by them, that the people
will not accede to the form proposed, is the ostensible, not
the real cause of opposition; but admitting that the pre-
sent sentiment is as they prognosticate, the question ought
nevertheless to be, is it oris it not the best form? If the for-
mer, recommend it, and it will assuredly obtain maugre
opposition.
/ am sorry you went away--/ wish you were back. The
crisis is equally important and alarming, and no opposition,
under such circumstances, should discourage exertions, till
the structure is fixed. I will not, at this time, trouble you
with more than my best wishes and sincere regards.
? July 10.
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? 528
THE LIFE OF
A stronger contrast cannot be drawn, than is seen in
the tone of this correspondence, and in the conduct of the
governing party in New-York.
On the one side, the utmost solicitude to seize this "crit-
ical opportunity for establishing the prosperity of this
country on a solid foundation;" on the other, a cold and
selfish desertion of it at the moment of its utmost peril.
It was not possible to have taken a course more calcula-
ted to arrest the proceedings of the convention; and when
the juncture at which the delegates from New-York re-
tired is considered, no doubt can be entertained that such
was the object.
That they acted in accordance with Clinton, was proved
by his deportment at this time. Unreserved declarations
were made by him, that no good was to be expected from
the appointment or deliberations of this body. That the
most probable result was, that the country would be thrown
into confusion by the measure. That it was by no means
a necessary one, as the confederation had not undergone
a sufficient trial, and probably, on a more full experiment,
would be found to answer all the purposes of the union.
"Clinton,"" Hamilton remarked, " was not a man govern-
ed in ordinary cases by sudden impulse; though of an
irritable temper, when not under the immediate influence
of irritation, he was circumspect and guarded, and seldom
acted or spoke without premeditation or design. "
Such declarations from such a source, could only have
been intended to excite prejudices against whatever plan
should be proposed by the convention. Feeling that Clin-
ton's conduct might, and fearing that it would, induce the
mischief he so confidently and openly predicted, Hamilton
resolved to exhibit it before the public in all its deformity.
He immediately published a pointed animadversion, charg-
ing these declarations upon him, and avowing a readiness
to substantiate them.
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? H A MI I. TON.
520
Having thus interposed his personal influence to counter-
act this insidious policy by an appeal to the people, he
hastened to Philadelphia, and there, without a vote, stand-
ing alone, and unsupported by his state, he renewed his
exertions to compose the heats and heal the differences
which had arisen, and, as far as was in his power, to aid in
directing the course of the convention.
The discussion of the compromise was protracted until
late in July, when the first of the propositions having been
modified, both were adopted, though by a voti. indicating
a wide difference of opinion. Five states were in favour
of them, but they were those of secondary importance.
Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia, voted
against them; and the important commonwealth of Mas-
sachusetts was divided. During this debate the number
of representatives was apportioned to each state, in the first
congress. It was declared that the representation ought
to be proportioned to direct taxation, and to ascertain the
necessary alterations in it, that a periodical census should
be taken. South Carolina and Georgia, seeking to increase
their relative weight, would have embraced in this census
all their slaves; but the three-fifths compromise, although
at first rejected,* was finally adopted. An effort was also
made to establish the principle, that the representation of
the new states to be admitted into the union, should never
exceed that of the original thirteen; but this unequal pro-
position was defeated. f
In determining the period when a census should be taken,
a similar contest for power was also seen. The vote was
at first unanimous for a re-apportionment at the expiration
of fifteen years. Then two years were proposed'; then six;
then twenty; a decennial census was ultimately established.
* Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, voting for it.
t Affirmative, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland
07
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? 530
THE LIFE OF
The principles of the constitution of the first branch be-
ing settled, those of the second were considered. A pro-
posal was made to fix the number of senators at thirty-six,
and to apportion them among the states. Massachusetts
and Virginia urged this change warmly, but it was resolv-
ed that each state should have an equal vote. The com-
promise on this point being effected, a new contest for
power was seen in the several modifications suggested in
the structure of the other departments of the government,
and in the extent and distribution of its powers.
The legislative powers of the government were now
considered, and a general declaratory clause was passed,
having in view subsequent alterations. It was not to be
expected that the proposed negative of Madison on the
state laws, would be retained; it was only supported by
the votes of three states, and in lieu of it, the legislative
acts of the United States, and treaties made under its au-
thority, were declared to be the supreme law of the land.
The institution of the executive department was the
next subject of deliberation. This marked instance was
now seen of the influences whicli were operating: Randolph
had insisted earnestly on a plural executive; he suggest-
ed, as giving a reasonable security to the smaller states, the
appointment of one executive, to be elected by an equality of
state votes. The delegates from Virginia, who had hesitated,
yielding, it was unanimously dec! ared that the national exec-
utive was to consist of one person. The effort was renewed
to render him eligible by the electors of the people. It was
then proposed that he should be chosen by electors ap-
pointed by the legislatures of the states; but the choice was
given to the national legislature, in conformity with the
original proposition of Virginia. He was declared to be
re-eligible. The trusts of carrying into execution the na-
tional laws, and of appointing the national officers, subject
to the negative of two-thirds of the legislature, were con-
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? HAMILTON.
? 31
fided to him: and a motion was made to substitute for a
term of seven years, the provision that he should hold his
office during good behaviour. This important substitute
was supported by the votes of four states, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia; but the term of
seven years was retained.
A judiciary during good behaviour was next established;
and, after an effort to confids the appointment of the
judges to the executive department solely, and then, as
Hamilton had proposed in his plan, to require the consent
of the senate, the appointment was given to the senate;
another concession to state influence. Its jurisdiction was
declared to extend to cases arising under laws passed by
the general legislature, and to such other questions as in-
volve the national peace and harmony.
The discussion was continued until the twenty-sixth of
July, much time being devoted to the institution of the
executive, and to the consideration of a proposal to require
certain qualifications of landed property and citizenship
in the members of each department of the government.
The modified resolutions were then referred to a commit-
tee of detail to prepare and report the outline of a constitu-
tion on the sixth of August, to which time the convention
adjourned. A draft of a constitution was on that day
reported, founded upon the principles which had been pre-
viously adopted, with many supplementary provisions.
The compromise, thus far, had only extended to the
structure of the government; its influence was now chiefly
seen in the limitations of its powers--limitations which
may be, with much probability, ascribed to Randolph and
Ellsworth, who, with Rutledge, Gorham, and Wilson, com-
posed the committee of detail.
This supposition is founded on a fact, which, it is be- ?
lieved, has not heretofore attracted attention.
On the twenty-second of August, seventeen hundred
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? 532
THE LIFE OF
and eighty-one, Randolph, Ellsworth, and Varnum, who
had been appointed a committee to prepare an exposition
of the confederation, made a report. They stated that they
ought to be discharged, because "the omission to enume-
rate any of the powers of congress would become an ar-
gument against their existence, and that it will be early
enough to insist on them when they shall be exercised
and disputed. "
Having specified in what particulars "the confedera-
tion requires execution," they proceeded to enumerate the
cases in which they deemed the extension of the powers
of congress necessary.
This exposition of the existing powers of the confede-
ration, and this enumeration of the proposed supplemental
powers, may be regarded as the source from which the detail
of the legislative powers enumerated in this plan of a con-
stitution is derived. One marked difference is observed.
By the report, the concurrence of two-thirds of congress
was required in the exercise of the great powers of war,
treaty, and revenue, while in this draft of the constitution
such concurrence is only made necessary to the passage
of a navigation act--a vicious check upon legislation, cer-
tain to result in evasive refinements. The convention
having refused to go into committee, this plan of a consti-
tution was discussed in the house. In its general outline
may be seen the extent to which Hamilton's system was
followed, and in the similarity of some of the modifications
which were proposed, the part he took as the discussion
progressed.
He continued in the convention until after the thirteenth
of August, when it is seen by the journal, that instead of
the provision requiring as a qualification for a seat in the
house of representatives that the candidate should have been
a citizen seven years, he urged that citizenship and inhabi-
tancy were sufficient prc-rcquisites, leaving to the discre-
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? HAMILTON.
533
tion of the legislature to prescribe such rules of naturali-
zation as should be found expedient. He was soon after
compelled again to repair to New-York.
The following letters evince his determination to give his
sanction to its proceedings, under a conviction that what-
ever plan should be adopted, would be an improvement
upon the articles of the confederation, and that a dissolu-
tion of that body without the recommendation of a sub-
stitute, would produce a dissolution of the union.
HAMILTON TO RUFUS KING.
DEAR SIR,
Since my arrival here, I have written to my colleagues,
informing them if either of them would come down, I
would accompany him to Philadelphia: so much for the
sake of propriety and public opinion. <<
In the mean time, if any material alteration should hap-
pen to be made in the plan now before the convention, I
will be obliged to you for a communication of it. I will
also be obliged to you to let me know when your conclu-
sion is at hand, for I would choose to be present at that
time.
New. York, August 20, 1787.
THE SAME TO THE SAME.
DEAR SIR,
I wrote you some days since, to request you to inform
me when there was a prospect of your finishing, as I in-
tended to be with you, for certain reasons, before the
conclusion.
It is whispered here, that some late changes in youi
scheme have taken place, which give it a higher tone. Is
this the case? I leave town to-day to attend a circuit in
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? 534
THE LIFE OF
a neighbouring county, from which I shall return the last
of the week, and shall be glad to find a line from you, ex-
planatory of the period of the probable termination of
your business.
New-York, August 28, 1787.
i anxiety for the establishment of an energetic nation-
vernment was increased by a circumstance which
indicates the unsettled state of the public feeling, the dis-
trusts of the community, and the mad projects which the
deranged affairs of the country had engendered.
During his sojourn at New-Yerk, a report was mention-
ed in a gazette* of that city, that ajjroject was in embryo
for the establishment of a monarchy^ at the head of which
it was contemplated to place the bishop of Osnaburgh.
This report was traced to a political letter, which had
been circulated, in Connecticut, suggesting this plot.
The extraordinary nature of this suggestion, whether in-
tended to excite prejudices against the convention, or to
alarm the anti-federalists to an adoption of such a consti-
tution as it should propose, or as an experiment upon pub-
lic opinion, engaged the attention of Hamilton. He im-
mediately addressed a letter to Colonel Wadsworth, asking
a solution of this enigma, in which he observes, "The his-
tory of its appearance among us, is, that it was sent by
one Whetmore, of Strafford, formerly in the paymaster-
general's office, to a person in this city. .
"I am at a loss clearly to understand its object, and have
some suspicion that it has been fabricated to excite jeal-
ousies against the convention, with a view to an opposition
to their recommendations; at all events, I wish you, if
possible, to trace its source, and send it to you for that
purpose.
* Daily Advertiser, August 18, 1787
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? HAMILTON. 535
"Whetmore must of course say where he got it, and by
pursuing the information, we may at last come at the au-
thor. Let me know the political connections of this man,
and the complexion of the people most active in the circu-
lation of the letter. " It appears from the reply of Colonel
Wadsworth, that he had referred the inquiry to Colonel
Humphries, whose letter to Hamilton of the first of Sep-
tember, states that this letter had been printed in a Fair-
field paper of the twenty-fifth of July past. "Whetmore
informs me that when he first saw it, it was in the hands
of one Jared Mansfield, who, I believe, has formerly been
reputed a loyalist. Indeed, it seems to have been received
and circulated with avidity by that class of people, wheth-
er fabricated by them or not. I think there is little doubt
it was manufactured in this state. Some think the real
design was to excite the apprehensions of the anti-federal-
ists, with the idea that the most disastrous consequences
are to be expected, unless we shall accept the proceedings
of the convention; but others, with more reason, that it
was intended to feel the public pulse, and to discover
whether the public mind would be startled with proposi-
tions of royalty. The quondam tories have undoubtedly
conceived hopes of a future union with Great Britain, from
the inefficacy of our government, and the tumults which
prevailed in Massachusetts during the last winter.
"It seems, by a conversation I have had here, that the
ultimate practicability of introducing the bishop of Osna-
burgh, is not a novel idea among those who were formerly
termed loyalists. Ever since the peace, it has been occa-
sionally talked of and wished for. Yesterday, where I
dined, half jest, half earnest, he was given as the first
toast.
"I leave you now, my dear friend, to reflect how ripe
we are for the most mad and ruinous project that can be
suggested, especially when, in addition to this view, we
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? THE LIFE OF
take into consideration how thoroughly the patriotic part
of the community, the friends of an efficient government,
are discouraged with the present system, and irritated at
the popular demagogues, who are determined to keep
themselves in office at the risk of every thing.
"I am happy to see you have had the boldness to attack,
in a public paper, the anti-federal dogmas of a great per-
sonage of your state. Go on, and prosper. Were the men
of talents and honesty throughout the continent properly
combined into one phalanx, I am confident they would be
competent to hew their way through all opposition, and
establish a government calculated to promote the happi-
ness of mankind, and make the revolution a blessing in-
stead of a curse. " Here this matter terminated. It ap-
pears from a subsequent memorandum of Hamilton's, that
though there was little to fear from the project, that he
did not consider it entirely destitute of reality.
His allusion, in his letter to King, to "whispered
changes" in the scheme which gave it a higher tone, re-
ferred to several additional powers proposed to be vested
in the legislature, which were referred; to a modification
in the mode of electing, and in the duration and powers
of the executive; to an enlargement of the jurisdiction of
the judicial department; and to a full declaration of the
supremacy of the constitution and laws of the United
States,--in all of which may be seen an adoption of, or ap-
proximation to, the principles in his plan.
The tone of the convention was evidently undergoing a
change, and the chief collision at this period grew out of
an effort on the part of the non-slaveholding states to re-
strain the extension of that evil, and on the part of the
planting states to exclude the power of levying duties on
exports, and, by requiring the assent of two-thirds of the
legislature to the enactment of a navigation act, or to acts
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? HAMILTON.
537
regulating commerce,* to provide against a danger long the
source of great but groundless apprehension in that part
of the union.
In the beginning of September, Hamilton resumed his
seat in the convention. No means exist of showing mi-
nutely the several propositions of which he was the author.
The great modifications the system underwent subse-
quent to this period, in conformity with his previously
avowed opinions, and the close analogy between parts of
the existing constitution and the plan of government he
had framed, give the evidence of his efficient participation
in the closing labours of that body. That he was elected a
member of the last committee appointed, with instructions
to revise the style and arrange the articles agreed to by
the house, refutes the impression sought to be given, that he
remained, at so interesting a crisis of this country, an almost
inactive spectator of the proceedings of a great council,
to the formation of which he had devoted all his energies.
A statement of a member of that committee of revisal,
of distinguished talent and character, is to the point on
this question. "If," Doctor Johnson remarked, " the con-
stitution did not succeed on trial, Hamilton was less re-
sponsible for that result than any other member,-for he
fully and frankly pointed out to the convention what he
apprehended were the infirmities to which it was liable.
And if it answered the fond expectations of the public,
the community would be more indebted to Hamilton than
to any other member; for, after its essential outlines were
agreed to, he laboured most indefatigably to heal those in-
firmities, and to guard against the evils to which they might
expose it. "
* In a division on this question of commercial regulation, Aug. 29, the
votes were for the restriction, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Geor.
gia: against it, the other seven states, including South Carolina.
68
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? 538
THE LIFE OF
On the fourth of September, the grand committee of
each state made an important report.
One branch of it gave full fiscal power to the govern-
ment. The legislature were invested with a " power to
lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay
the debts, and to provide for the common defence and gen-
eral welfare of the United States. "
The office of the executive had been reconsidered. His
term was reduced from seven to four years, and, adopting
in part Hamilton's views, he was to be chosen by electors;
but, reluctant to relinquish the policy which would con-
sider the states, and not the people, of the union as the
basis of the constitution, each state was to appoint, " in
such manner as its legislature may direct, a number of
/ electors equal to its representation in congress. " If the
candidate should not have a majority of the ballots of the
whole number of electors, the eventual choice devolved on
the senate.
Hamilton was opposed to this provision--it being an
essential part of his policy, that the chief magistrate should
not be chosen by any pre-existing body, and should be the
representative of the people, and not of the states. The
eventual choice by the senate was also repugnant to his
views. He saw, as an inevitable consequence, that many
of the states, to secure to their senators an ultimate control
over the executive, would defeat the choice by electors.
Rather than incur this evil, to which, as the president
was re-eligible, would be superadded the danger of a cor-
rupt influence being exerted by him upon the senate, he is
represented as preferring that the highest electoral ballot,
though not that of a majority, should appoint him.
The constitution of this office was a subject of consid-
eration until near the termination of their deliberations:
an effort being made, but defeated, to extend the execu-
tive term from four years to seven, to declare him not
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? HAIHUTOII.
539
re-eligible, and to restore the choice to the national legis-
lature.
Hamilton's views as to the structure of the government,
were modified during the progress of these discussions.
In his minutes of the debates taken at an early period
of its deliberations, this remark is found: "At the period
which terminates the duration of the executive, there will
be always an awful crisis in the national situation. " This
apprehension grew with his reflections; and when he saw
that the senate were to be chosen for a period of only six
years, with terms ceasing by rotation, and to be chosen by
the states in their sovereign capacities, and not by electors
of the people, it became a necessary consequence that he
would limit the duration of the executive office propor-
tionably. A president of so great duration as good beha-
viour, with a senate of so limited a duration, would soon
have become its master.
Influenced by these considerations, he drew up a second
plan while the convention was sitting, which limited the
term of the president to only three years.
The powers of the president were again discussed, and
were established according to the provisions in his first
plan. He was declared to be commander-in-chief of the
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of
the several states. All treaties were to be made by him,
with the advice and consent of the senate, with this quali-
fication, that "two-thirds of the senators present concur. "
In defining the power of appointment, with the exception
that the senate were to have a voice in that of the heads
of the executive departments, his plan was also closely
followed. The other provisions as to this great office,
were analogous to those he had devised; and though with-
out the guards he had sought to interpose, the great prin-
ciple was finally established, that he was to be chosen
through the medium of electors chosen by the people.
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? 540
THE LIFE OF
His first plan, it is seen, contemplated a house of repre-
sentatives, to consist in the first instance of one hundred
members. This number was proposed by Hugh William-
son, but was not approved.
A house of representatives, to consist of sixty-five mem-
bers, which the scheme then before the convention had in
view, he thought was on so narrow a scale as to be dan-
gerous, and justly to warrant a jealousy for the liberty of
the country. It was the more important in his view to
enlarge it, because of the determination to give the event-
ual choice of the president to that branch of the legislature,
and from a belief, as he remarked, " that the connection be-
tween the president and senate would tend to perpetuate
him by corrupt influence. "* Hamilton's "earnestness and
anxiety " on this point were felt by Washington, and after
the convention had refused to enlarge the representation, at
the last moment of its sitting, when he rose to put the final
question on the constitution, he requested that the ratio of
representation should be established at thirty instead of
forty thousand for each representative, until a census should
be taken. The diminished ratio was unanimously assented
to. In further security of liberty, Hamilton's important
precaution had been adopted, excluding any "religious
test" as a qualification for office, but omitting the prohibi-
tion in his plan of the establishment " by law of any reli-
gious sect or denomination. "
One article of the draft then before that body provided
that, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of
the states in the union for an amendment of the constitu-
tion, the legislature of the United States should call a con-
vention for that purpose.
To this article two serious objections existed: one, that
such an application would not be made by the states, unless
* Madison's Debates, 1533.
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? HAMILTON.
541
with a view to increase their powers, and the more enfee-
ble the general government; the other, the danger to be
apprehended of throwing open the whole constitution to a
future convention, a measure which might result in a dis-
solution of the union.
Hamilton's plan avoided these evils. Unwilling to lose
his hold upon the constitution about to be recommended as
the great bond of union, it provided that amendments
might be proposed by the legislature of the United States,
two-thirds of its members concurring, which, if ratified by
the legislatures or conventions of two-thirds of the states
composing the union, should become parts. of the still ex-
isting constitution.
His plan also probably led to the provisions in the fifth
article of the constitution, which was the result of a com-
promise.
The draft of a constitution reported on the sixth of Au-
gust, proposed that it should be laid before congress for
their approbation, and declared it as " the opinion of the
convention," that it should be afterwards submitted to a
convention, to be chosen in each state under the recom-
mendation of its legislature, to receive its ratification.
Should congress not have thought proper to submit the
constitution to be ratified, an event which, from the tem-
per previously displayed by that body, was not improbable,
the labours of the convention would have been regarded
as little more than a solemn farce.
Hamilton's plan declared, "that this constitution shall
be submitted to the consideration of conventions in the
several states, the members whereof shull be chosen by the
people, under the direction of their legislatures; the rati-
fication of each state being final, with power to each con-
vention, thus immediately expressing the will of the people
to appoint its senators and representatives, who, as Wash-
ington wodd be the choice, were to elect the first president.
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THE LIFE OF
Thus the establishment of the constitution was ensured,
the people of each state ratifying it, becoming by that act
parties to it, and forming the nucleus of a more extended
union.
The last article of the present constitution was evidently
framed in reference to this provision, though it embodied
a vicious principle of the confederation; declaring that
"the ratification of the conventions of nine* states shall be
sufficient for the establishment of the constitution between
the states so ratifying" it.
A revised plan of the constitution was reported by John-
son, on the twelfth of September, with a letter to congress
stating it to be the result of a spirit of amity, and of that
mutual deference and concession which the peculiarity of
their political situation rendered indispensable. Several
amendments having been made to the plan, an engrossed
copy was read before the convention on the seventeenth
of September.
Though doubting much of the efficacy of several of its
provisions, Hamilton earnestly urged the unanimous ap-
proval of all the members of the convention. Three--
Gerry, Mason, and Randolph--withheld their assent;
all the other delegates affixed their signatures, among
which Hamilton's name appears as the sole representative
of New-York.
From the previous narrative, it appears that any uncom-
pcllcd disclosure of the proceedings of the federal conven-
tion, was a breach of an express stipulation among its mem-
bers. It was to be expected that those who could violate
that stipulation, would not be very scrupulous as to the ac-
curacy of their statements.
The eminent position Hamilton held before this nation,
would naturally excite opposition and lead to misrepre-
* Seven had been proposed, then ten, then nine.
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? HAMILTON.
543
sentation. In the absence of real grounds of inculpation,
the more apt would be the resort to imputations of opinions
offensive to the easily excited suspicions of a jealous popu-
lation.
Such was the policy of his enemies. His theoretic doubts
of the permanency of purely democratic institutions, and
of their power to promote the happiness of a community,
and his approval of the British constitution, however quali-
fied, the open avowal of which ought to have produced
the opposite effect, were tortured into evidence of opinions
unfriendly to liberty, and these opinions were soon repre-
sented as designs.
Some additional statements are thus rendered necessary.
In the reply previously referred to, made by Hamilton to
an anonymous attack in the year seventeen hundred and
ninety-two, at the seat of government, when nearly all the
members of the convention were living, to a charge that
he "opposed the constitution in the grand convention, be-
cause it was too republican," he remarked, "This I af-
firm to be a gross misrepresentation. To prove it so, it
were sufficient to appeal to a single fact, namely, that the
gentleman alluded to was the only member from the state
to which he belonged who signed the constitution, and, it is
notorious, against the prevailing weight of the official in-
fluence of the state, and against what would probably be
the opinion of a large majority of his fellow-citizens, till
better information should correct their first impressions.
How, then, can he be believed to have opposed a thing
which he actually agreed to, and that in so unsupported a
situation and under circumstances of such peculiar respon-
sibility? To this, I shall add two more facts :--One, that
the member in question never made a proposition to the
convention which was not conformable to the republican
theory. The other, that the highest toned of any of the
propositions made by him, was actually voted for by the
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THE LIFE OF
representatives of several states, including some of the
principal ones, and including individuals who, in the esti-
mation of those who deem themselves the only republicans,
are pre-eminent for republican character. More than this
I am not at liberty to say. "*
* That Virginia voted for a president during good behaviour, is seen in the
journal of the seventeenth of July, and that Madison gave one of these votes
is not controverted by him in his report of the proceedings of that day. He
only seeks to explain it. His statement is, that Doctor McClurg moved this
term of service, with the comment, that" the probable object of this motion was
merely to enforce the argument against the re-eligibility of the executive ma-
gistrate by holding out a tenure during good behaviour, as the alternative for
keeping him independent of the legislature. " Madison reports his own
speech on this motion, which, as far as it relates to it, docs not disapprove it,
and adds this observation in a note: "The view here taken of the subject,
was meant to aid in parrying the animadversions likely to fall on the motion
of Doctor McClurg, for whom J. M. had a particular regard. The Doctor,
though possessing talents of the highest order, was modest and unaccustom-
ed to exert them in public debate. " It will be recollected that this explana-
tion is given after Hamilton's public and then uncontradicted charge, that
Madison's views on this subject did not differ from his own. Complaisance
strained to its utmost limit might induce these remarks to parry animadver-
sions on a friend, but complaisance did not require that Madison should not
merely have sought to parry censure of the proposition of a friend which ho
wished himself to be regarded as disapproving, but that he should have record-
ed his rote in favour of it.
