Donald Conkey’s e-Newsletter - Volume 1 - No. 12 - February 1, 2003 — Completing our 2^nd full year ...

"Constitutional Observations"©

PREFACE: Freedom did not come easy to the United States, even when the Founding Father’s (FF) spent four months creating the greatest and most unique document of law ever written. Under its terms it still had to be ratified by the 13 states, and that would be nearly as difficult to accomplish as winning the War against England. The several things that need to be REMEMBERED as the ratification process began include: (1) The Constitutional Convention was authorized by the Congress to ONLY amend the existing, but ineffective Articles of Confederation - not throw them out and start over. (2) A primary rule of the convention was secrecy. No reporters were allowed, and the delegates took an oath not to talk about the proceedings outside of the hall. This rule was honored by the delegates, so little was known outside the hall on what was going on inside the hall. (3) Several of the convention delegates were also members of congress. This helped the new Constitution get quickly approved by congress. (4) There was still considerable division among the people regarding FEDERALISM - a word defined as "the distribution of power in an organization between a central authority and the constituents." [At this time the people were nearly equally divided between Federalists (advocates of Federalism) and Anti-Federalists (opposed to Federalism) [similar to democrats and republicans today] - just as there were considerable numbers of Tories during the War who were strongly opposed to separation from England.] and (5) Three of the delegates did not sign the new Constitution - George Mason and Governor Edmund Randolph of Virginia, and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. Mason had 5 reasons for not signing it. They were: (A) It contained no bill of rights. (B). He felt the office of President was too powerful, and could become a dictatorship. (C) He felt the office of V.P. was superfluous, an unnecessary expense. (D) A presidential cabinet was not provided for in it. (E) He saw the federal courts as a very real threat to the independence and integrity of the state courts [insightful, wasn’t he?]

The ratification process began with: (1) George Washington, president of the convention, writing a cover letter to congress urging the congress to adopt the new Constitution. (2) This was followed by 8 days of debate in congress leading to a quick adoption. (3) It was then sent out to the 13 states for ratification (nine states were required to ratify before it could become the law of the land). (4) Overcoming the almost immediate "explosion" of opposition by the people in all states. The Pennsylvania Packet newspaper printed the entire new Constitution under the headline "We the People of the United States." This printing of the Constitution in its entirety created a general state of alarm, and a fear of the unknown, of change - thus the opposition. (5) Compromising and agreeing to add amendments to the Constitution opened the way for what would became our Bill of Rights [189 amendments were submitted, 10 adopted] (6) A little threatening against Rhode Island.

Twelve states quickly called their conventions together and began their debates. The following is the order in which the 13 states ratified the new Constitution, along with their registered vote. The first state to ratify was Delaware, on December 6, 1787, less than 3 months after the FF’s signed the Constitution. The vote was unanimous. # 2. Pennsylvania approved it by a vote of 46 to 23 on December 12, 1787. # 3. New Jersey ratified it on December 18, 1787 with an unanimous vote. # 4. Georgia voted unanimously for it on January 2, 1788. # 5. Connecticut, with a vote of 128 for and 40 against, approved it on January 9, 1788. # 6. Massachusetts was on the road to defeating it until Sam Adams and John Hancock stepped in and gave it strong support. The vote was 187 for, 168 against. # 7. Maryland ratified on April 26, 1788 with a vote of 63 to 11. # 8. South Carolina ratified on May 23, 1788 with a vote of 149 to 73. # 9. New Hampshire, on June 21, 1788, became the 9^th state to ratify, thus it could become the law of the United States. The vote - 57 for, 46 against - a switch of 6 votes would have defeated it. # 10. Virginia ratified on June 26, 1788 with a vote of 87 to 79 - a 4 vote switch would have defeated it. # 11. New York’s debate was bitter, their vote 30 to 27 to ratify - a margin of only 3 votes. # 12. North Carolina, by a vote of 194 to 77, ratified it on November 21, 1789. # 13. Rhode Island waited over 2 years, until May 29, 1790, to vote, and then only after the new Senate voted to cut off all trade with Rhode Island. Their vote - 34 for, 32 against. One more opposition vote could have kept it out of the new union.

Two Meaningful Quotes: Thomas Jefferson wrote: "The example of changing a constitution by assembling wise men of the state, instead of assembling armies, will be worth as much to the world as former examples we have given them [such as the Declaration of Independence]. The Constitution is ... unquestionably the wisest ever yet presented to men." John Adams wrote: "the greatest single effort of national deliberation that the world has ever seen." Our freedoms have been challenged from their day to ours. Freedom requires all citizens to be involved. Remember "Security without Freedom is Slavery."