THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Do you ever wonder how it might
have been
to participate in the forming of the United States Constitution in May,
1787?
That auspicious gathering
intrigues
me. I search for writings or records of
how those men from every state then (formerly colonies) except Rhode
Island
(which chose not to send delegates) might have managed during those
long months
from May through September, 1787 when debate was rife and “think tanks”
worked
out details of the Constitution. Finally enough states ratified the
document and
it became operational in June, 1788 when New Hampshire became the ninth
state
to sign for its adoption.
How did the Constitutional Convention
of May, 1787 come about?
By late 1786, almost three years after
the close of the Revolutionary War, the discovery was made that the
Articles of
Confederation that then guided the new nation were too weak to deal
with all
the problems of economy, politics and diplomatic relations of the new
nation. Attempts to revise the Articles
of Confederation had met with stalemates and non-approval from state
legislatures. America, the new nation,
seemed to be at a crossroads. Then, in
February, 1787, the Continental Congress made this resolution and sent
out
notices to all the state governments. The memo read:
“It is expedient that on the second
Monday in May next a Convention of delegates who shall have been
appointed by
the several states be held at Philadelphia for the sole and express
purpose of
revising the Articles of Confederation.”
This called convention met, beginning
on May 14, 1787 in Statehouse in Philadelphia where the Continental
Congress
had been meeting. However, it went
slowly at first, with delegates from states “dribbling in” for
representation. A quorum was not reached
until May 25,
1787. A total of 70 men had been
appointed as delegates to the Convention, but only 55 ultimately
attended
during the months from May through September 17, 1787.
They examined the Articles of Confederation
and found them inadequate for the new nation.
A new document was needed. It
took the delegates four months to reach an agreement and sign the
document that
became the Constitution of the United States when enough states
ratified it in
June, 1788. And further, of those 55
attending; only 39 of them actually signed the important document when
it was
ready for approval by the delegates.
Those appointed to represent the state
of Georgia were Abraham Baldwin, William Few, William Houstoun, and
William L.
Pierce. However, only two of Georgia’s
delegates, Abraham Baldwin and William Few, placed their signatures on
the
document on September 17, 1787. Abraham
Baldwin, in particular, was an important and very active member of the
Constitutional Convention as the work proceeded. A
native of Guilford, Connecticut, he had
migrated to Georgia after the Revolution, in which he had served as a
chaplain. He had also studied law, and
in 1784 had been admitted to the Georgia bar.
In the Constitutional Convention of 1787, he was appointed to
the
committee to resolve the question of representation in House of
Representatives
and Senate. His vote broke the
deadlocked tie, and he stands out as the one who made the determining
vote that
the Senate would have two elected from each state, and the House of
Representatives would be based on the quota of population of each state. The compromise bill was adopted concerning
representation, and Abraham Baldwin was most influential in its passage. Not only was he outstanding in the U. S.
Constitutional Convention, but earlier, as he served in the Georgia
Legislature, he wrote the charter for Franklin College that became the
University of Georgia. We as Georgians
have much to be grateful for in Abraham Baldwin’s leadership in the US
Constitutional Convention.
In a letter that has been preserved written
by George Mason, representative from Virginia, to his son, we glean
some
interesting insights into some of the events of those long months from
May to
September when debates raged and committees met and thrashed out
differences. He writes about common
concerns and practical
matters: “We found traveling very
expensive—from eight to nine dollars per day.
In this city the living is cheap.
We are at the old Indian Queen in Fourth Street, where we are
well-accommodated, have a good room to ourselves, and are charged only
twenty-five Pennsylvania Currency per day, including our servants and
horses,
exclusive of extra charges, so that I hope I shall be able to defray my
expenses with my public allowance, and more than that I do not wish.” (from David Colbert’s “Eyewitness
to America,” Pantheon, 1997, p. 99). Whether
Georgia’s Baldwin and Few, and the
others from the twelve states represented had similar “public
allowance” for
representing their state at the Convention, I know not, but perhaps it
would be
safe to assume they did have some remuneration for travel expenses,
room and
board, horses’ keep, and other expenses.
The convention in Philadelphia drew up
one of the most influential documents of Western world history. James Madison, a delegate from Virginia, was
a definite leader and responsible for much of the substance of the
constitution. But it was to the flair
and pen of Gouverneur Morris from Pennsylvania that the task of writing
the
final document was given.
We’ve seen artists’ renderings of the
signing on September 17, 1787 and thrilled to the sight of
reproductions of the
document with all the signatures. Then
came the document’s travel to each of the states during the next
months.
Delaware was the first to ratify it on December 7, 1787 and finally by
June of
1788 the nine required had signed and the document was officially
adopted. Finally all the thirteen
states but Rhode
Island and North Carolina ratified it.
The majority clause caused the Constitution to be adopted. Later, the two declining states did accept it
and took their place in the Union.
Reticence of some states to sign was
based on what was considered a need for a Bill of Rights.
James Madison, true to his word, promised to
work on this issue, and in September of 1789 the Bill of Rights was
proposed in
Congress. It was adopted in December,
1791. The original ten have been added
to throughout the years since our national government’s struggle
following the
Revolution.
As a high school student in Civics
class, I was required to memorize the Preamble to the Constitution. Throughout my life, since then, I have
thrilled to the words that have helped to hold our nation together in
unity. It would be well that we read and
heed seriously what our national leaders in 1787 used as the lofty
introduction
to our Constitution:
“We the People of the United States,
in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic
Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general
Welfare, and
secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do
ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
[Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator,
freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at
e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA
31061-2411.]
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