Formation of the Union

A >> Albert Bushnell Hart >> Formation of the Union

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The friends of the measure, in order to deprecate the charge that they
aimed at centralization, took upon themselves the name of Federalists.
Their opponents called themselves antifederalists, corresponded with each
other, and formed a short-lived national party. A shower of pamphlets on
both sides fell upon the country. Of these the most famous and most
efficacious was the "Federalist," successive numbers of which were
contributed by Hamilton, Madison, and John Jay. With a calmness of spirit,
a lucidity of style, and a power of logic which make it to this day one of
the most important commentaries on the Constitution, the "Federalist"
strove to show that the Constitution was safe for the people and
advantageous for the States.

66. STATE CONVENTIONS (1787, 1788).

[Sidenote: First nine states.]

As the State conventions assembled, the excitement grew more intense. Four
States alone contained within a few thousands of half the population of
the Union: they were Massachusetts, Virginia, New York, and North
Carolina. In the convention of each of these States there was opposition
strong and stubborn; one of them--North Carolina--adjourned without
action; in the other three, ratification was obtained with extreme
difficulty and by narrow majorities.

The first State to come under the "New Roof," as the Constitution was
popularly called, was Delaware. In rapid succession followed Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. In Massachusetts, the sixth State,
there was a hard fight; the spirit of the Shays Rebellion was still alive;
the opposition of Samuel Adams was only overcome by showing him that he
was in the minority; John Hancock was put out of the power to interfere by
making him the silent president of the convention. It was suggested that
Massachusetts ratify on condition that a long list of amendments be
adopted by the new government: the friends of the Constitution pointed out
that the plan was simply to ratify a part of the Constitution and to
reject the rest; each succeeding State would insist on a list of
amendments, and the whole work must be done over. Feb. 6, 1788, the
enthusiastic people of Boston knew that the convention, by a vote of 187
to 167, had ratified the Constitution; the amendments being added, not as
a condition, but as a suggestion. Maryland, South Carolina, and New
Hampshire brought the number up to nine.

[Sidenote: Virginia and New York.]

Before the ninth ratification was known, the fight had been won also in
Virginia. Among the champions of the Constitution were Madison, Edmund
Randolph, and John Marshall. James Monroe argued against the system of
election which was destined twice to make him President. In spite of the
determined opposition of Patrick Henry, and in spite of a proposition to
ratify with amendments, the convention accepted. New York still held off.
Her acquiescence was geographically necessary; and Alexander Hamilton, by
the power of his eloquence and his reason, changed the vote of a hostile
convention and added the eleventh State.

67. EXPIRATION OF THE CONFEDERATION (1788).

[Sidenote: The old Congress.]

During the session of the convention in Philadelphia Congress had
continued to sit in New York, and the Northwest Ordinance was passed at
this time (sec. 52). On Sept. 13, 1788 Congress voted that the Constitution
had been ratified, and that elections should proceed for the officers of
the new government, which was to go into operation the first Wednesday in
March, 1789.

[Sidenote: Seat of government.]
[Sidenote: Congress expires.]

Since Congress and the President must meet somewhere, it became the duty
of the old Congress to fix, at least temporarily, the seat of government,
Trenton, Lancaster, Princeton, and New York were suggested. Baltimore was
voted; then, with its usual inconsistency, two days later Congress voted
for New York. An attempt was made to settle the accounts of Congress; but
all that could be ascertained was that they were in great confusion, and
that vouchers had not yet been turned in for the expenditure of large
sums. On October 23 is the last official record: "Two States attended."
During the next five months the only evidences of national life were the
perfunctory service of a few executive officers, the feeble movements of
the army, now reduced to about six hundred men, and the steady
accumulation of unpaid interest.

[Sidenote: Rhode Island and North Carolina.]

What, meantime, was the situation of the two States, Rhode Island and
North Carolina, which had not ratified the Constitution, and which were,
therefore, not entitled to take part in the elections? They had in 1781
entered into a constitution which was to be amended only by unanimous
consent; their consent was refused; legally they had a right to insist on
the continuance of the old Congress. The new Constitution was, strictly
speaking, unconstitutional; it had been ratified by a process unknown to
law. The situation was felt to be delicate, and the States were for the
time being left to themselves. North Carolina came into the Union by a
ratification of Nov. 21, 1789. It was suggested that the trade of States
which did not recognize Congress should be cut off, and Rhode Island
yielded. May 19, 1790, her ratification completed the Union.

68. WAS THE CONSTITUTION A COMPACT?

[Sidenote: The Constitution irregular.]

The third attempt to form an organic union was now successfully carried
out. The irregular authority of the Continental Congress had been replaced
by the legal but inefficient Confederation; to this was now to succeed an
organized government, complete in all its departments, and well endowed
with powers. How had this Constitution been adopted? What was the
authority which had taken upon itself to diminish the powers of the
States, and to disregard the clauses which required unanimous consent to
amendments? Was the new Constitution an agreement between eleven States,
or was it an instrument of government for the whole people? Upon this
question depends the whole discussion about the nature of the Union and
the right of secession.

[Sidenote: Compact theory.]

The first theory is that the Constitution was a compact made between
sovereign States. Thus Hayne in 1830 declared that "Before the
Constitution each state was an independent sovereignty, possessing all the
rights and powers appertaining to independent nations.... After the
Constitution was formed, they remained equally sovereign and independent
as to all powers not expressly delegated to the federal government.... The
true nature of the Federal Constitution, therefore, is ... a compact to
which the States are parties." The importance of the word "compact" is
that it means an agreement which loses its force when any one of the
parties ceases to observe it; a compact is little more than a treaty.
Those who framed the Constitution appeared to consider it no compact; for
on May 30, 1787, Mr. Randolph moved that "-no treaty or treaties among the
whole or part of the States, as individual sovereignties, would be
sufficient." In fact, the reason for the violent opposition to the
ratification of the Constitution was that when once ratified, the States
could not withdraw from it.

[Sidenote: Constitution theory.]

Another view is presented by Webster in his reply to Hayne: "It is, sir,
the people's Constitution, the people's government, made for the people,
made by the people, and answerable to the people. The people of the United
States have declared that this Constitution shall be the supreme law." It
is plain that the Constitution does not rest simply upon the consent of
the majority of the nation. No popular vote was taken or thought of; each
act of ratification set forth that it proceeded from a convention of the
people of a State.

[Sidenote: Basis of the Constitution.]

The real nature of the new Constitution appears in the light of the
previous history of the country. The Articles of Confederation had been a
compact. One of the principal reasons why the Confederation was weak was
that there was no way of compelling the States to perform their duties.
The new Constitution was meant to be stronger and more permanent. The
Constitution was, then, not a compact, but an instrument of government
similar in its origin to the constitutions of the States. The difference
was that, by general agreement, it was not to take effect until it was
shown that in at least nine States the people were willing to live under
it. Whatever the defects of the Confederation, however humiliating its
weakness to our national pride, it had performed an indispensable service;
it had educated the American people to the point where they were willing
to accept a permanent federal union. As the "Federalist" put it, "A nation
without a national government is an awful spectacle."

CHAPTER VII.

ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT (1789-1793).

69. REFERENCES.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES.--W. E. Foster, _References to Presidential
Administrations_, 1-5; _References to the Constitution_, 18, 19; Justin
Winsor, _Narrative and Critical History_, VII. 299-309, 323-329, 413-418,
446, 454, VIII. App.; P. L. Ford, _Bibliotheca Hamiltonia_; Channing and
Hart, _Guide_, secs. 157-161.

HISTORICAL MAPS.--Nos. 1 and 3, this volume, and No. 1 in W. Wilson,
_Division and Reunion_ (_Epoch Maps_, Nos. 6, 7, and 8); T. MacCoun,
_Historical Geography_; Scribner, _Statistical Atlas_, Plate 13.

GENERAL ACCOUNTS.--J. B. McMaster, _People of the United States_, I.
525-604, II. 1-88; R. Hildreth, _United States_, IV. 25-410; J. Schouler,
_United States_, I. 74-220; H. Von Holst, _Constitutional History_, I. 64-
111; T. Pitkin, _Political and Civil History_, II. 317-355; Gen. Tucker,
_United States_, I. 384-503; J. S. Landon, _Constitutional History_, 97-
119; Bryant and Gay, _Popular History_, IV. 100-123.

SPECIAL HISTORIES.--George Gibbs, _Memoirs of the Administrations of
Washington and Adams_, I. 28-88; J. C. Hamilton, _History of the
Republic_, IV.; W. G. Sumner, _Alexander Hamilton_; H. C. Adams,
_Taxation in the United States_ (1789-1816); W. G. Sumner, _Financier and
Finances of the American Revolution_, II. chs. xvii.-xxxii.; J. T. Morse,
_Life of Hamilton_, I. chs. vii.-xii.; M. P. Follet, _Speaker_; H. C.
Lodge, _Hamilton_, 88-152, and _Washington_, II. 1-128; J. T. Morse, _John
Adams_, 241-264, and _Jefferson_, 96-145; S. H. Gay, _Madison_, 128-192.

CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTS.--W. Maclay, _Journal_ (1789-1791) (a racy account
of the Senate in the First Congress); Thomas Jefferson, _Anas_, in
_Works_, ix. 87-185 (confessedly made up twenty-five years later); William
Sullivan, _Familiar Letters on Public Characters_, 36-47 (written in reply
to Jefferson); Joel Barlow, _Vision of Columbus_, 1787 (an epic poem);
correspondence in works of Washington, Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, and
John Jay; newspapers, especially the _Columbian Centinel_, _Gazette of the
United States_, _National Gazette_.--Reprints in _American History told
by Contemporaries_, III.

70. GEOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1789.

[Sidenote: Boundary questions.]

What were the physical, social, and political conditions under which the
new government was to be established? In 1789 the exterior boundaries of
the country were loosely defined by treaty (sec. 46), but were not yet
marked out, and there were several serious controversies. From the mouth
of the St, Croix River to the head of the Connecticut the boundary was in
confusion, and no progress had been made towards settling it. The water-
line through the St. Lawrence and the Lakes was still unadjusted. It was
found that the headwaters of the Mississippi lay to the south of the Lake
of the Woods, so that there was a gap on the northwest. On the south Spain
disputed the right of Great Britain to establish the boundary, insisted
that her own undoubted settlements lay within the territory claimed by the
United States, and declined to grant the free navigation of the lower
Mississippi to the sea. Still more humiliating was the presence of British
garrisons at Fort Niagara, Detroit, and other points within the undisputed
boundaries of the United States.

[Sidenote: Interior boundaries.]

The interior boundaries of the country were in a like unsettled condition.
Neither North Carolina nor Georgia had yielded up their western claims
(sec. 52). Vermont had not yet been recognized by New York as outside of
her jurisdiction, and the Western Reserve lay along the southern shore of
Lake Erie as an outlying part of Connecticut. No territorial government
had been established for the Northwest territory, although settlement had
begun to pour in. The southern territory was in complete confusion:
Kentucky and the Tennessee valley were practically independent
communities; and Georgia claimed the whole region south of them.

71. THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1789.

[Sidenote: Population.]

A census taken in 1790 gives us the number of inhabitants as a little
under 4,000,000. Of these, 750,000--nearly one-fifth of the whole
population--were negroes. Of the 3,170,000 whites, the ancestors of eight-
tenths were probably English, and most of the others spoke English and
were a homogeneous part of the community. Counting by sections, the States
north of Maryland had a population of 1,968,000, and those south of
Pennsylvania had 1,925,000; the States which were to be permanently slave-
holding contained, therefore, a population about equal to that of New
England and the Middle States. Only a small part of this population was to
be found west of the mountains. Settlement was working into central New
York, southwest Pennsylvania, the neighboring parts of Virginia, and the
upper waters of the Tennessee; but the only considerable western community
was in Kentucky. These distant settlers had an important influence on the
Union, since they lay within easy reach of the Spanish settlements, and
occasionally threatened to withdraw.

[Sidenote: Intellectual life.]

The intellectual life of the people was little developed. Schools had not
sensibly improved since colonial times. The graduating classes of all the
colleges in 1789 count up to about 170. There were but two schools of
medicine in the country, and no regular school of law. In one department
of literature alone were the Americans eminent: the state papers of public
men such as Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson are written with the force
and directness of the best school of English. Poetry there was; its
character may be judged by a single quotation from Barlow's "Vision of
Columbus," a favorite epic, published in 1787:--

"There stood stern Putnam, seamed with many a scar,
The veteran honours of an earlier war;
Undaunted Stirling, dreadful to his foes,
And Gates and Sullivan to vengeance rose;
While brave McDougall, steady and sedate,
Stretched the nerved arm to ope the scene of fate."

[Sidenote: Economic conditions.]

In economic conditions the United States were little more advanced than
had been the colonies. The country abounded in natural resources: timber
clad the whole Appalachian range, and spread far into the Mississippi
valley; the virgin soil, and particularly the rich and untouched prairies
of the West, were an accumulation of unmeasured wealth. Yet it was little
easier to get from the sea to Lake Erie or to the Ohio than it had been
forty years before. It seemed impossible that a country could be held
together when it was so large that a courier might be two months on his
way from the seat of government to the most distant frontier; and
Jefferson predicted that it would be a thousand years before the country
would be thickly settled as far west as the Mississippi. The chief
resource of the country was agriculture; almost every State raised its own
food, and there were considerable exports, particularly of wheat and
flour. Manufactures were chiefly imported from England, the only widely
known American industry being the distilling of New England rum. The chief
source of wealth was still commerce; in 1790 the exports and imports were
about twenty million dollars each, or five dollars per head of the
population. The movement of vessels to foreign ports was tolerably free,
but the vexatious restrictions and taxes imposed by England tended to
throw an undue part of the profit into the hands of the English merchants.
Business of every kind was much hampered by the want of bank capital and
by the state of the currency.

72. POLITICAL METHODS IN 1789.

[Sidenote: Current political theories.]

The chief intellectual interest of the people was in politics. The State
and the national constitutions both protected freedom of speech, and
Americans were accustomed freely to discuss public men and public
measures. Public opinion was, however, created by a comparatively small
number of persons,--the leading planters of the South, merchants and great
families in the Middle States, the gentlemen and clergy in New England.
Already two different schools of political thought had appeared. The one
is typified by John Adams's elaborate work, "The Defence of the American
Constitutions," published in 1787. "The rich, the well-born, and the
able," he says, "... must be separated from the mass and placed by
themselves in a senate." The leading spirit in the other school was Thomas
Jefferson. He wrote in 1787: "I am persuaded that the good sense of the
people will always be found the best army. They may be led astray for a
moment, but will soon correct themselves." The accepted principle of
republican government was nevertheless that there should be a limited
number of voters, following the lead of experienced statesmen of a higher
social class.

[Sidenote: Political methods.]

A few symptoms of a change in political methods were visible. In 1788 a
nominating convention was held in Harrisburg; this method of selecting
candidates by representatives of the voters of their party was rapidly
extended. In 1789 the secret Columbian Order, or Tammany Society, was
formed in New York. At first benevolent and literary, the correspondent of
the Massachusetts Historical Society, by 1800 it had become a political
organization and was controlling local elections. In several States, and
particularly in New York, factions had grown up about leading families of
public men; in a few years they became political machines subject to the
direction of a few leaders. Buying of votes was almost unknown, but there
was much disorder at elections.

[Sidenote: Respect for authority.]

In many respects both the State and national governments were weak. The
legislatures had, during the Revolution, been accustomed to ride roughshod
over the minority, and they were still inclined to grant charters and
privileges only to party friends; Federalist legislatures would charter
only Federalist banks. Americans enjoyed their individual liberty, but
resented the use of force either for collecting taxes or for upholding the
authority of government; and the States were not accustomed unhesitatingly
to accept the action of Congress. On the other hand, the Anglo-Saxon
respect for law was recovering from the shock of the Revolution. There was
a strong feeling of loyalty to the State governments, and the beginning of
national interest and patriotism. By common consent the new Constitution
was put quietly into effect by those who expected its success.

73. ORGANIZATION OF CONGRESS (1789).

[Sidenote: First congressional election.]

The first step in the organization of the government was to elect senators
and representatives. The Senate was small, and was expected to be a kind
of executive council. In due time John Adams was chosen vice-president,
and became chairman. The Senate sat for several years in secret session;
but from the journal of William Maclay, senator from Pennsylvania, we
learn many interesting details, and know that the casting vote of the
chairman was often necessary to settle important questions. The time and
manner of electing members of the House was left to the States. In some
cases all the members from a State were elected on one general ticket; in
others the State was divided into districts. Among the distinguished
members were Theodore Sedgwick and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts,
Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut, and James Madison of Virginia. From the
first, the custom obtained that a member of the House should be a resident
of the district from which he was chosen.

[Sidenote: Organization of Congress.]

The House organized April 6. In the Speaker appeared an officer until now
unknown in the Federal system. At first he was only a moderator; after
about a year he was given the power to appoint committees; and from that
time dates the growth of those powers which have made him second in
influence only to the President of the United States. The procedure was
modelled partly on that of the old Congress, and partly upon that of the
State legislatures: it is noticeable, however, that the system of
permanent committees so familiar during the previous twelve years was not
immediately readopted; It began to come in about 1794. The first act on
the statute book was passed June 1, 1789, and prescribed a form of oath.
Congress voted itself a moderate per diem of six dollars. The only other
important question relative to the form of Congress was that of
apportionment. On April 5, 1792, a bill allotting the members of the House
to the States was the subject of the first executive veto.

[Sidenote: Amendments.]

One important function was performed before Congress adjourned, by
submitting to the States twelve amendments to the Constitution. These were
made up by comparison of the propositions submitted by the States at the
time of ratification, and practically constituted a brief bill of rights.
In due time all but two unimportant clauses were ratified by the States,
and the great objection to the Constitution was thus removed.

The importance of the First Congress was that the general forms adopted
for the transaction of its business have continued without serious change
to the present day. Its officers have increased, its powers have
developed, its political importance has expanded; but its parliamentary
procedure is still much the same as in 1789.

74. ORGANIZATION OF THE EXECUTIVE (1789, 1790).

[Sidenote: The first President.]

While the senators and representatives were being selected, Presidential
electors were also chosen in all the eleven States except New York. The
States exercised their constitutional discretion: in some the electors
were chosen by the legislatures, in others by general ticket, and in
others by districts. In one thing they agreed: when quorums of both houses
were obtained, so that the votes could be counted, April 6, 1789, it was
found that every elector had cast a ballot for George Washington. On April
30 he took the oath of office in Federal Hall on Wall Street, New York,
and Maclay records for the benefit of posterity that "he was dressed in
deep brown, with metal buttons with an eagle on them, white stockings, a
bag, and sword." As the presidency was an entirely new office, there was
much difficulty and some squabbling over the details of his place. The
question of title was raised; and it was understood that Washington would
have liked to be called "His High Mightiness, the President of the United
States and Protector of their Liberties." No action was taken, and the
simple title of "Mr. President" was by common consent adopted.

[Sidenote: Executive departments.]
[Sidenote: Treasury Department.]

The duties of the President were clearly defined by the Constitution. It
now became necessary to make some provision for subordinate executive
officers. Here for the first time the importance of the legislation of the
First Congress is visible. They had it in their power to put flesh and
blood upon the dry bones of the Constitution: they might surround the
President with a vigorous, active, and well-centred body of subordinates;
or they might go back to the practice of the old Congress, and create
executive officers who should be practically the servants of Congress.
They resolved to trust the President. The first executive department to be
established was the Department of Foreign Affairs, of which the name was a
little latter changed to the Department of State. In due time Thomas
Jefferson was appointed Secretary of State; among his successors have been
John Marshall, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay,
Martin Van Buren, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, James Buchanan, and
William H, Seward. The War Department bill passed August 7, and Henry
Knox, who had been the head of the army under the old system, was
reappointed. In establishing the Treasury Department a strong effort was
made to create a Secretary of the Treasury as an agent of Congress rather
than as the officer of the President. The details of the office were
therefore carefully regulated by the statute, and specific duties were
assigned to the Secretary. He was, however, appointed by the President,
and the question was raised whether he was also removable by the
President. The Senate insisted that the removal should not be valid
without its approval; the House insisted that the President should be
unrestrained by the casting vote of the Vice-President the latter system
was adopted. The first Secretary of the Treasury was Alexander Hamilton.

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