The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

686 THE FREEMAN Novemberable from the beginning. It wasan impressive delegation, for itincluded Benjamin Franklin,RobertMorris (who, if he was there,remained silent during the debates),Gouverneur Morris, andJ ames Wilson.The New England states werenot only the slowest in appointingdelegates but also theirs wereamong the last to arrive. RhodeIsland rejected the invitation toappoint delegates. (The absenceof Rhode Islanders was not considereda handicap during theconvention, for that state's behaviorwas so universally deploredthat men did not gladly seek thecounsel of her citizens.) The NewHampshire delegates were exceedinglylate; two of the four appointedfinally arrived on July 23.(They could not come earlier becausethe state had not providedfor their expenses.) New York appointedthree delegates - AlexanderHamilton, Robert Yates, andJohn Lansing-, rather reluctantly,we gather, for Yates and Lansingwithdrew after a short period ofattendance and Hamilton was absentfor an extended period. Overall, twelve states had·55 delegatesin attendance at one time or another.From most indications, thegreatest concern for a strongergeneral government was amongthe delegates from the states locatedfrom New Jersey southward.The. leadership in the conventioncame mainly from four states, andin this order: Virginia, Pennsylvania,Connecticut, and SouthCarolina. Two other state delegationsplayed some considerablerole: NewJersey and Massachusetts.Delegates from other stateswere generally less conspicuousduring the debates, though LutherMartin of Maryland and GeorgeRead of Delaware would have ledif they could have attracted followers.Qualifications 01 DelegatesThe delegates were as well qualifiedas could have been assembledin America, qualified both by experienceand training. Amongthem were thirty-nine who hadserved at one time or another inCongress, eight who had signedthe Declaration of Independence,eight who had helped draw stateconstitutions, one, John Dickinson,who is credited with the firstdraft of the Articles of Confederation,seven who had been chiefexecutives of their states, andtwenty-one who had fought in thewar. Thirty-three were lawyers,and ten of these had served asjudges. About half of them werecollege graduates, more fromPrinceton than from any other institution.2Both youth and advanced agewere represented at the conven-