The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

1972 MAKING THE CONSTITUTION 687tion. The youngest delegate wasJonathan Dayton of New Jerseyat twenty-six; the oldest, BenjaminFranklin, who was, as he said,in his eighty-second year. The average.age was in the low forties.Some of the leaders, however,were rather young: Charles Pinckneyof South Carolina was only29, Gouverneur Morris 35, andJames Madison 36. They werecounterbalanced by men of middlingyears and extensive experi..ence, for example; John Dickinson54, Roger Sherman 66, andJohn Langdon 67.George Washington CalledGeorge Washington almost didnot come, even though his presenceat the convention was essentialforit was generally agreed thathe was America's first personage.When he was informed of his election,he asked that someone elsebe appointed in his stead. He gavetwo reasons why he should be excused:one that now appears trivial,that he had already declinedan invitation to attend the conventionof the Society of the Cincinnatiwhich would be meeting inPhiladelphia at about the sametime; the other, however, wasgood enough reason in any age,for he was suffering so from rheumatismthat he could turn in bedonly with the greatest difficulty,and men do not gladly leave thecomforts of home when they areill. Friends so earnestly urged himto attend, however, that hechanged his mind.Washington arrived at Philadelphiabefore the convention wasscheduled to begin. It had longsince become difficult for him togo anywhere quietly, and therewas good reason to publicize thistrip. He was met at Chester by atroop of horse which escorted himinto Philadelphia where cannonwere fired and bells rung. 3 Thefact that Washington had arrivedgave notice that the conventionwas important and that laggardsshould make haste to get there.When the convention was organized,Washington was elected, unanimously(as when was he not?) ,to preside, an office which he tookso seriously that he attended each.session, though it was the mostoppressively hot summer in thememory of Philadelphians. IfWashington could endure it, otherscould and did. He was a manof stern visage, impressive physique,and high seriousness; withhim in the chair, the conventioncould hardly be anything but whatit was, a deliberative body whichpursued its business in an absenceof frivolity and without stoopingto personalities. Though Washingtondid not participate -in the debatesuntil the closing days whenhe made a brief speech, there was