The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

690 THE FREEMAN Novembertering, the literature on government.A plea to Jefferson in Parishad brought a plethora of books toaugment the supply at home. TheVirginia Plan, from which theConstitution emerged, was presentedon the floor by GovernorRandolph, but Madison had undoubtedlydone much of the workon it. He might be said to havemothered the Constitution, too, becausehe devoted himself to it exclusivelyduring the months of theconvention. His recollection wasthat he not only attended everysession but that he was never absentfor more than a few minutes,and he was certain that he couldnot have missed a single speech ofany duration. He kept copiousnotes of the speeches, and theyare judged to be the most reliablerecord of what was said. This wasa marathon undertaking itself,but he also spoke frequently, andat length, with a masterful showof erudition.Gouverneur MorrisGouverneur Morris was, however,the most dazzling speaker inthe convention, an orator whoselearning and close reasoning gavean irresistible thrust to his forensicskill. He had been maimed bothin arm and leg, stumped about ona wooden leg, but it is difficult tothink of him as a cripple, for hewas reputed to be quite a lady'sman and known for being a bonvivant. Madison and Morris weremen who knew what they wanted,who pressed the convention stepby step in their direction, whotook care to see that what theyhad won by their reasoning wasnot lost in the maneuvers over detail,but who yielded gracefullywhen they were outvoted.There must have been manymoments of high drama duringthe convention, but I think themost eloquent speech fell fromGouverneur Morris. The occasionwas the discussion of the countingof slaves for purposes of representation."He never would concurin upholding domestic slavery,"Morris said. "It was a nefariousinstitution. It was the curse ofheaven on the States where it prevailed.. . . Proceed southwardlyand every step you take throughthe great region of slaves presentsa desert increasing, with the increasingproportion of thesewretched beings. . . . The admissionof slaves into the Representationwhen fairly examined comesto this: that the inhabitant ofGeorgia and South Carolina whogoes to the Coast of Africa, andin defiance of the most sacred lawsof humanity tears away his fellowcreatures from their dearest connectionsand damns them to themost cruel bandages, shall havemore votes in a Government insti-