Albemarle Tradewinds July 2019 Web Final

HRNeptune.com
A battle of heavyweights at the Virginia ratifying convention
by Tara Ross
In 1788, Virginia ratifies the United States Constitution.
At the time, many thought that Virginia had provided the
critical 9th vote to put the Constitution into effect. They were
wrong. New Hampshire provided that vote on June 21.
Virginia’s ratifying convention was a battle of heavyweights.
There may have been just a few strong opinions in the room.
On one side of the aisle, the “Father of the Constitution,”
James Madison, advocated for ratification. George Washington
was not present, but he wrote letters in favor of the
Constitution from home. Governor Edmund Randolph also
argued for ratification, despite the fact that he’d earlier
refused to sign the document as a delegate at the Constitutional
Convention.
On the other side sat Patrick Henry, future President James
Monroe, and the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights,
George Mason. You can imagine that, given his oratorical
skills and big personality, Henry’s opposition may have been
the biggest obstacle.
Prior to the convention, Madison wrote to Thomas Jefferson,
who was then in Paris: “Mr. Henry is the great adversary who
will render the event precarious. He is I find with his usual
address, working up every possible interest, into a spirit of
opposition.”
Oh, to be a fly on the wall! Can’t you just imagine Henry passionately
ranting a bit? Madison trying to counter his points in
a more stoic way?
Adding to the drama, the Convention had agreed to go
through the Constitution “clause by clause,” but Henry
seemed unable to stick with the plan. On the second day
of debate, he gave a very long speech. It covers more than
20 pages in Elliot’s debates! Henry concluded his tirade by
noting that “I have not said the one hundred thousandth part
of what I have on my mind, and wish to impart.” Yikes! No
wonder Governor Randolph concluded the day by noting:
“Mr. Chairman, if we go on in this irregular manner, contrary
to our resolution, instead of three or six weeks, it will take us
six months to decide this question.”
Well, I guess so!
Henry felt that the national government created by the Constitution
was too strong. It was a “consolidated” one, when it
should be a confederacy of states.
“That this is a consolidated government,” he opined, “is
demonstrably clear; and the danger of such a government is,
to my mind, very striking. . . . What right had they to say, We,
the people? . . . Who authorized them to speak the language
of, We, the people, instead of, We, the states? States are the
characteristics and the soul of a confederation. If the states
be not the agents of this compact, it must be one great,
consolidated, national government, of the people of all the
states.”
In short, Anti-Federalists did not believe that the national government
would remain limited. At a minimum, they wanted a
Bill of Rights to reserve certain powers to the states or to the
people.
Madison argued that such an enumeration of rights would be
actively dangerous to liberty. He asked the convention: “Can
the general government exercise any power not delegated?
If an enumeration be made of our rights, will it not be implied
that every thing omitted is given to the general government?”
It took the better part of a month, but Madison’s arguments
eventually won the day. On June 25, the Convention ratified
the Constitution, without requiring the addition of a Bill of
Rights first. It did, however, later approve a list of proposed
amendments to be recommended to the First Congress.
Tara Ross is a mother, wife, writer, and retired lawyer. She is
the author of The Indispensable Electoral College: How the
Founders’ Plan Saves Our Country from Mob Rule,Enlightened
Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College, co-author of
Under God: George Washington and the Question of Church
and State (with Joseph C. Smith, Jr.), & We Elect A President:
The Story of our Electoral College. She is a constitutionalist,
but with a definite libertarian streak! Stay tuned here for updates
on pretty much anything to do with the Electoral College,
George Washington, & our wonderfully rich American heritage.
buymidway.com
252-335-9800
To order Tara’s books, go to this link:
http://www.taraross.com/books/
28 Albemarle Tradewinds July 2019 albemarletradewinds.com