The Formation & Evolution of the American Constitution. Madison James

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      No State shall grant letters of marque & reprisal or enter into treaty or alliance or confederation nor grant any title of nobility nor without the Consent of the Legislature of the United States lay any impost on imports — nor keep troops or Ships of War in time of peace — nor enter into compacts with other States or foreign powers or emit bills of Credit or make any thing but Gold Silver or Copper a tender in payment of debts nor engage in War except for self defence when actually invaded or the danger of invasion be so great as not to admit of a delay until the Government of the United States can be informed thereof — & to render these prohibitions effectual the Legislature of the United States shall have the power to revise the laws of the several States that may be supposed to infringe the Powers exclusively delegated by this Constitution to Congress & to negative & annul such as do.

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      The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges & immunities of Citizens in the several States — Any person charged with Crimes in any State fleeing from justice to another shall on demand of the Executive of the State from which he fled be delivered up & removed to the State having jurisdiction of the offence.

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      Full faith shall be given in each State to the acts of the Legislature & to the records & judicial Proceedings of the Courts & magistrates of every State.

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      The Legislature shall have power to admit new States into the Union on the same terms with the original States provided two thirds of the members present in both Houses agree.

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      On the application of the legislature of a State the United States shall protect it against domestic insurrection.

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      If two thirds of the Legislatures of the States apply for the same the Legislature of the United States shall call a Convention for the purpose of amending the Constitution — or should Congress, with the Consent of two thirds of each house, propose to the States amendments to the same — the agreement of two thirds of the Legislatures of the States shall be sufficient to make the said amendments parts of the Constitution.

The Ratification of the conventions of — — States shall be sufficient for organizing this Constitution.7

      Adjourned.

1 "Mr. Charles Pinckney is a young Gentleman of the most promising talents. He is, altho' only 24 years of age, in possession of a very great variety of knowledge. Government, Law, History, and Phylosophy are his favorite studies, but he is intimately acquainted with every species of polite learning, and has a spirit of application and industry beyond most Men. He speaks with great neatness and perspicuity, and treats every subject as fully, without running into prolixity, as it requires. He has been a Member of Congress, and served in that Body with ability and eclat." — Pierce's Notes, Am. Hist. Rev., iii., 333.

2 "Mr. Randolph is Governor of Virginia, — a young Gentleman in whom unite all the accomplishments of the Scholar, and the Statesman. He came forward with the postulata, or first principles, on which the Convention acted, and he supported them with a force of eloquence and reasoning that did him great honor. He has a most harmonious voice, a fine person and striking manners. Mr. Randolph is about 32 years of age." — Pierce's Notes, Id., iii., 332.

3 In the MS. in Randolph's hand: "[here insert his speech including his resolutions]." The speech also is in Randolph's hand, having been furnished by him.

4 This abstract of the speech was furnished to J. M. by Mr. Randolph and is in his handwriting. As a report of it from him had been relied on, it was omitted by J. M. — Madison's Note. The fifteen resolutions, constituting the "Virginia Plan," are in Madison's handwriting.

5 Robert Yates, delegate from New York, kept notes of the proceedings of the Convention, until he left July 5th, with his colleague, John Lansing. They wrote a joint letter to Governor Clinton afterwards, giving their reasons: "We were not present at the completion of the new constitution; but before we left the convention, its principles were so well established as to convince us, that no alteration was to be expected to conform it to our ideas of expediency and safety." — Secret Proceedings of the Federal Convention, 10. Yates's notes are quoted here, whenever they are at variance with Madison's. He gives Pinckney's motion as follows: "Mr. C. Pinckney, a member from South Carolina, then added, that he had reduced his ideas of a new government to a system, which he read, and confessed that it was grounded on the same principle as of the above [the Randolph] resolutions." — Id., 97.

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      Charles Pinckney wrote to John Quincy Adams:

      "WINGAW NEAR GEORGETOWN December 12 1818

      "SIR

      "I have just had the honour to receive your favour — Being at present absent from Charleston on a visit to my planting interest in this neighbourhood I shall in consequence of your letter shorten my stay here considerably & return to Town for the purpose of complying with your request as soon as possible — From an inspection of my old papers not long ago I know it was then easily in my power to have complied with your request — I still hope it is & as soon as I return to my residence in Charleston will again, or as quickly as I can write you on it to prevent delay.

      "The Draught of the Constitution proposed by me was divided into a number of articles & was in complete detail — the resolutions offered by Mr. Randolph were merely general ones & as far as I recollect they were both referred to the same Committee.

      "With great respect & esteem" &c. — Dept. of State MSS., Miscellaneous Letters.

      Three weeks later he wrote again:

      "SIR

      "On my return to this City as I promised I examined carefully all the numerous notes & papers which I had retained relating to the federal Convention — among them I found several rough draughts of the Constitution I proposed to the Convention — although they differed in some measure from each other in the wording & arrangement of the articles — yet they were all substantially the same — they all proceeded upon the idea of throwing out of view the attempt to amend the existing Confederation (then a very favorite idea of a number) & proceeding de novo — of a Division of the Powers of Government into legislative executive & judicial & of making the Government to operate directly upon the People & not upon the States. My Plan was substantially adopted in the sequel except as to the Senate & giving more power to the Executive than I intended — the force of vote which the small & middling states had in the Convention prevented our obtaining a proportional representation in more than one branch & the great powers given to the President were never intended to have been given to him while the Convention continued in that patient & coolly deliberative situation in which they had been for nearly the whole of the preceding five months of their session nor was it until within the last week or ten days that almost the whole of the СКАЧАТЬ