The Handy American History Answer Book. David L. Hudson

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СКАЧАТЬ their resolve to oppose British power), the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and finally the United States Constitution.

      Sherman played an influential role in the Convention, but he is most remembered for his compromise that saved the Convention and the Constitution. Under this so-called “Great Compromise,” the states would be represented equally in the Senate, and the states would be represented proportionally in the House of Representatives based on population. This proposal reflects our current system. In the House of Representatives, a state’s number of representatives is based on the state’s population. In the Senate, each state has two senators.

      However, Sherman’s proposal was voted down 6–5 when it was first introduced. The delegates continued to argue over the issue of proportional versus equal representation. On July 2, the states voted 5–5 on the question of equal representation in the Senate. The states of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland favored equal representation. The states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina opposed equal representation. The state of Georgia could have broken the tie, but the two Georgia delegates present—William Houstoun and Abraham Bald-win—split.

      Four delegates from Georgia were present at the Convention. However, two of the members—William Few and William Pierce—left the convention for New York to vote on pressing matters in Congress. Few and Pierce would have voted against equal representation. The Convention hung in the balance. The small states would have lost the question of equal representation were it not for the vote of Abraham Baldwin. Baldwin lived in Connecticut virtually his whole life, having moved to Georgia only three years before the Convention. Some historians assert that Baldwin saved the Constitution because he split the Georgia votes, saving the small states from defeat. They argue that Baldwin voted the way he did because he knew the small states would collapse the Convention if they lost the equal representation question in the Senate.

      The Convention then agreed to allow a committee of one person from each of the eleven states to be formed to explore the question of how to organize the Congress. The states voted 10–1 in favor of such a committee. The committee was composed primarily of individuals in favor of a senate chosen by equal representation. On July 5, the committee read its report to the entire delegation, calling for proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate. Many of the delegates who had wanted proportional representation in both houses had conceded this issue, realizing that the delegates from small states might leave if they did not get their way.

      Did all fifty-five delegates sign the final product of the Philadelphia Convention?

      Several delegates left before the Convention convened in September. These included William Richardson Davie, Oliver Ellsworth, William Houston, William Houstoun, John Lansing, Jr., Alexander Martin, Luther Martin, James McClurg, John Francis Mercer, William Pierce, Caleb Strong, George Wythe, and Robert Yates.

      Additionally, three members of the Convention stayed until the end but refused to sign the document: Elbridge Gerry, Edmund Randolph, and George Mason IV.

      Who were the fifty-five Founding Framers of the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention?

      The following table lists the states of the framers and their names:

	Framers of the Constitution
State	Framers
Connecticut	Oliver Ellsworth, William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman
Delaware	Richard Bassett, Gunning Bedford, Jacob Broom, John Dickinson, George Read
Georgia	Abraham Baldwin, William Few, William Houstoun, William Pierce
Maryland	Daniel Carroll, Luther Martin, James McHenry, John F. Mercer, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
Massachusetts	Elbridge Gerry, Nathan Gorham, Rufus King, Caleb Strong
New Hampshire	Michael Gillman, John Langdon
New Jersey	David Brearley, Jonathan Dayton, William Houston, William Livingston, William Paterson
New York	Alexander Hamilton, Robert Lansing, Robert Yates
North Carolina	William Blount, William Richardson Davie, Alexander Martin, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson
Pennsylvania	George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Benjamin Franklin, Jared Ingersoll, Thomas Mifflin, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, James Wilson
South Carolina	Pierce Butler, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Rutledge
Virginia	John Blair, James Madison, George Mason IV, James McClurg, Edmund Randolph, George Washington, George Wythe

      Why did Gerry, Randolph, and Mason refuse to sign the Constitution?

      Ironically, Randolph later refused to sign the Constitution at the end of the Convention. He refused to sign it in part because he believed his constituents in Virginia would disapprove of the Constitution. He argued that the people in the states, through their representatives, should have the “full opportunity” to propose amendments to the Constitution. However, during the ratification battle in his home state of Virginia, Randolph fought for its adoption.

      Gerry and Mason, key contributors throughout the summer, refused to sign the Constitution in part because it lacked a Bill of Rights. Gerry said that its major failure was in failing to provide for a bill of rights. He later wrote: “There is no security in the proferred system, either for the rights of conscience or the liberty of the Press.” For his part, a few days earlier, Mason said: “I would sooner chop off my right hand than put it to the Constitution.”

      George Mason IV, shown here, wrote the Bill of Rights with James Madison. Mason had, along with Edmund Randolph and Elbridge Gerry, opposed signing the Constitution with these assured rights for citizens.

      Mason honestly believed that the system of constitutional government would produce either a “monarchy or a corrupt oppressive aristocracy.” He also felt the “Constitution has been formed without the knowledge or idea of the people.” Mason believed the delegates had exceeded their authority by secretly creating a powerful national government that would take away the powers of the states.

      What did the new Constitution say about slavery?

      The new Constitution did not directly address the slavery problem, probably because many of the members knew other members—particularly from the more agrarian, Southern states—would not be willing to compromise on the measure. However, the vast majority of the delegates did not want to dissolve the Union over slavery.

      The issue of slavery was closely tied to the question of congressional representation. The Southern states wanted to count slaves in their population numbers because they would obtain more seats in the House of Representatives. The Northern states did not want to count slaves for purposes of legislative representation, since slaves would not vote or pay taxes. The Northern states also did not want the Southern states to obtain more power than they had.

      The delegates eventually agreed to tie taxation to representation and to count slaves as three-fifths of a person. Some historians contend the Convention agreed to this compromise over slavery and representation in exchange for the exclusion of slavery in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.

      The Northern and Southern delegates bargained over the issues of slavery and trade well into August. On August 24, the Committee of Eleven issued a report that contained four provisions: (1) Congress could not prohibit the exportation of slaves until 1800; (2) Congress could tax imported slaves; (3) Exports could not be taxed; and (4) Congress could pass navigation acts by simple majority. The Northern states, which depended on commerce, wanted Congress to pass laws regulating trade.

      The Constitution would extend the date to allow the importation of slaves until 1808. The Constitution also contained a clause, called the СКАЧАТЬ