The Handy American History Answer Book. David L. Hudson

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СКАЧАТЬ began in Pennsylvania. James Wilson took the lead in defending the Constitution in his home state.

      In a well-known address delivered on October 6, 1787, Wilson argued that the inclusion of a bill of rights was “superfluous and absurd.” The new Congress, Wilson argued, “possesses no influence whatsoever upon the press.” Wilson pointed out that many Anti-Federalists were criticizing the new document because it provided for a standing Army. Wilson responded: “Yet I do not know a nation in the world which has not found it necessary and useful to maintain the appearance of strength in a season of the most profound tranquility.”

       In what states was the ratification debate of the Constitution closest and most intense?

      Ratification was most difficult in the populous states of Massachusetts and New York. The debate in Massachusetts was particularly intense. Massachusetts voted 187–168 in favor of the Constitution on February 6, 1788, only after the Federalists agreed to recommend amending the Constitution to include protections for individual liberties.

      Massachusetts became the first state officially to recommend amendments to the Constitution during the ratification process. Though the nine proposed amendments bear little resemblance to the final U.S. Bill of Rights, they were an important precursor to the Bill of Rights.

      The state assembly had to vote on a state convention. Many of the Anti-Federalists in the state legislature refused to attend the assembly. They did not want the Assembly to have a quorum, or a sufficient number of members to take a valid vote. Allegedly, a mob of people broke into a local home and dragged two Anti-Federalists to the Assembly floor in order to create a quorum. The delegates voted 45–2 in favor of a ratification convention. The state convention met for five weeks. Finally, on December 12, the delegates voted for ratification by a vote of 46–23. The vote upset some citizens with Anti-Federalist sympathies. A mob of such people attacked James Wilson in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

      Pennsylvania ratified the Constitution on December 12 by a vote of 46–23. The Pennsylvania delegates also considered fifteen amendments proposed by Anti-Federalist Robert Whitehill. These proposed amendments were similar to what later became the U.S. Bill of Rights.

      What happened in Virginia with respect to ratification?

      Actually, New Hampshire became the required ninth state on June 21, 1788, voting 57–46 in favor of the Constitution. Although the Constitution was technically in effect after New Hampshire ratified it, the support of Virginia was essential. Virginia did not know that New Hampshire had become the necessary ninth state. Because Virginia was such a large and powerful state, her ratification of the Constitution was crucial.

      Virginia was the home of James Madison, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, all of whom supported the Constitution. However, the state was also the home of a group of well-known Anti-Federalists, including Patrick Henry and George Mason. The battle in Virginia was particularly difficult. After one debate, Madison fell ill and was bedridden for three straight days. Some great statesmen, such as the brilliant orator from Virginia Patrick Henry, led the Anti-Federalists. During the debate on ratification in his state, Henry asked: “What right had they [the Constitution delegates] to say, ‘We the People’?”

      In arguing against the Constitution, Mason wrote, “It is ascertained, by history, that there never was a government over a very extensive country without destroying the liberties of the people.” However, state delegate Edmund Pendleton countered in the Virginia Ratification Convention, “In reviewing the history of the world, shall we find an instance where any society retained its liberty without government?”

      In June, Governor Edmund Randolph spoke in favor of the Constitution, even though he had failed to sign it the previous September. Randolph explained that he did not sign because the document did not contain necessary amendments. However, he said that because other states had proposed amendments to be passed after ratification, he would vote in favor of ratification. He also pointed out that eight other states had already ratified the Constitution.

      Patrick Henry charged that Randolph had been persuaded to change positions by none other than George Washington. Though this charge cannot be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, Washington did later name Randolph his first attorney general.

      Madison managed to gather enough support for the Constitution in the Virginia state convention on June 25, 1788. The delegates narrowly approved the Constitution. Two days later, a committee at the state convention proposed a bill of rights be added to the Constitution. Virginia voted in favor of ratification by a narrow vote of 89–79. Virginia also attached proposed amendments as well, many of which would later be contained in the Bill of Rights. Some Anti-Federalists were very upset and wanted to resist the new Constitution. However, at a meeting in Richmond, Patrick Henry said that they must accept defeat: “As true and faithful republicans [honorable citizens] you had all better go home.”

      Many Anti-Federalists became supporters of the new government. For example, Anti-Federalist Elbridge Gerry, who refused to sign the Convention, later became James Madison’s vice president.

THE BILL OF RIGHTS

      Why were the first ten amendments—the Bill of Rights—added to the Constitution?

      The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in part because many people wanted to ensure themselves protection from the new, strong federal government created by the new Constitution. The two leading political parties of the time were the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists generally supported a very strong central government; the Anti-Federalists showed more concern for the rights of individual state governments. The issue of the Bill of Rights was not a huge issue at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 when the Constitution was created. Representative George Mason raised the issue, but it was quickly defeated.

      However, the Bill of Rights became a huge political issue during the ratification debates in certain states. Eventually, supporters of the Constitution and ratification in a few states were able to secure ratification of the new Constitution only by promising that there would soon be the addition of a Bill of Rights.

      What member of the House is sometimes called “the Father of the Bill of Rights”?

      James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States, served in the U.S. House of Representatives for his home state of Virginia from 1789 until 1797. On June 8, 1789, Madison introduced in the House his proposals for amending the U.S. Constitution—creating a so-called Bill of Rights. This speech earned Madison the moniker “Father of the Bill of Rights.” Madison sought to introduce measures which would provide a degree of individual freedom for the people from infringements by the government. Madison believed that a Bill of Rights would increase popularity for the new federal government and the U.S. Constitution. In his speech, Madison referred to the provisions in his proposed Bill of Rights as “the great rights of mankind.” Madison’s speech is one of the most significant in American history.

      James Madison, who later became the country’s fourth president, was a key player in the Philadelphia Convention and in the writing of the Constitution. He is often thought of as the “Father of the Bill of Rights.”

      Where did Madison look for possible proposals that eventually became included in the Bill of Rights?

      Madison compiled a list of various proposals from various state constitutions. Many states had a section similar to the eventual Bill of Rights. Some of these sections were called Declarations of Rights.

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