Ratification of the US Constitution - Research Paper Example

 Ratification of the U.S. Constitution Introduction “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America”1. These are the starting lines in the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States, which form the supreme law in this land, and stands as a symbol of freedom, equality and justice. The Constitution forms a framework for the functioning of the Federal government, and outlines the nature of alliances that the Federal government must form with its citizens and its member states. It was first adopted in 1787 by the Constitutional Convention that took place in Philadelphia, after 55 members from the various states convened to frame out a Constitution that would still prevail in the “remote futurity”2. However, the Constitution did not come into effect until it was ratified in 1788. It was during this time that the reconstitution of the Articles of the Confederation took place under a twofold ratification process. This process of ratification was a long drawn process, and consisted of debates between the official emissaries, that took place from December 1787 and continued till July 1788. There were also certain representatives from the general public, who participated in debate sessions that argued over whether or not to go ahead with the ratification of the new constitutional modifications. This took place from October 1787 and continued till the month of July in 1788. When the first draft of the US Constitution was presented, it was opposed by many states, and soon it was seen that a sharp demarcation arose between people that formed two groups, the Federalists and the anti-Federalists. Many states like that of Virginia refused to side with the Constitution, without the Bill of Rights included within it. The Federalists, at the head of which were James Madison and John Hay, and both as the supporters “of the new Constitution, advocated its speedy adoption. Pointing to clear weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and the need for change, they touted the proposal as a way to maintain liberty while strengthening the national government so that it would be adequate to the crises it faced”3. The anti-Federalists headed by George Mason, opposed the Constitutional bill on the basis of the theory that a government with complete control over a country as large as the US would indefinitely destroy all civil liberty and state liberty rights, and wanted further debates on the issue before the ratification could take place. At the end we find that the Federalists, though they formed the minor group initially, emerged as the winner and the Constitution became fully effective from 1788, after the completion of ratification. Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, while the Rhode Island became the last state to do so. This article will examine in detail the process of Ratification of the U.S. Constitution, while focusing on the part played by the key leaders, such as John Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and others. It will analyse the methods that they used to persuade the states to adopt it, and will also take a close a look at the Bill of Rights, that had proved to become a matter of serious contention amongst the debaters at the Convention. It will also examine the state reactions and the reactions of the citizens to this Constitution, and the subsequent long drawn debate that ultimately led to the ratification. It will also do a comparative analysis on the Federalist and Anti-Federalist movements, and the political manoeuvring that they used to achieve the ratification and make the Constitution effective. Body Background causes that led to the call for amendments in the Articles of Confederation: America declared its independence on 4th of July 1776, and proclaimed its thirteen colonies to be free from the British Empire through a statement prepared by Thomas Jefferson and accepted by the Continental Congress. This statement later became famous as the Declaration of Independence and consisted of stated reasons as to why they were separating from Great Britain. It did not have any framework for the future political functioning of a free government, and it was here the Articles of the Confederation helped the new nation in creating a political framework to start its work on, during and after the American revolution. However, these Articles were riddled with many loopholes, and soon various problems came into the forefront even before the American Revolution could come to an end. The biggest weakness of the Articles soon turned out to be in the monopoly of the states’ over the Federal Congress in many areas of governance and political processes. The Articles of the Confederation had vested in the state governments majority of the power, in order to avoid creating an authoritarian central government built on similar lines like that of England. This was evident when the federal government felt the need to levy taxes but could not do so. It could only request the states to make payments towards the state treasury. To come to a permanent solution for this problem, it requested the states to make way for an amendment that would grant them the authority to levy taxes, but the amendment could not be passed as the state of Rhode Island did not give its approval to the proposal. Another weakness was in the form of the ‘veto of each state’ where an amendment could only be passed after all the 13 states ratified it. Besides these, there were many problems that the federal congress was now facing owing to the defects in the Articles, like there was a lack of uniform currency, lack of military power to safeguard its policies leading to the stationed British troops trying to create internal disturbances by arming the Native Americans. Soon even the Spanish colonial power that held Louisiana and Florida, started defying the Federal Congress. Very soon it was acknowledged by all the nationalist leaders that the Articles of the Confederation needed amendments to empower the central government. Finally on February 21st 1787, the Congress decided to hold a Convention with the main purpose of reconstituting the Articles of the Confederation. On 25th May there were present delegates from 12 states (except Rhode Island) to attend the Philadelphia Convention. Here the debates and discussions took place and soon by the middle of June it became clear that instead of just revising the Articles, it would be preferable to prepare a new Constitution, and also construct an outline for creating a new fundamental government. The 55 delegates who took part in the drafting of the Constitution were national leaders from diverse backgrounds, however with one common agenda, that is, to follow the central ideas conveyed in the Preamble of the Constitution. Thus the new Constitution would be framed keeping in mind the formation of a strong central government that would be perceptive about the Peoples’ will. Since the Articles of the Confederation tried and failed to unite the sovereign states, it was felt by the national leaders who drafted the Constitution that it was necessary to form a strong central government that would have the authority to control the states, and have the sole power to take care of affairs pertaining to defence and foreign relations. Once a draft of the new proposed Constitution was presented, it was found to be more or less a recalibrated version of the Articles of the Confederation with only one major change. Under Article VII there was a change in the ratification procedure and it proposed that “The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same”4. This was a direct antithesis to what the Article of Confederation said in Article 13, where it was given that the union of the 13 states was abiding and any amendment must be accepted by the Federal Congress, and later confirmed by the legislators of all the 13 states. So the change proposed was a major deviation from the existing Article and for the new one to be passed it was necessary that all the state legislators accept it and unanimously ratify the new proposal. Though it seemed an easy task at the beginning, it took many months of debates and discussions and a lot of propaganda before a final consensus could be reached. Now, it is necessary for us to take a closer look at Ratification process and the leaders who worked overtime to get proposal for the amendment passed. The process of ratification: The amendment proposed by the new Constitution had two ways of looking at it. The first view was of the opinion that, if it is known that Rhode Island will not give consent then why uselessly repeat the same thing as in the Article of Confederation, and let the Convention of Philadelphia go to waste by letting one state spoil what the other eleven had approved. The second view stated that “The principle of the Revolution is that legitimate government is based in the consent of the governed and that the people have the right to choose the form of government under which they shall live...In order to fulfil the revolutionary principle that the consent of the governed is the only legitimate foundation of government, the Framers proposed a popular, rather than exclusively state, based ratification. But as a nod to reality, the voice of the whole people will be the collected through state based popular conventions”5. As the process of ratification started the political calculation soon fell in place. The Federalists under John Madison needed nine ratifications out of the twelve states (Rhode Island was very clear that it would not ratify), while the anti-Federalists like George Mason would require just four states out of the 12 to block the amendment. So it was very clear right from the beginning as to which side the scales were tipped. Rufus King, Nathaniel Gorham and James Madison were despatched to New York where the Congress session was working, to pacify the anti-Federalists. Soon on 28th September 1787, the Congress unanimously placed the proposed draft of the Constitution to the states without any approbation for or against it. Here, it must be mentioned that the Federalists were at a disadvantageous position. Just before the draft was placed before the states, on 17th September, Elbridge Gerry from the state of Massachusetts, Governor Randolph and George Mason from the state of Virginia refused to sign the proposal. These three representatives were from two of the most powerful states, and thus were proving to become a major obstacle to the ratification process. Soon it came to be known that governor George Clinton from New York, Richard Henry Lee, Robert Yates and John Lansing were all gearing to fight the amendment and refusing to sign the Constitution. At this time, to fight this wave which was threatening to sweep the Federalists away, under the guidance of Alexander Hamilton, the Federalists started writing essays addressed to the people of New York, and later circulated it in all the regions in and around the Atlantic coast. These later became famous as the Federalist Papers and were written primarily by Hamilton, Madison and John Jay under the alias Publius. The Federalist Papers comprised mainly of articles written in support of the new proposed Constitution and were aimed to make New York sign the Constitution, which had become a spawning ground for all anti Federalist activities. In one of the articles the tone is very clear where Publius directly appeals to the people of New York, saying that the existent system was not ratified by the PEOPLE, and tells them that the express authority of its people is the only way towards conforming the Constitution, and after stating the Article VII it clarifies that the ratification of all 13 states is really not required. “This article speaks for itself. The express authority of the people alone could give due validity to the Constitution. To have the required the unanimous ratification of the thirteen states, would have subjected the essential interests of the whole to the caprice or corruption of a single member”6. Another very effective campaign from the Federalists’ side was in the form of the 1788 Federal Calendar, where a Federal chariot was shown, and riding it was Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, with 13 horses representing the states, pulling the chariot towards the path of ratification, which soon became a collector’s item. The articles written by the Federalists, though popular with its modern readers, did not appeal much to the common people at that time. The anti-Federalists also issued many essays that were published in many newspapers and pamphlets, and were written under the name of Brutus by Robert Yates and Mercy Otis Warren. Anti-federalists’ main opposition to the new amendment was based on the view that the power would be completely in the hands of the central government which may in time prove to be authoritarian like that of Great Britain. The long drawn fight between the two groups was extremely bitter, especially in some states where there was infighting within the state convention itself. However, the Federalists proved to be more organised and more united, and with their strong financial backing managed to outdo the anti-Federalists who were mainly localised and did not strive to find support outside their respective states. Soon Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution on 7th December 1787, followed by Pennsylvania (12th December 1787), New Jersey on 19th December, while Georgia ratified in January 1788. New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the constitution on 21st June 1788. New York, which was in majority against the new Constitution, was finally turned around by the Federalist Papers written by Hamilton, and with the condition for the Bill of Rights, signed the ratification with 30 ‘yeas’ against 27 ‘nays’. Here Hamilton was helped by the moderate anti-federalist Melancton Smith. With the ratification over, the Constitution was finally given shape and made effective, and New York became the seat for the new government. George Washington became the first President of USA, with John Adams from Massachusetts being elected as his Vice President. The Bill of Rights: Since its conception in 1788, the US Constitution has been amended 27 times with James Madison proposing 12 amendments to the Congress in 1789. By the September 1789, Congress approved these amendments, and out of the 12 amendments proposed, 10 were ratified by 11 states. These 10 ratified proposals are collectively known as the United States Bill of Rights. The chief proponent of this Bill of Rights was George Mason, who feared that under the new Constitution individual rights may be curtailed. In fact he had opposed the ratification fearing that the individual rights might be affected because of a lack of protection in the new Constitution, and it was because of Mason’s opposition to the bill that Virginia almost refused to sign the ratification. New York, Massachusetts and Virginia signed the bill only on the assurance that the new Constitution would include the Bill of Rights. A per this Bill of Rights, its major characteristics are that the US federal government cannot support one single religion, has to guarantee freedom of speech, freedom of association and to assemble, freedom of the press, right to bear arms, there would be trial by jury, and there would granted rights of the accused, while certain rights are to be reserved for the states and its people only. Thus the US Constitution with its Bill of Rights was “the first Constitution in history to limit the amount of power a government could have over its people”7. Reactions of the people: The process of ratification right for the beginning was a straight forward and a bold fight for gaining votes. It was also a complex political warfare where arguments on political and social theories took the centre stage. It was for the first time in America where the general public also took a strong part in the debate, thus paving the way for formation of national politics. It completely changed the ways in which the Americans saw themselves, and also bought in the concept of a ‘national political society’, making the common people a part of the entire political process with a strong say in it. This debate over the process of ratification made the people of America see beyond their narrow concept of state-hood and their borders, and look beyond at the bigger concept of a whole nation, and the concept of US as one single united nation came into existence in the minds of the common people. Conclusion The process of ratification of the US constitution was a long drawn process with a lot of political twists and turns. The ratification was completed only after assurance from the federalists (John Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams) about the Bill of Rights. The anti-federalists like George Mason and Governor Randolph, who opposed this ratification mainly did so owing to the fear that a central government with absolute power might do away with all individual rights, and become authoritarian in nature. Amidst all the debates and arguments and political play, it was the common people of America that came into the limelight for the first time, and took an active part in the entire proceedings, thus paving the way for the future national political society, prominent in US even today. Notes 1. The Constitution of the United States. National Constitution Center. Philadelphia. 1988. Web. 19th July 2010. Accessed at  http://72.32.50.200/constitution/constitution.pdf. 2. The Constitutional Convention. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs, Ashland University. 2008. Web. 19th July 2010. Accessed at http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/ 3. John Vile. A Companion to the United States Constitution and Its Amendments. (California: ABC-CLIO, 2010). 15. 4. John Vile, Ibid, 109. 5. The Constitutional Convention, Ibid. 6. Alexander Hamilton. The Federalist Papers. (Forgotten Books, 1999). 249. 7. Jean Kinney Williams The U.S. Constitution. (Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2003). 7. Bibliography Hamilton, A. The Federalist Papers. Forgotten Books, 1999. 249. The Constitutional Convention. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs, Ashland University. 2008. Accessed at http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/ The Constitution of the United States. National Constitution Center. Philadelphia. 1988. Accessed at http://72.32.50.200/constitution/constitution.pdf. Vile, J. A Companion to the United States Constitution and Its Amendments. California: ABC-CLIO, 2010. 15. Williams, J. The U.S. Constitution. Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2003. 7. Read More