as soon as the Conventions of nine States shall have rati- 'GEORGE WASHINGTON, President. "WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary.' 883. a. Letter of the convention to the president of congress. 'SIR, 'IN CONVENTION. 'SEPTEMBER 17, 1787. 'We have now the honor to submit to the consideration of the United States in Congress assembled that Constitution which has appeared to us the most advisable. "The friends of our country have long seen and desired, that the power of making war, peace and treaties; that of levying money and regulating commerce, and the correspondent executive and judicial authorities, should be fully and effectually vested in the general government of the union but the impropriety of delegating such extensive trusts to one body of men is evident. Hence results the necessity of a different organization. 'It is obviously impracticable in the Federal Govern ment of these States, to secure all rights of independent sovereignty to each, and yet provide for the interest and safety of all. Individuals entering into society must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest. The magnitude of the sacrifice must depend as well on situation and circumstance, as on the object to be obtained. It is at all times difficult to draw with precision the line between those rights which must be surrendered, and those which may be reserved; and on the present occasion this difficulty was increased by a difference among the several States as to their situation, extent, habits, and particular interests.1 'In all our deliberations on this subject, we kept steadily in our view that which appears to us the greatest interest of every true American, the consolidation of our union, in which is involved our prosperity, felicity, safety, perhaps our national existence. This important consideration, seriously and deeply impressed on our minds, led each State in the Convention to be less rigid on points of inferior magnitude than might have been otherwise expected; and thus the Constitution, which now we present, is the result of a spirit of amity, and of that mutual deference and concession which the peculiarity of our political situation rendered indispensable. 'That it will meet the full and entire approbation of every State, is not perhaps to be expected; but each will doubtless consider, that had her interests been alone consulted, the consequences might have been particularly disagreeable or injurious to others: that it is liable to as few exceptions as could reasonably have been expected, we hope and believe: that it may promote the lasting welfare of that country so dear to us all, and secure her freedom and happiness, is our most ardent wish. 1It will be observed, that the above paragraph very clearly points to the boundary line between the internal sovereignty or right of self-government, and the external sovereignty or right of control of external affairs. The latter was to be delegated to the common government. 284. Action of congress. 'With great respect, we have the honor to be, sir, your excellency's most obedient and humble servants. 'GEORGE WASHINGTON, President. 'By unanimous order of the Convention. 'His excellency, the PRESIDENT of Congress.' The foregoing constitution, resolutions and letter, being reported by the general convention of the states to the then federal congress, that body, on the 28th of September, 1787, unanimously resolved:-'That the said report, with the resolutions and letter accompanying the same, be transmitted to the several Legislatures, in order to be submitted to a Convention of Delegates chosen in each State by the people thereof, in conformity to the resolves of the Convention, made and provided in that case.' Thus the new constitution was submitted to the people, for their ratification or rejection. But to the people ofwhat? In this connection the words of the preamble, 'We, the people of the United States, .... do ordain,' etc., should be considered. Some have argued from this, that the constitution of the United States was ordained and established,' not by the 'people' of each state, but by 'the nation;' meaning by 'the nation,' the American people at large as composing A SINGLE POLITICAL COMMUNITY. By the resolutions and letter of the general convention that framed it, seconded by the resolution of congress, the instrument was referred to the several legislatures of the states; a copy of the original was transmitted to each, with the recommendation that it be submitted to a Convention of Delegates chosen in each State by the people thereof. By the separate and independent action of each state legislature, it was so submitted; and by the separate and independent action of each state convention, as we shall see, it was finally adopted, assented to and ratified. The plan of ratification was prescribed by the very last article of the instrument itself; which, as we have seen, provided that 'the ratification of the conventions of nine states shall be sufficient for the establishment of this constitution between the 6 States so ratifying the same.' We must therefore understand, that the words of the preamble, We, the people of the United States,' were employed in the sense of 'We, the people of' each of the United States;' and meant, We, the body of electors of each of the United States: these electors being the 'people' always intended, and the only people ever known in the history of our sovereign legislation.1 (2 h) OF THE RATIFYING CONVENTIONS OF THE STATES AND THE ORDINANCES OF RATIFICATION. THE original articles of confederation had only been. 285. Action sanctioned by authority of the state legislatures: and as of the states. these legislatures were merely the agents of the people, the ministers of the original thirteen sovereigns, having no proper authority to delegate their powers; and as, for that reason, the validity of the articles of confederation had often been questioned; it was from the first proposed that the new constitution should be established by the paramount authority of the PEOPLE (or body of electors) composing each state; so that it should rest upon the same foundation with that of the constitution of each state. In order to show by the highest authority, namely, the records, in what manner the work was completed, I shall introduce these sovereigns to speak for themselves by their several ordinances of ratification, and in the order in which they originally spoke." DELAWARE.-We, the Deputies of the people of the Delaware State, in Convention met, having taken into serious consideration the Federal Constitution, proposed and. 1 See the original form of the preamble, 109, post; who 'the people' 90 et seq., and as to citizens, of the states and the United States, are, 155. "The ordinances passed by the several conventions of the states, are collected together in Elliot's Debates, Vol. 1, pp. 319 to 335. ¿ 85. a. 885. b. 85. c. agreed upon by the Deputies of the United States, in a General Convention, held at the City of Philadelphia, on the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, have approved, assented to, ratified, and confirmed, and by these presents do, in virtue of the power and authority to us given, for and in behalf of ourselves and our constituents, fully, freely, and entirely approve of, assent to, ratify, and confirm, the said Constitution. 'Done in Convention, at Dover, this seventh day of December, in the year aforesaid, and in the year of the Independence of the United States of America, the twelfth.'1 PENNSYLVANIA.-'In the name of the People of Penn sylvania. 'Be it known unto all men, that we, the Delegates of the People of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in General Convention assembled, have assented to and ratified, and by these presents do, in the name and by the authority of the same People, and for ourselves, assent to and ratify the foregoing the Constitution for the United States of America. Done in Convention at Philadelphia, the twelfth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names.'2 NEW JERSEY.-(After reciting the previous proceedings, of the convention of the states, of congress, and of the state legislature, the ratifying convention of this state says:) 'Now be it known, That we, the Delegates of the State of New Jersey, chosen by the people thereof, for the purposes aforesaid, having maturely deliberated on and considered the aforesaid proposed Constitution, do hereby, for and on the behalf of the people of the said State of New 'Elliot's Debates, Vol. 1, p. 319. 2 Elliot's Debates, Vol. 1, p. 319. |