We 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 f" stricken out.] effectually The Friends of our Country have long seen and desired that the Power of making war Peace and Treaties, that of levying Money & regulating Commerce and the correspondent executive and judicial Authorities should be fully and ["exclusively" stricken out] vested in the general Government of the Union. But the Impropriety of delegating such extensive Trust to one Body of Men is ["self" stricken out] evident. Hence results the Necessity of a different Organization. ["evidently impracticable" stricken out] in the foederal Govern ["It is desirable, but we fear not practicable" stricken out.] It is obviously impracticablement of these States to secure ["able" stricken out] 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 Circumstances 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 encreased by a Difference among the several States as to their Situation Extent Habits and particular Interests. [INDORSEMENT. N° 2. State of the Resolutions submitted by M' Randolph to th altered, amended & Consideration of the House, as agreed to in a Committee the whole House. Received from the President of the U. States, march 19. I ̧· by TIMOTHY PICKERING Sec' of St. Providence May 11. 1787. of this State have finally declined eet you in Convention for the purResolve of Congress of the 21st Febants Tradesmen and others of this with the evils of the present unhappy oper to Communicate in writing their ieeting, And their regret that it will fall epresentation of the Federal Union.State was Owing to the Nonconcurrence of Assembly with a Vote passed in the appointing Delegates to attend the said r Session holden at Newport on the first present Month. Opinion here and we believe of the well inat this State, that full power for the Regula merce of the United States, both Foreign & to be vested in the National Council. ectual Arrangements should also be made for 1 to the present powers of Congress in thier on the States for National purposes. et of this Letter is chiefly to prevent any imvorable to the Commercial Interest of this King place in our Sister States from the Circumbeing unrepresented in the present National we shall not presume to enter into any detail of 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 we now present is the Result of a Spirit of Amity and of that mutual Deference & Concession which the Peculiarity of our political Situation rendered indispensible. and entire ["in all Respects every particular & entire" stricken out] every That it will meet the full approbation of ["any one" stricken out] 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 [INDORSEMENT.] N° 3. Draught of the letter from the Convention to Congress, to accompany the Constitution |