that commercial intercourse, which, founded on the universal protection of private property, has in a measure, made the world one nation." The remarks which followed this clearly indicated that it was understood that the method adopted in the treaty with Great Britain of urging State legislation in regard to matters within the domain of State jurisdiction, which the Federal Government might affect by negotiations and treaties with foreign nations was considered a failure and should be forever avoided thereafter.

§ 229. Mr. Davie's views continued. This condition was plainly expressed in the following remarks of Mr. Davie: "The power of making treaties has, in all countries and governments, been placed in the executive departments. This has not only been grounded on the necessity and reason arising from that degree of secrecy, design, and despatch, which is always necessary in negotiations between nations, but to prevent their being impeded, or carried into effect, by the violence, animosity, and heat of parties, which too often infect numerous bodies. Both of these reasons preponderated in the foundation of this part of the system. It is true, sir, that the late treaty between the United States and Great Britain has not, in some of the states, been held as the supreme law of the land. Even in this state, an act of Assembly passed to declare its validity. But no doubt that treaty was the supreme law of the land without the sanction of the Assembly; because, by the Confederation, Congress has power to make treaties. It was one of those original rights of sovereignty which were invested in them; and it was not the deficiency of constitutional authority in Congress to make treaties that produced the necessity of a law to declare their validity; but it was owing to the entire imbecility of the Confederation." 1

§ 230. Resolutions of North Carolina as to position of that State on Constitution, and relations to other states.Towards its close, the convention went into Committee of the Whole and adopted resolutions to the effect that a declaration

2 Elliot's Debates, vol. IV, p. 119.

$229.

1 Elliot's Debates, vol. IV, pp. 119–120.

of rights should be added to the Constitution and also certain other amendments before North Carolina could adopt it.1

One of the proposed amendments was identical with the corresponding amendment proposed by the Virginia convention in regard to treaties. Another was as follows: "23. That no treaties which shall be directly opposed to the existing laws of the United States in Congress assembled shall be valid until such laws shall be repealed, or made conformable to such treaty; nor shall any treaty be valid which is contradictory to the Constitution of the United States."

As the Committee of the Whole had recommended that the Constitution should not be ratified until the amendments proposed had been made to the Constitution, the convention, after passing a resolution that the legislature be recommended to provide for levying imposts on goods imported into North Carolina from the United States, in case the United States should levy any imposts on goods brought into any of the States from North Carolina, adjourned sine die.

§ 230.

1Elliot's Debates, vol. IV, p. 243. 2 Idem, p. 245, and see § 223, p. 364, ante.

3 Idem, p. 246.

state, and appropriate the money arising therefrom to the use of Congress.

66

Resolved, unanimously, That it be recommended to the General As

4 In Elliot's Debates, vol. IV, p.sembly to take effectual measures

251, the following record occurs:

66 August 2, 1788.

for the redemption of the paper currency, as speedily as may be, consistent with the situation and circumstances of the people of this state.

"Whereas this Convention has thought proper neither to ratify nor reject the Constitution proposed for the government of the "Resolved, unanimously, That the United States, and as Congress will honorable the president be reproceed to act under the said Con-quested to transmit to Congress, stitution, ten States having ratified and to the executives of all the the same, and probably lay an im- States by name, a copy of the resopost on goods imported into the lution of the Committee of the said ratifying states,whole Convention on the subject of the Constitution proposed for the government of the United States, concurred with by this Convention, together with a copy of the resolutions on the subject of impost and paper money."

"Resolved, That it be recommended to the legislature of this state, that whenever Congress shall pass a law for collecting an impost in the states aforesaid, this state enact a law for collecting a similar impost on goods imported into this

Another Convention, or a later

--

§ 231. Ratification by eleven States makes Constitution effective. Thus the Constitution by the ratification of two more than the requisite number of States became the foundation of the great governmental superstructure which has since been erected upon it and which has successfully defied all attacks, practical and theoretical, from both internal and external forces.1

The Constitution was adopted

meeting of the same Convention appears to have been held. In by a Convention of the States Elliot's Debates, vol. I, p. 333, the September 17, 1787, and was subfollowing occurs: sequently ratified by the several

"State of North Carolina in Con-States, in the following order, viz:

vention.

"Whereas the General Convention which met in Philadelphia, in pursuance of a recommendation of Congress, did recommend to the citizens of the United States a Constitution or form of government in

the following words, namely,
'We, the people,' &c. (Here fol-
lows the Constitution of the Uni-
ted States, verbatim.) Resolved,
That this Convention, in behalf of

Delaware, December 7, 1787; Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787; New Jersey, December 18, 1787; Georgia, January 2, 1788; Connecticut, January 9, 1788; Massachusetts, February 6, 1788; Maryland, April 28, 1788; South Carolina, May 23, 1788; New Hampshire, June 21, 1788; Virginia, June 26, 1788; New York, July 26, 1788; North Carolina, November 21, 1789; Rhode Island,

May 29, 1790. The State of Ver

the freemen, citizens and inhabi-mont, by convention, ratified the

tants of the state of North Carolina, do adopt and ratify the said Constitution and form of govern

ment.

"Done in Convention this 21st day of November, 1789.

SAMUEL JOHNSON,
President of the Convention.

J. HUNT,
JAMES TAYLOR,

Secretaries.

On February 8, 1790 an act of Congress was passed giving effect to the Laws of the United States in North Carolina, 1 U. S. Stat. at Large, p. 99. Other acts were necessary, but after that date North Carolina was on an equal footing with the other states.

§ 231.

1 Ratifications of the Constitution.

Constitution on the 10th of January, 1791, and was, by an act of Congress of the 18th of February, 1791, "received and admitted into

this Union as a new and entire member of the United States of America."

Ratifications of the Amendments to

the Constitution. The first ten amendments (with two others which were not ratified by the requisite number of States) were submitted to the several State Legislatures by a resolution of Congress which passed on the 25th of September, 1789, at the first session of the First Congress and were subsequently ratified by the Legis latures of the requisite number of States.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE TREATY-MAKING POWER AS A FACTOR IN THE GREAT NATIONAL DEBATE OF 1787-8.

§ 232. Grandeur of the Constitution as a subject for study. There is no grander subject for study, no nobler theme for literature, than the Constitution of the United States, not only from historical, but also from ethical and ethnical points of observation; it is no wonder, therefore, that it has been the object of thought, study and expression of opinion, by many of the ablest legal scholars, in our own country, and also in those other countries, where the practical operation of the Constitution was watched, at first with doubt, and afterwards in wonder and with admiration.1

From the day of its promulgation as the finished work of the Constitutional Convention until the present time, essays, pamphlets, brochures, and commentaries upon, and analyses, and histories of, the Constitution have constantly appeared, until the published literature upon this single subject would, if it were all collected, constitute a library of no mean size.

§ 233. Difficulty of selecting extracts from prominent writers. From this great mass of learning it is difficult to select the limited number of extracts for which space can be afforded in this volume; while, however, only a few will be quoted, an attempt will be made in culling these extracts from a vast amount of corroborative expressions, to select examples which will show the general tendency of opinion of the leading publicists upon the particular element of the subject which is under discussion.

$234. Constitutional literature divided into two classes. -Constitutional literature can be divided into two classes: first, that which appeared during the progress of the State conventions, and prior to the ratification of the Constitution, and which was published for the purpose of urging, or oppos ing, its adoption, and which, as was natural under the circumstances, was extremely partisan in its nature, either extolling the merits, or denouncing the demerits, of the Constitution,

§ 232.

1 See Gladstone's statement quoted in § 168, p. 292, ante.

"The Federal Constitution has survived the mockery of itself in France and in Spanish America. Its success has been so great and striking, that men have almost for

gotten that, if the whole of the known experiments of mankind in government be looked at together, there has been no form of government so unsuccessful as the Republican." Popular Government, Henry Sumner Maine, London, 1885, p. 292.