the then approaching century to take its proper place as one of the greatest powers of the earth.

distinguish in their art, a rising, | ting. But now I know that it is a from a setting sun. I have, said rising sun.' he, often and often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the President, without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting: but now at length, I have the happiness to know, that it is a rising, and not a setting sun." Madison Papers, Vol. III, p. 1624.

"The story is told that at the last session of the convention which framed the Constitution of the United States, and after the final draft had been adopted and the delegates were about to disperse, the venerable Franklin rose, and, pointing to the quaint back of the chair which Washington had occupied while presiding, and on which there was carved a half sun with rays radiating from it, said: As I have been sitting here all these weeks, I have often wondered whether yon sun is rising or set

338

"The old man's prophecy has been fulfilled. Cannot we make it applicable to the present crisis, and as by the sword of Washington the sun of liberty rose o'er our country, and by the pen of Lincoln the single cloud of slavery that darkened it was swept away, so under the guidance of our noble President and Commander-in-Chief who can doubt but that the same sun that sheds its rays of happiness and peace over our own land, will also shed them alike on the land of our neighbor, and that beneath their heat tyranny and oppression will forever melt away from the Western Hemisphere over which nature and our honor have made us the natural guardians of peace and liberty." Voice of the Nation, by Charles Henry Butler, April, 1898, quoting above incident and applying it to Message of President McKinley of April 11, 1898, in regard to Cuba.

CHAPTER VII.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS

SEVERAL STATES, IN SO FAR AS THEY RELATE TO THE TREATYMAKING POWER OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT.

200-Views of minority opposing 217-Mr. Madison's reply to Mr.

197. Constitution to be ratified by States.-A great victory had been achieved in the Federal Constitutional Convention; a harder battle was, however, to be fought before the Constitution of the United States, as the sovereign act of the People, was to take the place of the Articles of Confederation of the States, and to effectually unite into one great nation the various Commonwealths which were fast drifting apart owing to the inefficacy of those Articles.

It was necessary to submit the Constitution to the people of the thirteen different States, and to obtain the ratification of at least nine,1 and eventually of them all, before the Union could be considered as absolutely safe.?

It was by no means an easy task to obtain this result when the theory of States' rights had such able vindicators as Patrick Henry, Luther Martin, Elbridge Gerry, Samuel Adams, and Colonel Mason.

The Federal Convention had, as we have seen, recommended that the ratification should be by State conventions and not by State legislatures; this course was adopted by Congress and the report of the Federal Convention was transmitted to the legislatures of the respective States in order that the State conventions might be called at once.

$197.

the United States, and to certain

1 Constitution of United States, special histories written in regard Article VII. to the State conventions of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Massachusetts.

2 See note under § 169, pp. 294 et seq., ante, for authorities on proceedings of State conventions to which the Constitution was referred. The references in the notes to the subsequent sections of this chapter will principally be to volumes II, III and IV of Elliot's Debates; references will also be made to Curtis' Constitutional History of

See § 195, p. 332 et seq., ante. 4 The United States in Congress assembled, Friday, September 28th, 1787.

"Present, -New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North Caro

§ 198. Delaware the first State to ratify.-On September 14, 1787, the Constitutional Convention adjourned; the States were notified by Congress on September 28th, and on December 7, Delaware headed the list of ratifying States by a unanimous ratification.'1

§ 199. Convention meets in Pennsylvania; prominent members.-On November 20th, however, the first State convention had convened in Philadelphia, to discuss the fate of the Constitution in Pennsylvania where its ratification was neither prompt nor unanimous. The convention included Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, afterwards Speaker of the first House of Representatives, Timothy Pickering, afterwards Secretary of State, Benjamin Rush, James Wilson, afterwards a Judge of the United States Supreme Court, Thomas McKean, Chief Justice of the State, and many others of great ability. After a protracted discussion in which the Constitutional party was led by James Wilson, and their opponents by William Findlay, the Constitution was ratified on December 12th.

§200. Views of minority opposing ratification.-When

lina, South Carolina, and Georgia; and for Maryland, Mr. Ross.

(1) Delaware, December 7, 1787; (2) Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787; (3) New Jersey, December 18, 1787; (4) Connecticut, January 9, 1788; (5) Massachusetts, February 7, 1788; (6) Georgia, January 2, 1788; (7) Maryland, April 28, 1788; (8) South Carolina, May 23, 1788; (9) New Hampshire, June 21, 1788; (10) Virginia, June 26, 1788; (11) New York, July 26, 1788; (12) North Carolina, November 21, 1789; (13) Rhode Island, May 29, 1790. § 199.

1 Elliot's Debates, vol. II, pp. 415-546; Curtis' Constitutional History of the United States, vol. I, pp. 641-646; Pennsylvania and the Federal Constitution, 1787-1788, edited by John Bach McMaster and Frederick D. Stone, published by the Historical Society of Pennsyl

1 The ratifications by the several States appear to have been put into authoritative form for transmission to Congress on the following dates (taken from the formal ratifications as collected in Elliot's De- vania, 1888. bates, vol. I, pp. 319–343):

the ratification of the Constitution by the Pennsylvania convention became inevitable, the minority submitted a written statement of their reasons for dissent; they laid great stress upon the vast extent of the treaty-making power, lodged in the Central Government, in which respect they de clared that no treaty which should be directly opposed to the existing laws of the United States in Congress assembled, should be valid until such laws should have been repealed, or made conformable to such treaty; neither should any treaties be valid which were in contradiction to the Constitution of the United States, or the constitution of the several States. They gave as the foundation of their objections to the Senate and its powers, various reasons, some of which are quoted in the notes to this section."

$201. Subsequent protest of minority to force the adop tion of amendments.-The non-participation in treaty-mak§ 200.

1 McMaster and Stone, p. 463. 2"The Senate has, moreover, various and great executive powers, viz. in concurrence with the president-general, they form treaties with foreign nations, that may control and abrogate the constitutions and laws of the several States. Indeed, there is no power, privilege or liberty of the State governments, or of the people, but what may be affected by virtue of this power. For all treaties, made by them, are to be the supreme law of the land; anything in the constitution or laws of any State, to the contrary notwithstanding.'

"And this great power may be exercised by the President and ten senators (being two-thirds of fourteen, which is a quorum of that body). What an inducement would this offer to the ministers of for eign powers to compass by bribery such concessions as could not otherwise be obtained. It is the unvaried usage of all free States, whenever treaties interfere with

the positive laws of the land, to make the intervention of the legislature necessary to give them operation. This became necessary, and was afforded by the parliament of Great Britain, in consequence of the late commercial treaty be tween that kingdom and France. As the Senate judges on impeachments, who is to try the members of the Senate for the abuse of this power! And none of the great appointments to office can be made without the consent of the Senate.

"Such various, extensive, and important powers combined in one body of men, are inconsistent with all freedom; the celebrated Montesquieu tells us, that 'when the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty, because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner.'" Master and Stone, p. 476.

Mc