Don't Know Much About History, Anniversary Edition: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned (Don't Know Much About®) (23 page)
Authors: Kenneth C. Davis
Of far greater consequence than the papers was the proratification stance of America’s two most prominent men, Franklin and Washington, the latter of whom everyone assumed would become the first president under the new Constitution. Of Washington’s impact on Virginia’s ratification vote, James Monroe wrote to Jefferson, “Be assured his influence carried this government.” One by one, the state conventions voting on the question came to ratification—some unanimously; others, like Massachusetts, by the narrowest of margins. The oldest kind of “smoke-filled room” politicking was often required, and several states agreed only with the proviso that a bill of rights be added to the Constitution. Delaware, a small state happy with the representation it would receive, was the first to ratify and was joined in succession by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and New Hampshire, the ninth ratifying state.
But even with the required nine states, there was uncertainty. Virginia and New York had not spoken, and rejection by either or both of these powerful, wealthy states might have rendered the Constitution meaningless. With the Bill of Rights compromise that had worked elsewhere, Virginia voted in favor. In New York, aggressive speechmaking and buttonholing by Alexander Hamilton, combined with John Jay’s gentler persuasion, carried the day for ratification.
A
MERICAN
V
OICES
J
AMES
M
ADISON,
reporting on the signing of the Constitution in September 1787:
Whilst the last members were signing, Dr. Franklin looking towards the president’s chair, at the back of which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a few members near him, that painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art, a rising from a setting sun. “I have,” said 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.”
Who elected George Washington the first president?
In their wisdom and foresight, not to mention their fear of the rabble, the Framers of the Constitution had created a remarkably curious beast when it came to selecting the president. The Electoral College was the Constitution’s last-ditch defense against an overdose of democracy.
In the Framers’ scheme, each state would choose electors equal to its representation in Congress (House seats plus Senate seats). How the electors were chosen was a decision left to the separate states. The electors would then meet in their states and vote for two persons for president. The winner was the man with a majority. The Framers figured nobody—besides George Washington, that is—could win a clear majority, in which case the election would be decided in the House of Representatives, where each state got one vote.
Political parties were not only absent at this time, but were considered contemptible. Ideally in a debate, men would line up on one side or the other and then fall back into nonalignment, awaiting the next issue. The men who made the Constitution did not foresee the rise of the two-party system as we know it, although its beginnings were apparent in the debate over ratification. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams, would be the first political party formed in America.
Although February 4, 1789, has come down as the traditional first presidential election date, that was actually the day on which the first electors cast their ballots. It was preceded by a crazy quilt of elections taking place in late 1788 and the first months of 1789, with each state setting its own rules as to who could vote for what. Some states allowed the electors to be chosen directly by voters; in other states, electors were chosen by the state legislature. While being a male freeholder (property owner) was generally the key to a vote, some states had very ambiguous voting rules. In New Jersey, for instance, women indeed did vote for president in the first election. In Pennsylvania, any taxpayer was eligible.
But the result was the same. On March 4, the first Congress was supposed to convene in New York, but a quorum wasn’t reached until April 1. Finally, on April 6, the Senate counted the electoral ballots and declared the inevitable. Washington was elected unanimously. John Adams had been named on enough ballots to qualify as vice president. Officially informed of his election on April 14, Washington left Mount Vernon two days later for an eight-day triumphal journey past adoring crowds along the way, and on April 30, 1789, he took the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York, which would be the seat of government for the next year and a half.
Washington earned a salary of $25,000 a year, a rather handsome sum at the time; however, he had to pay his own expenses. After moving to 39–41 Broadway, he hired fourteen white servants and brought seven slaves from Mount Vernon.
A
MERICAN
V
OICES
G
EORGE
W
ASHINGTON,
taking the oath of office (Article II of the Constitution directs the president-elect to take the following oath or affirmation to be inaugurated as president):
I do solemnly swear [affirm] that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Custom, not constitutional directive, dictates that the president-elect place his left hand on a Bible and keep his right hand slightly raised for the duration of the oath. When George Washington took the oath in 1789, he ad libbed a bit and added the words, “So help me God” at the end of the oath, according to legend. This report is disputed. Since then, every president has customarily said the same words.
A
MERICAN
V
OICES
M
ARTHA
W
ASHINGTON
on life as first lady in New York City:
I live a dull life here. I never go to any public place. Indeed, I am more like a state prisoner than anything else . . . and I cannot do as I like, I am obstinate and stay home a great deal.
For the new government, no order of business was more pressing than delivering on a promised set of amendments to the Constitution. These were demanded during ratification by those who feared the states would be destroyed by the new central government. Madison took the lead in preparing the amendments, and on September 25, 1789, a list of twelve was submitted by the Congress, meeting in New York City, for ratification by the states. Ten of the twelve amendments were finally ratified and in force on December 15, 1791, and became known as the Bill of Rights. (See Appendix 1 for a complete text and discussion of the Bill of Rights, along with other constitutional amendments.)
Although England had a Bill of Rights, it was narrower and could be repealed by Parliament. The American version was broader, and repeal could be made only through the states. The intention of the amendments was to guarantee freedoms not specifically named in the original Constitution. While legal scholars argue that such guarantees may have been logically unnecessary, they have become an integral part of the American legal system and remain at the core of many of the major controversies in American history, including those confronting contemporary America.
GUARANTEES IN THE BILL OF RIGHTS
First Amendment.
Guarantees separation of church and state and freedom to worship, freedom of speech and the press, the right to assemble and petition for changes.
Second Amendment.
The right to keep and bear arms. (The key to gun control debate. Those who favor gun controls point to the Bill’s specification of “a well-regulated Militia.” Advocates of gun ownership cite this amendment in its most literal sense.)
Third Amendment.
Soldiers cannot be housed in a private home without the consent of the owner. (A reaction to the British Quartering Act, one of the intolerable acts leading to the Revolution.)
Fourth Amendment.
The right to be free from “unreasonable search and seizure.” (Another hot issue, criminal rights versus law enforcement, hinges on the interpretation of this amendment.)
Fifth Amendment.
Provisions concerning prosecution and due process of law, including the requirement of a grand jury indictment, double jeopardy restriction—a person cannot be tried for the same crime twice—and the protection from testifying against oneself. (See “Who was Miranda?” in Chapter 8.)
Sixth Amendment.
Guarantees the right to a speedy, public trial in the district where the crime has been committed, as well as other protections for the accused.
Seventh Amendment.
Guarantees trial by jury.
Eighth Amendment.
Prohibits excessive bails or fines and “cruel and unusual punishment,” the amendment at the heart of the capital punishment debate.
Ninth Amendment.
Based on the idea that all human beings have certain fundamental rights, this amendment covers basic rights not specifically set forth in the Constitution.
Tenth Amendment.
Guarantees that any powers not specifically delegated to the federal government or denied to the states in the Constitution rest with the states or the people.
(Two proposed amendments dealing with the apportionment of members and congressional compensation were not ratified at that time, although versions of each article have since been ratified.)
Amended by the Bill of Rights, the Constitution was still a political document, not an act of God. Like most works of men, it was flawed and imperfect in many ways—its flagrant denial of the rights of blacks, women, and Indians chief among its flaws. Many modern commentators argue that the Constitution was the perfectly realized means of assuring the control of the wealthy over the weak, with enough table scraps for the working and middle classes to assure popular support. From the beginning, critics have said the Constitution and Bill of Rights were selectively enforced and often ignored, as in the case of the Alien and Sedition Acts of the Adams administration (1798), which clearly trampled the guarantees of the First Amendment.
On the other hand, what was the alternative? If the northern delegates had taken the moral high ground and not compromised on the issue of slavery, the constitutional convention would have disintegrated. Under the Articles of Confederation, the states would have remained economically weak and ripe for invasion by awaiting foreign forces.
To determine how many delegates each state would have in the House of Representatives, the Census Act was passed in 1790. The first census was completed in August 1790. Some highlights:
• Total U.S. population: 3,929,625.
• Black population: 697,624 slaves; 59,557 free blacks. (Massachusetts reported no slaves.)
• Philadelphia is the largest city, with 42,000; New York is second, with 33,000.
• Virginia is the most populous state, with more than 820,000 people.
• Nearly half of the population (48.5 percent) lives in the southern states, with the rest divided between New England and the middle states.
• America is youthful: 490 of every 1,000 whites are under the age of sixteen.
A
MERICAN
V
OICES
Virginian R
OBERT
C
ARTER III,
one of the wealthiest men and largest slaveholders in America (1791):
Whereas I Robert Carter of Nomini Hall in the county of Westmoreland & Commonwealth of Virginia [own] . . . many negroes & mulatto slaves . . . and Whereas I have for some time past been convinced that to retain them in Slavery is contrary to the true principles of Religion and justice . . . I do hereby declare that such . . . shall be emancipated.
Unlike other Founding Fathers who bemoaned slavery and kept slaves, Robert Carter III put his money where his mouth was. The grandson of Robert “King” Carter, the wealthiest of all Virginians, Robert Carter III had begun something akin to a spiritual quest. His grandfather built Christ Church on Virginia’s Northern Neck peninsula, one of the most beautiful old churches in America. And to ensure that no one missed the point, churchgoers were expected to wait until the Carter coach arrived before entering the church. Leaving the Anglican church of his youth and family, Robert Carter III became a deist, then a Baptist, but continued listening to other preachers, including Methodists. He became one of the most influential supporters of Virginia’s Statute for Religious Freedom, which allowed Virginians to choose their religion and ended taxpayer support for the Episcopal church. Then in 1791, Carter shocked his neighbors by announcing he would emancipate his slaves. Not all of the neighbors were pleased by the news.
