Tempest at Dawn (22 page)

“
Roger, you’ve done your duty. When
this is over, you should turn your attention to more personal
matters.”

“
When this is over.”

They both stepped to the side of the gravel
path to allow a young arm-in-arm couple to pass. Sherman guessed
from their locked gaze that they were betrothed.

“
I resent the arrogance of Madison and
the other nationalists,” Dickinson said as they resumed
walking.

“
Resentment is a dangerous emotion. We
must remain unruffled.”

“
Surely you feel some anger. We wrote
the Articles. Granted, they’re flawed, but who gave these
interlopers the power to discard our work?”

“
Congress sanctioned this
convention.”

“
Sanctioned, yes, but with
instructions to amend the Articles,” Dickinson said. “They exceed
their authority.”

“
Lately, I’ve come to believe the
Articles’ usefulness may be exhausted.”

“
Why?”

“
What type of government do you think
best?” Sherman asked.

“
You didn’t answer my
question.”

“
Gazing about this garden filled with
happy and prosperous people, I can almost believe that we’ve
created paradise. But when I look beyond the horizon, the view
disturbs me. The Articles may be incapable of saving us from a
looming catastrophe.”

“
Even amended?”

“
I desperately want Connecticut’s
independence secured, but I also want the United States to survive,
thrive.”

“
Which has a higher
priority?”

“
What type of government do you think
best?”

Dickinson gave his old friend a smile. “All
right, Roger, I’ll let you dodge that one for now.”

Dickinson wordlessly pointed in the
direction of a massive greenhouse. Both men steered toward the
broad entrance. Upon stepping into the greenhouse, Sherman was
assaulted by the heavy, damp fragrance of fresh flowers, turned
soil, and new spring growth.

Walking down a path walled by head-high
exotic plants, Dickinson said, “A limited monarchy is the best
government.”

“
You’ve never advocated such a system
before.”

“
A limited monarchy was—is—out of the
question. Our deplorable heritage under the English crown forbids
it. I presumed your question was philosophical, not
practical.”

“
You still surprise me.”

“
An occasional surprise adds spice to a
friendship.”

Sherman laughed. “John, don’t over season.
I’ve enough to deal with right now.”

“
Then I’ll spare you an
elucidation.”

“
No, you have my interest. Tell
me.”

“
My thoughts are unorthodox.”
Dickinson, briefly fascinated by a plant, continued. “Ancient
republics flourished for a short time and then vanished.
Principalities and then monarchies became the order of the
world.”

Dickinson stopped walking and faced Sherman.
“The English happened upon the limited monarchy, a monarch
constrained by a parliament with real power. No one laid out a
grand scheme as Madison proposes. The limited monarchy functions to
the benefit of its citizens. Look at the British Empire. Has there
ever been such a prosperous and just nation? Their empire spans the
globe. A republic has never delivered such benefits.”

The pair turned to continue around the
narrow greenhouse path, oblivious of the people who squeezed by in
the opposite direction.

“
Roger, I think a limited monarchy
superior, but I believe we can find a remedy for the republican
disease. This is one point in which I find myself in agreement with
our little intellectual friend.”

“
You first startle and now confuse.
How do you differ from Madison?”

“
In one momentous way. Madison
believes he’s smart enough to design the perfect system. I have no
such conceit. Nor do I believe it plausible that his little
highness can accomplish this herculean feat. Madison’s
self-delusion makes him dangerous.”

“
But you said you believe we can find
a remedy for the republican disease?”

“
If we cannot have the English system,
then at least we should be clever enough to follow their charted
course, a course of gradual evolution. We must allow our system to
develop on its own to a more perfect state.”

“
Then what are we doing
here?”

“
Amending the worst flaws in the
Articles. Grandiose plans bring tragedy. Only fools leap blindly
into an abyss,” Dickinson asserted.

“
Prudence’s price is time. I’m not
sure we have much to spare.”

“
That’s why I bless the heavens for
our luck. The accidental division of this country into thirteen
states gives it thirteen chances to happen upon the perfect system.
Copying each other’s successes speeds our progress.”

“
Perhaps thirteen chances for
chaos.”

“
No, we’re unique! No one in all of
history has owned thirteen republican laboratories. And those fools
want to throw it away.”

“
An interesting concept, but I fear
we’ve already exhausted our time for a careful approach,” Sherman
said.

“
I can’t accept that. We must
strengthen the national government, but we can still preserve
powerful state influence, without demolishing every structure
already in place.” Dickinson shook his head. “The Virginia Plan
will wreak havoc. Madison’s arrogance is astounding. He’s not God.
He cannot create a perfect system.”

“
Perhaps we don’t need
perfection.”

“
We need something that works on a
practical level, not some philosophically pure form. We must avoid
the corrupting influence of too much central power. Only
distributing authority to the states can protect liberty and
provide laboratories for the evolution of our
republics.”

“
John, I’m stunned. When did you
develop this line of reasoning?”

Dickinson smiled. “On the coach trip
here.”

“
Perhaps we should send you to
Georgia. Longer ride.”

Dickinson laughed. “No, thank you. I hate
sharing beds in bug-ridden taverns.”

Now it was Sherman’s turn to laugh. Small
roadside taverns were notorious for doubling up men in a single bed
with used linens. Travelers had no voice in where a coach stopped,
and the taverns didn’t cater to repeat business. Privies tended to
be horrid, food barely edible, and cleanliness foreign.

Dickinson turned to Sherman with a broad
smile. “As I pondered how to combat the scholarly Virginians, these
ideas came to me like a bolt of lightning. Do you like them?”

“
Yes. I knew we must protect the
sovereignty of our states, but I had no foundation for my
conviction. Now we have our own philosophical
underpinning.”

“
The battle lines are drawn: evolution
versus revolution.”

The men walked in silence. Sherman
felt more at peace than at any time since his arrival, but the
irony of Ellsworth’s lecture on democracy and Dickinson’s advocacy
for a limited monarchy didn’t escape him. Sherman knew Dickinson’s
cautious bent. His popular newspaper series,
Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania
, had
excited revolutionary passion, but Dickinson had argued for a
nonviolent solution. His Whig loyalties and refusal to sign the
Declaration of Independence had cost him his Pennsylvania
congressional seat and forced him to relocate to Delaware. After
the war started, no one disputed his patriotism. As an enlistee at
the Battle of Brandywine, he had personally witnessed the horrors
he had warned against.

“
How far must we go?” Sherman
asked

“
Easier to explain how far we must not
go. For the national government to be the repository of our
collective wisdom, it cannot be placed in a position in which it
can dismiss the states. The states must hold some sway over the
national government.”

“
Impeach the executive, elect the
legislature, equal sovereignty?”

“
Precisely. As I said, the battle
lines are drawn.”

“
Drawn yes, but in battle, lines can
shatter with the first shot. We need discipline.”

“
Roger, you always focus on the
tangible, what can be achieved, the obstacles. We’ve always made a
good team. I prepare the battle plan; you command the
field.”

As they exited the greenhouse, Sherman
smiled and put a hand on his old friend’s shoulder. Madison and
Hamilton walked directly toward them, heads bent in a
conspiratorial discussion of their own.

Sherman withdrew his hand and said, “Mr.
Madison, Mr. Hamilton, how are you this fine afternoon?”

Checked in midsentence, Madison looked
startled. “Mr. Sherman, Mr. Dickinson, what a pleasant
surprise.”

“
It seems everyone needs respite from
the chamber’s stifling atmosphere.” Sherman said.

Hamilton cocked his head arrogantly and
said, “The atmosphere could be freshened with a little magnanimity
by some of the members.”

“
Alex, of course, means delegates like
Gerry,” Madison said.

“
I’ll exclude present company for the
moment,” Hamilton said. "These beautiful surroundings shouldn’t be
desecrated by candor ladled too liberally."

“
Of course not,” Dickinson
interjected. “Only treasonous plotting fits these grand
gardens.”

“
Gentlemen, please,” Sherman pleaded.
“Let’s remain civil. Our intentions are honorable and our positions
heartfelt. Let’s debate in our commissioned forum.”

“
Mr. Sherman,” Hamilton said, “for you
that would be a delightful new habit.”

Dickinson bristled. “Then I presume you were
regaling Mr. Madison with your latest female conquest.”

“
How boorish.” Hamilton grasped the
lapel of his exquisitely tailored coat. “If you must know, I was
extolling the virtues of a monarchy. Mr. Madison disagrees, of
course, but I still retain the hope that one day I can dissuade him
from his absurd faith in commoners.”

Madison said lightly, “Alex, you must behave
in public. We should use chance encounters to soothe the hard
feelings that come naturally from our work, not solidify ill
will.”

“
I agree,” Sherman said to Madison, as
their two companions glared at each other. “Let’s not spoil this
gorgeous afternoon with a meaningless quarrel.” Giving Dickinson a
sly smile, Sherman added, “After a few ales, you and Mr. Hamilton
might find yourselves more in tune than in disharmony.”

“
I apologize,” Dickinson said with a
slight bow. “Although I doubt Mr. Sherman’s last words, it’s no
reason for rudeness on my part.”

Returning the bow in precisely equal
measure, Hamilton said, “Apology accepted.”

Sherman said quickly, “Mr. Hamilton, I
thought it gracious of you to second Dr. Franklin’s motion not to
pay the executive.”

“
It was a ridiculous motion, but I
wanted to save the doctor embarrassment.”

“
Very kind of you.” Sherman turned to
Madison. “And Mr. Madison, I believe we agree that the executive
should be a single individual.”

“
Yes, but as you saw, Randolph opposes
it with great earnestness. He believes it must be a council to
avoid the appearance of a monarch.”

“
This hostility toward monarchy raises
artificial limits,” Hamilton said peevishly.

“
Alex, please,” Madison said with
uncharacteristic sharpness. “We’re a republic. We’ll remain a
republic. No one shares your admiration for a monarchy.”

The men faced each other, the acrimony
contagious. Hamilton’s nickname during the war had been Little
Mars. Obviously, his temperament hadn’t mellowed in peacetime.

Sherman started to laugh. “Gentlemen,
please. Cease.” Sherman gave a broad wink to Madison. “I’m
encouraged to see your camp as irascible as our own, but the
country needs us all.”

Madison looked relieved. “Thank you, Roger.
It appears I owe Mr. Hamilton an apology as well. I think it best
that we move our respective ways.”

“
Agreed. Gentlemen, please enjoy the
remaining afternoon.”

The pairs of men started to walk in opposite
directions, and then Sherman heard a voice behind him.

“
Roger, may I have a
moment?”

“
Of course, James.”

After the two men had separated from their
partners, Madison said, “I gather we both suffer trying to keep our
respective allies in a corral.”

Sherman noticed that Hamilton and Dickinson
eyed them suspiciously. “No more than usual in these
circumstances.”

“
Passions run high. This entire
enterprise is far too crucial to let emotions overrule
reason.”

“
What do you suggest?”

“
We are both reasonable men.
Responsible men. We must work together to dampen any undue
zeal.”

Sherman waited a respectful moment.
“Agreed.”

“
Excellent. Working together, I’m sure
we can keep the convention on a sensible course.”

“
I’m sure we can.”

“
Good. I feel much more
optimistic.”

“
And I feel less
pessimistic.”