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Making of the Constitution

After peace with England was achieved, George Washington surveyed the 13 states and said, "Thirteen sovereignties pulling against each other, and all tugging at the federal head, will soon bring ruin on the whole." 1 The start of the Constitutional Convention was a unique moment in time where the "best and the brightest" from around the country gathered in Philadelphia to craft a new government, which would "render the federal constitution adequate to the exigencies of Government & the preservation of the Union." 2

The Convention was scheduled to begin on Monday, May 14, but the slow arrival of delegates and rainy weather delayed the start of the Convention until Friday, May 25. After electing George Washington president of the Convention, the delegates set about drafting rules for the conduct of their business. It wasn't until the third day of the Convention, Tuesday, May 29, that the plan, which would dominate the attention of every delegate, was unveiled. Virginia Governor Edmund Randolph was recognized by Washington and presented what became known as "The Virginia Plan." The delegates began discussion of the plan, which James Madison later remarked was only "a mere sketch in which omitted details were to be supplied, and the general terms and phrases to be reduced to their proper details." 3 This "mere sketch" bore the unmistakable imprint of the thinking of James Madison.

In the months before the Convention convened in Philadelphia, James Madison spent time researching the defects of the American experience with self-government. This research helped guide Madison in his creation of a plan for a new national government. The importance of the Virginia Plan cannot be overstated. The proposal set the terrain upon which the delegates would build the new constitution. By doing his homework, James Madison ensured that his ideas would dominate the debate.

The Bill of Rights

During his collaboration with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton in the writing of the ambitious work that became known as "The Federalist Papers," and in debate during the Virginia Ratification Convention in June 1788, Madison continued to support the adoption of the Constitution without the addition of a Bill of Rights. After correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, who was minister to France, James Madison began to appreciate the views of Jefferson and the Anti-Federalists.

In his battle to gain election to the first Congress in the winter of 1788, Madison built a campaign platform around the need to adopt "sensible" constitutional amendments. After his election and the convening of the first Congress in New York, Madison announced on the floor of the House of Representatives his intent to introduce amendments to the Constitution. Many of his Federalist colleagues in the first Congress did not share his desire to amend a document that was only beginning to be used. Many asked, "Why change a plan of government before experience has established defects?"

It took most of the legislative year for James Madison to cajole first the House of Representatives and then the Senate to adopt amendments. As late as August 13, the House had not initiated discussion of Madison's proposed amendments. Once they did decide that amendments should be discussed, they approved the basic substance of the proposal with little debate. Madison had originally moved that the amendments be interwoven into the text of the Constitution itself, but this was rejected in favor of placing amendments where they currently reside, at the end of the original document. The House of Representatives approved 17 amendments on August 24 and sent them to the Senate for action. The Senate narrowed this to 12 amendments on September 9 through elimination of some and consolidation of others. James Madison was a member of the conference committe that resolved differences between the two houses, but due to the lateness in the legislative year, the 12 amendments sent to the states for ratification on September 25 largely reflected the version created by the Senate. 4

Looking back upon his long journey from his position in "The Federalist" to that expressed in letters to Thomas Jefferson and ultimately in the first Congress, one must wonder why James Madison changed sides in the debate over the Bill of Rights. His objectives hadn't changed, just the means. When he felt that the correct tool was the establishment of a strong national government, to counteract the dangers of faction and majorities within state governments, he helped craft the Constitution. However, when he felt that the rights of Americans would best be served by the inclusion of a Bill of Rights, he chose a new tool and selected the amendments that the Congress would debate. James Madison had never changed his desire to protect the rights of Americans, only the tools he used to accomplish the work.

In the preface to his book "The Birth of the Bill of Rights 1776-1791," Robert Allen Rutland wrote this of the significance of the Bill of Rights:

"The facts show that the Federal Bill of Rights and the antecedent state declarations of rights presented, more than anything else, the sum total of American experience and experimentation with civil liberty up to their adoption. It is worth noting that the Salem witchcraft trials and the adoption of the Federal Bill of Rights virtually opened and close the 18th century; and these historical incidents indicate the tremendous American intellectual advancement during that stirring span of time."5

The quest for a Bill of Rights helped to merge the two traditions of the Founders, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. After the adoption of the Bill of Rights, both camps were able to give their support to the new Constitution. The Bill of Rights provided the mortar that helped cement the new relationship between the states, the people, and their new national government.

References

  1. Bowen, Catherine Drinker. Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention: May to September 1787. (New York: Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc., 1986), 33.
  2. Resolution adopted by Congress on February 21, 1787, which gave legal standing for the convening of a convention "on the second Monday of next" in Philadelphia. Max Farrand, ed. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. 3 vols. Rev. ed. in 4 volumes, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966), 13-14.
  3. Bowen, 38.
  4. Hobson, Charles F. and Robert A. Rutlands, eds. The Papers of James Madison: Volume 12 2 March 1789-20 January 1790. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1979), 59.
  5. Rutland, Robert Allen. The Birth of the Bill of Rights, 1776-1791, (Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press, 1955), v.