The Miracle at Philadelphia

  Winning the Revolution was only the first step of a fledgling nation’s endeavors. The real struggle would begin in Philadelphia under cloak and dagger secrecy. Their endeavor, to create a lasting form of government as radical as any nation set before it in history. Borrowing from the ancients: the Persians,  Helvetian Greeks and Romans {mainly Cicero}, the ideals of democracy, republic and representation, they set forth on paper a revolutionary form of self government that would bring true meaning to the English swan song As Our World Turned Upside Down played at Yorktown after the British surrender. Discussions and arguments were heated and cooler and brilliant heads would eventually prevail. What would emerge was a Republic unique in every form. From  structure, representation, and leadership with simple, but ingenious fail safes of “checks and balances”. In the end it wasn’t exactly perfect, but as one delegate would later remark “Its the best were going to get” and it has been an enduring legacy for over two hundred years thus far. The Founders probably had little expectations that their Constitution would last for centuries. There was no crystal ball to glimpse the future. However, in what can be described as a sheer leap of faith they produced a document that would be amendable freeing future generations from the past, but establishing a blue print for their future. 

  Creating a new constitution for a new nation was no easy feat for the Congressional delegates of the newly formed United States. It took years of ideas being presented, heated exchanges on the floor and finally compromise before the U.S. Constitution was ratified and accepted by the delegates and citizens alike. From its earliest beginnings in 1781 it was evident that there were clear differences in philosophy concerning the scope and nature of a new Federal Government. These differences would be the harbinger of a two party system that would eventually come into effect. However, instead of our current day party affiliations they would be referred to as “Federalist” and “Anti-Federalist” factions. Aligned more so by regional boundaries than by political ones. It would be this factional fracas that would produce one the world’s most profound documents to the astonishment of Europe: the Constitution of the United States of America.

  It would inspire other nation’s to pursue their own destinies of self government. Some to disastrous consequences such as France’s revolution of 1789, which knew no limits to bloodshed and boundaries or institutions to tear down in the name of liberty, fraternity and democracy. These political ideas are abstract and our Founders sensed the danger and havoc of abstract ideas without concrete structures to contain them. Only they went one step further and reinforced their concrete structures with re-barb by using checks and balances.

  As the delegates arrived at the convening of the first of many conventions the atmosphere in Philadelphia was electric. The hero General George Washington arrived to adulation and fanfare. Only now he would be called Mr. Washington. After British defeat at Yorktown was secured General Washington would promptly ride to Philadelphia to tender his resignation before Congress. Not since Cincinnatus, the model of Roman virtue and simplicity had the world seen such a leader. Washington, with sword in one hand had every intention of filling the other with a plow to resume his quiet life as a gentlemen farmer in his beloved Virginia. However, just as Cincinnatus had done before him, he would assume his civic duty when asked by the Congress in its hour of dire need. His reputation was a driving force that would enable the establishment of a new Republic.

  The first of the delegates to arrive however, was James Madison. The foremost scholar in the country on Comparative Politics at the time. A fellow Virginian, small in stature, balding and soft spoken, he was in every way unctuous to what his appearance presented. Shouts of “speak-up” or “louder” would often echo from the chamber as delegates strained to hear his eloquent and masterful dissertations about his ideas and solutions of future government. It was his plan, the Virginia Plan that would set the tone of the debates.

  Absent from the convention were John Adams, to much dismay. He was the force of nature that propelled the idea of independence onto paper thru Jefferson’s quill. Jefferson too was absent. Both he and Adams were serving as plenipotentiaries to England and France. Some of the absences were heartily welcomed though. The pugnaciousness of Adams’ cousin Samuel was a welcomed respite. His absence alleviated many of the delegates discomfort which would had been further exacerbated in combination with Philadelphia’s hot and muggy weather.    

  The issues facing Congress were enormous. Veteran’s pensions, national debt and rebellion already threatened to destroy the republic. It was these compelling matters that warranted the urgency for the institution of a strong central government. Alexander Hamilton, who orchestrated the seismic urgency for a Constitutional Convention and a true “rags to riches story” would advocate a solution for the nations economic woes. A central bank. It was not accepted gratuitously by many and its eventual creation would be a hatchet in the scalp like those as Jefferson. The rift between he and Hamilton would become so great that Washington would run for a second term out of fear for the country’s future. His policy of debt assumption is what fueled a two party system from the very outset. Northern states populated by manufacturing classes and “moneyed” elites such as stockbrokers, bankers and speculators versus southern states inhabited by small mercantilists and agrarian farmers. Southern states sorely felt the onus of the country’s debt was placed upon their shoulders. As mentioned earlier they paired off from each other into Federalist and Ant-federalist factions, with the latter staunchly opposed to federalism. It would be this acrimonious partisanship that would elevate Jefferson to our nation’s third president and virtually incinerate one of America’s most loved leaders second term in office. It would also lead to a civil war against north and south 80 odd years later. Nevertheless as Berkin (2002) eloquently points out thru John Adams’ assessment of the first convention “men of ability, weight and experience” (p. 48) certainly predominated the Constitutional Convention.

  Further debates on representation and how states would be proportioned, a unicameral versus bicameral system, the establishment and powers of an Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches and how and if they would be salaried was also hotly debated, especially the future powers of the president. Carol Berkin’s telling in A Brilliant Solution captures the essence of the delegation and reads like the minutes of a meeting. Almost detailed line by line of the men’s attitudes, fears and believes that occupied those hallowed halls. She explains the division between the two factions vividly where only at the conclusion of the convention men listened to their “better angels” and reached a healthy and climactic compromise.

  Robert Middlekauff’s account of the convention offers the reader a more circumcised glimpse. Though detailed, he expounds on the overall problems facing the convention. Offering enticing tidbits of detail on the delegates themselves and for the most part their emotions. His broad but copious description of the event is sequential and fluid, giving the reader a greater appreciation of the enormity of the conundrums so concerning to the delegates.

  In the end all the concerns, ideas, passions and fears of the attending members would be resolved and forged into a singularly great achievement. A Constitution. Culminating with Franklin’s loquacious words “I consent, Sir, to this Constitution because I expect no better”.(Berkin, 2002, p. 149). It was also he that reminded one uninformed citizen at its finality when asked what form of government they had been bestowed. He soulfully answered “A Republic, if you can keep it.” A reminder of never ending vigilance in its protection for future generations.