Delegates Who Stood Against The Constitution

The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 39 of the 55 delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention sessions. The original states, except Rhode Island, which did not send any delegates, collectively appointed 70 individuals to the convention. Of the 55 delegates who attended the sessions, many chose not to sign the document due to concerns about its power without a Bill of Rights. Some of the delegates who did not sign the Constitution include Oliver Johnson, William Pierce, Luther Martin, Elbridge Gerry, and Alexander Hamilton, who called it a weak and worthless fabric.

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Of 70 individuals appointed, 55 attended, but only 39 signed

The original 13 states of the US, except Rhode Island, collectively appointed 70 individuals to the Constitutional Convention. However, a number of these invitees did not accept or could not attend, including Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock. This meant that only 55 delegates attended the sessions of the Constitutional Convention.

The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787. The delegates closed the windows of the State House and swore secrecy so they could speak freely. The convention adjourned on September 17, 1787, when 39 delegates, representing 12 states, endorsed the Constitution. The remaining 16 delegates who attended did not sign the Constitution.

The delegates who chose not to sign the Constitution included Edmund Randolph and George Mason from Virginia, and Elbridge Gerry from Massachusetts. Randolph declared: "In refusing to sign the Constitution, I take a step which might be the most awful of my life, but it is dictated by my conscience, and it is not possible for me to hesitate, much less, to change." Gerry explained his belief that two opposing views and fundamental differences were at work, with one devoted to democracy, and the other as violent in the opposite extreme. He believed that the Constitution combined the negative aspects of both options and would never succeed.

The delegates who did sign the Constitution did so with reservations. Benjamin Franklin, for example, stated: "There are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them. For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise."

Some wanted a Bill of Rights to strengthen the power of We the People

The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Of the 55 delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention sessions, only 39 endorsed the Constitution. The document's closing protocol included a declaration that the delegates' work had been completed and that those who signed it subscribed to the final document.

The Constitution lays out the framework for the nation's federal government and delineates how its three branches (legislative, executive, and judicial) are to function. However, some delegates and Americans did not approve of the Constitution and wanted a Bill of Rights to strengthen the power of "We, the People."

The absence of a Bill of Rights, which would have outlined the rights and freedoms of the people, was a significant obstacle to the Constitution's ratification by the states. The Anti-Federalists, who feared a strong centralized government, refused to support the Constitution without a Bill of Rights. They wanted strong guarantees that the new government would not infringe upon their newly won freedoms of speech, press, and religion, as well as their right to be free from warrantless searches and seizures.

Thomas Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers who did not attend the Constitutional Convention, famously argued that "a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference." James Madison, initially an opponent of the Bill of Rights, eventually introduced a list of amendments to the Constitution to address these concerns and secure its passage. He focused on rights-related amendments, ignoring suggestions that would have structurally changed the government.

The Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments to the Constitution, was adopted in 1791. It added specific guarantees of personal freedoms, such as freedom of speech, the right to publish, practice religion, possess firearms, and assemble. It also included explicit limitations on the government's power, declaring that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states or the people.

Some delegates did not sign to signal concerns about the document's power

The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Out of the 55 delegates present, only 39 endorsed the document. The remaining delegates decided not to sign, signalling their concerns about the document's power without a Bill of Rights.

The delegates who chose not to sign the Constitution included Edmund Randolph and George Mason from Virginia, and Elbridge Gerry from Massachusetts. Randolph declared: "In refusing to sign the Constitution, I take a step which might be the most awful of my life, but it is dictated by my conscience, and it is not possible for me to hesitate, much less, to change." Gerry, on the other hand, believed that the Constitution combined the negative aspects of both democracy and its opposite extreme, and would therefore never succeed.

The concerns about the document's power centred around the lack of a specific statement of rights protected and upheld through the Constitution. The top concerns included freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble, the right to petition, safety from unlawful seizure, and a general guarantee of rights. While some delegates tried to assure the concerned parties that anything not outlined in the Constitution remained protected and in the hands of the states or the people, many wanted these rights explicitly written down.

The concluding endorsement of the Constitution was intentionally ambiguous, in an attempt to win over the votes of dissenting delegates. The advocates for the new frame of government realised the difficulty of obtaining the consent of the states and were anxious to obtain unanimous support. The formula "Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present..." was devised to make the action of the Convention appear unanimous.

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Benjamin Franklin expressed reservations but accepted the Constitution

The original states collectively appointed 70 individuals to the Constitutional Convention, but a number did not accept or could not attend. 55 delegates attended the sessions, but only 39 signed the Constitution.

Benjamin Franklin, aged 81, was the oldest delegate at the convention. He was so infirm that he had to be carried to sessions in a sedan chair. Franklin expressed reservations about the Constitution, stating:

> I confess that there are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them. For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise.

Franklin accepted the Constitution, despite his reservations, saying:

> [I accept] because I expect no better and because I am not sure that it is not the best.

He also noted that the emblem on the chair that Washington sat in as he presided over the Convention was a rising sun, indicating his optimism about the future of the nation.

Luther Martin regarded the Constitution as a stab in the back of liberty

Luther Martin was a delegate from Maryland to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. However, he did not sign the Constitution, as he felt that the document as proposed violated states' rights and gave too much power to the national government over the states. In addition, he believed that the proposed form of government threatened individual rights and that the absence of a jury in the US Supreme Court gravely endangered freedom.

Martin's views on the Constitution were shaped by his suspicion of the secrecy rule imposed on the proceedings and his opposition to the creation of a government where large states would dominate small ones. He consistently sided with the small states and helped formulate the New Jersey Plan, voting against the Virginia Plan. He also supported the case for equal numbers of delegates in at least one house.

In an address to the Maryland House of Delegates in November 1787 and in numerous newspaper articles, Martin attacked the proposed new form of government and continued to fight ratification of the Constitution through 1788. He believed that the ascension of the national government over the states and the unequal representation in Congress were detrimental to liberty.

Martin's views on the Constitution were not widely shared by other delegates, and he was one of the few who refused to give their individual assent to the document. In total, out of 55 delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention sessions, only 39 signed the Constitution.

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