Constitution Framers: History's Influence

The framers of the US Constitution were influenced by a variety of historical experiences and political philosophies. The 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, including George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, were tasked with revising the Articles of Confederation, which had left the young country on the brink of collapse. However, they ended up drafting a new constitution that reflected their colonial experiences and the political philosophy of the time, such as Enlightenment ideas about democracy, natural rights, and the social contract. They aimed to create a balanced government that protected individual rights and prevented tyranny, while also addressing the specific challenges facing the nation and establishing foundational principles for the future. The framers' historical influences can be seen in their compromises on issues like slavery and congressional representation, as well as their vision for a powerful central government.

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The political philosophy of the time

The framers of the US Constitution were influenced by the political philosophy of their time, which included ideas about how people should be governed and the rights they should enjoy. This was shaped by their colonial experiences and the Enlightenment era.

The framers were influenced by the Enlightenment, which introduced ideas about democracy, natural rights, and the social contract. They were also influenced by thinkers of the time, such as John Locke, who emphasised that governments should be based on the consent of the governed and that people have inherent rights to life, liberty, and property.

The framers were also shaped by their experiences in the colonies, where different forms of government were experimented with. They dealt with a range of governance issues during the New World settlement, including self-governance through local assemblies and the struggle for independence. They also had experience with the failures and successes of the Articles of Confederation, which was the first governing document of the United States. The framers were wary of centralised power and loyal to their states, so they created a powerful central government with checks and balances in place.

The framers of the Constitution sought to address the specific challenges facing the nation during their lifetimes, but they also wanted to establish foundational principles that would sustain and guide the new nation into an uncertain future. They understood that they were creating a framework that would need to be adapted and interpreted over time, as society changed. This is reflected in the broad principles set out in the Constitution, such as "freedom of speech," "due process of law," and "equal protection of the laws."

The framers' political philosophy was also influenced by their views on slavery. While some members of the Constitutional Convention objected to slavery, it was temporarily preserved in the Constitution to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. This compromise, however, laid the foundation for future conflicts.

Historical experiences gained through trial and error

The framers of the US Constitution were heavily influenced by historical experiences gained through trial and error. They drew upon their experiences with colonial government and the experimentation of different forms of government during the New World settlement. The framers examined the successes and failures of different systems to create a more perfect union.

The framers were influenced by the political philosophy of the time, shaped by Enlightenment ideas and colonial experiences, which led them to create a balanced government that aimed to protect individual rights and prevent tyranny. They were wary of centralized power, loyal to their states, and crafted compromises to accommodate their wildly differing interests and views.

The framers were influenced by their experiences with self-governance through local assemblies and the struggle for independence. They were also influenced by the failures and successes of the Articles of Confederation, the first governing document of the United States, which gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it lacked enforcement powers, the ability to regulate commerce, or print money. The disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.

The framers were also influenced by the English Bill of Rights (1689), which inspired the American Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta, which influenced the idea of trial by jury in criminal cases. The constitutions of each of the original thirteen states guaranteed the right to a jury trial, and the framers of the Constitution were familiar with Blackstone's Commentaries, which discussed the common law of England.

Additionally, the framers were influenced by the political philosophy of the time, including Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, who emphasized that governments should be based on the consent of the governed and that people have inherent rights to life, liberty, and property. Other influential figures included Montesquieu, Edward Coke, William Blackstone, Hume, and Benjamin Franklin, who studied the works of David Hume and embraced the idea that high-ranking public officials should receive no salary.

The need for a strong central government

The framers of the US Constitution were influenced by the political philosophy of the time and their own colonial experiences. They drew on ideas from the Enlightenment, such as democracy, natural rights, and the social contract, and combined them with practical experiences from their colonial past to shape the new governing document.

Nationalists, including military officers, diplomats, delegates to Congress, and federal financiers, advocated for a powerful central government. They argued for central control over the disposition of western lands, tariff and commercial policies, and dealings with foreign states. They warned that if the political mechanism remained unchanged, the Union would break up. Shays' Rebellion further strengthened the determination of nationalists to create a stronger central government that could raise a powerful army to put down domestic insurrections and confront foreign threats.

The Federalists, who supported a strong central government, believed it was necessary to address the nation's challenges. They wanted a government that could force the individual states to take unified steps and control the fate of the United States. They saw the Constitution as a way to establish a government of ordered liberty, reversing the trend towards greater decentralization of power. The Anti-Federalists, on the other hand, opposed the creation of a powerful central government, arguing that it resembled the one they had just overthrown and that it lacked a bill of rights.

The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 was a pivotal moment in addressing these issues. The delegates, representing diverse interests and views, crafted compromises to balance state power and national authority. They devised distinct powers for the central government, such as regulating commerce and providing for a strong executive, while also ensuring that individual states maintained control over internal affairs. The resulting Constitution, with its strong central government, became a triumph of ordered liberty and one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.

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The Articles of Confederation

The Articles outlined a Congress with representation not based on population – each state held one vote. Ratification by all 13 states was necessary to set the Confederation into motion. However, disputes over representation, voting, and the western lands claimed by some states delayed ratification. The central government lacked the power to regulate commerce, conduct foreign policy, or collect taxes to fund its operations. It also couldn't print money, and states had their own money systems, making trade within the Confederation and with other countries extremely difficult.

The Articles were seen as stagnant and ineffective, and by 1786, it was clear that the federal government established by them was unable to address internal rebellions or settle Revolutionary War-era debts. The states were on the brink of economic disaster, and disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington were among those who feared the young country was on the brink of collapse.

In May 1787, the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. However, by mid-June, the delegates had decided to completely redesign the government, and in September, the new Constitution was born. One of the most significant changes was the creation of three branches of government: the executive, legislative, and judicial. This separation of powers ensured that power would not be concentrated in one particular branch.

The slavery question

The question of slavery is perhaps the most significant issue that the framers of the US Constitution had to grapple with. The Constitution's relationship with slavery is a complex one, and it remains a highly debated topic.

The Constitution did not overtly mention the word "slavery" or "slave", and the framers went to great lengths to avoid using these terms. This careful omission has been referred to as "the fig-leaves under which the parts of the body politic are decently concealed" by John Quincy Adams in 1840. However, despite this apparent reluctance to engage with the issue, the Constitution did contain several clauses that protected and promoted slavery.

The Three-Fifths Clause in Article I, Section 2, is one of the most well-known examples of how the Constitution protected slavery. This clause stated that for purposes of representation in Congress, enslaved black people in a state would be counted as three-fifths of the number of white inhabitants. This boosted the representation of slave states in Congress and the Electoral College, effectively giving political protection to slave owners and slave states. The same clause also implied that slaves were considered less than fully human, a notion that has been interpreted as being contrary to the ideals of the Constitution.

Another clause that protected slavery was Article 1, Section 9, which prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves until 1808. This limitation on congressional power, along with the Fugitive Slave Clause in Article 4, Section 2, which required that escaped slaves be returned to their owners, ensured the continuation of slavery as an institution.

The framers of the Constitution were aware of the moral quandary posed by slavery. Many of them harbored qualms about the practice, with some, like Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, becoming members of anti-slavery societies. During the Constitutional Convention, there were "eloquent objections" to slavery, with figures like James Madison and George Mason speaking out against it. Madison, often referred to as the "Father of the Constitution", criticized slavery early in the Convention, stating:

> "We have seen the mere distinction of colour made in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man."

The framers believed that concessions on slavery were necessary to gain the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. They were convinced that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, southern states like South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. By sidestepping the issue, they hoped to create a regime of liberty that would ultimately lead to slavery's extinction. In the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Abraham Lincoln argued that the Framers avoided any specific mention of slavery because they did not want the enduring Constitution to suggest that "such a thing as negro slavery had ever existed among us".

In conclusion, the slavery question presented a significant challenge to the framers of the Constitution. While they sought to build a regime of liberty and equality, they also had to navigate the political realities of the time, which included the powerful influence of slavery in certain states. The resulting document, while containing protections for slavery, also laid the foundation for a central government that would eventually have the power to abolish the institution.

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