Signing Their Rights Away (2 page)

Here’s a short list of words and phrases you won’t find in the original United States Constitution:
God, black, white, women, slavery, all men are created equal, pursuit of happiness
, and
separation of church and state
.

If that comes as a surprise, it’s probably been a while since you read the actual document. You can rectify this knowledge gap right now:
Signing Their Rights Away
includes an artistic reproduction of the Constitution on the back of the book jacket, as well as a much more legible transcript beginning on
this page
. You’ll want to read the entire text before proceeding; it’s hard to think of another 4,400-word document that has more greatly impacted world history.

The United States Constitution
vs.
The Declaration of Independence

Before we introduce you to the thirty-nine men who signed the U.S. Constitution, we’d like to introduce some of the terms and themes that will be discussed throughout this book. Fair warning: This cheat sheet makes no attempt to tell the full story of the Constitutional Convention; indeed, that job is beyond the scope of this book (though our bibliography recommends several writers who tell this story particularly well). Our focus here is to celebrate the lives of the signers, but you’ll need some of the following information to better understand their achievements.

At the time of the Constitutional Convention, the United States was governed by the
Congress of the Confederation
—basically, the congress provided for by the Articles of Confederation. This congress met in New York City, then the nation’s capital.

The constitutional delegates gathered in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall from May 25, 1787, until September 17, 1787. George Washington (not yet the first U.S. president, of course, but still wildly famous from his role in the Revolutionary War) was elected president of the Convention.

The most debated topic concerned representation—how the various states would receive a voice in the new congress. Generally, large states favored a proposal called the Virginia Plan, whereas small states preferred the New Jersey Plan, and the resulting logjam nearly brought the entire convention to a stalemate.

The
Virginia Plan
proposed that representation in the national legislature would be based on the population of each state—in short, bigger states would get more say. Not surprisingly, this plan was favored by representatives from the most populous states: Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. To a more limited extent, the plan was also embraced by states that hoped to have huge populations in the future, such as North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

The
New Jersey Plan
was backed by smaller states like Delaware and Connecticut; they weren’t willing to sign away the equal voting rights that already existed in Congress. Under this plan, each state
in Congress would have exactly one vote, regardless of population or geographic area.

It’s likely the entire convention might have ended in failure if shoemaker-turned-statesman Roger Sherman hadn’t proposed what historians now call the
Great Compromise
(also known as the Connecticut Compromise). His solution: The House of Representatives would have proportional representation based on population, and the Senate would consist of two senators from each state. This system is still in use today.

The second most controversial topic of the convention was slavery. States with large slave populations wanted to include slaves in their total populations (thus increasing their power in the House of Representatives). This idea was ill received by states that had already abolished slavery or were planning or hoping to abolish it. The debate was settled by the
Three-Fifths Compromise
, which allowed states to count each slave as three-fifths of a person for purposes of congressional representation. And since some delegates were uncomfortable with even the use of the word
slave
, the document features the more euphemistic phrase “all other persons.”

Throughout the convention, James Madison took meticulous notes, so we know approximately how many times each delegate spoke (some were more vocal than others). Along the way, there were many committees and subcommittees. The
Rules Committee
drafted the guidelines that governed the entire convention. The
Committee of the Whole
was a venue for delegates to let loose and debate topics off the record. The
Committee of Detail
reviewed all the notes and votes and created a first draft of the Constitution, which the
Committee of Style and Arrangement
whipped into a final draft. Finally, there were three
Committees of Eleven
, usually made up of one member from all the states attending; these committees tackled various issues as they arose.

The cursory nature of this overview might suggest that the signers of the Constitution marched together toward a unanimous and happy consensus. The truth is far more unpleasant. The men
squabbled for four months behind locked doors in an unventilated building where temperatures routinely exceeded ninety degrees Fahrenheit. At one point, an angry George Washington wrote that the men trapped with him in the room were nothing but a bunch of “narrow-minded politicians.” (This was meant as an insult; in Washington’s day, gentlemen aspired to be statesmen.)

Washington wasn’t alone in his frustration. Most signers ended the convention feeling unsatisfied or disappointed. Benjamin Franklin even admitted that the Constitution was far from perfect: “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.” It was an impassioned speech, but not enough to convince all forty-two of the remaining delegates; three refused to put their names on the document.

And once the remaining thirty-nine had signed, the Constitution still needed
ratification
, or approval, from the states themselves. Nine states were required to put the new government into effect, which would allow for the election of a president and Congress. And so the delegates had to return home and promote the new Constitution to their constituents.

In many parts of the country, it was a tough sell. Public discussions were sometimes accompanied by violent outbursts. Many Americans feared that an empowered federal government would reinstate the tyranny (and unfair taxation) of their former British rulers—only this time, the tyrants would be much closer to home. To advance their cause, signers Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay published a series of eighty-five essays supporting ratification (known collectively as the
Federalist Papers)
.

Delaware was first to ratify the new Constitution (and if you’ve ever wondered why it’s nicknamed “The First State,” now you know). It was followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and South Carolina. When New Hampshire became the ninth to ratify the document, the Constitution “went live,” but the arguments over the new government never ceased. In fact, many of the same arguments continue to this day.

A Constitutional Time Line
Key milestones in the saga of the U.S. Constitution

March 1781:
The Articles of Confederation becomes the governing document of the United States.

1783:
The Treaty of Paris is signed by Britain and the United States, ending the Revolutionary War.

September 1786:
The Annapolis Convention. Five states formally request that Congress schedule a meeting to discuss defects in the Articles of Confederation.

February 21, 1787:
The Continental Congress calls for a Constitutional Convention.

May 25, 1787:
The Constitutional Convention begins in Philadelphia. George Washington is elected Convention President.

September 17, 1787:
The U.S. Constitution is signed by thirty-nine delegates.

December 7, 1787:
Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the Constitution.

December 12, 1787:
Pennsylvania is the second state to ratify.

December 18, 1787:
New Jersey is the third state to ratify.

January 2, 1788:
Georgia is the fourth state to ratify.

January 9, 1788:
Connecticut is the fifth state to ratify.

February 6, 1788:
Massachusetts is the sixth state to ratify.

April 28, 1788:
Maryland is the seventh state to ratify.

May 23, 1788:
South Carolina is the eighth state to ratify.

June 21, 1788:
New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify. With nine states on board, the Constitution takes effect as the governing document of the United States.

June 25, 1788:
Virginia becomes the tenth state to ratify.

July 26, 1788:
New York becomes the eleventh state to ratify.

March 1789:
The Congress of the United States meets for the first time under the U.S. Constitution.

April 30, 1789:
George Washington is sworn in as first president of the United States under the U.S. Constitution.

September 1789:
The Supreme Court of the United States is established under the Constitution.

November 21, 1789:
North Carolina becomes the twelfth state to ratify.

May 29, 1790:
Rhode Island finally ratifies. The Constitution is in effect throughout the entire United States.

1791:
The Bill of Rights (Amendments I–X) is ratified.

The Signers of the
U.S. Constitution

These biographies are arranged in the order in
which the men signed the constitution—from north
to south. The only exception is George Washington,
who, as head of the convention, signed first.