The Debate on the Constitution: Federalist and Antifederalist Speeches, Articles, and Letters During the Struggle over Ratification: Part One, September 1787-February 1788 [ePUB] PDF
Preview The Debate on the Constitution: Federalist and Antifederalist Speeches, Articles, and Letters During the Struggle over Ratification: Part One, September 1787-February 1788 [ePUB]
THE DEBATE ON THE CONSTITUTION Federalist and Antifederalist Speeches, Articles, and Letters During the Struggle over Ratification PART ONE _______________ DEBATES IN THE PRESS AND IN PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE September 17, 1787–January 12, 1788 DEBATES IN THE STATE RATIFYING CONVENTIONS Pennsylvania, November 20–December 15, 1787 Connecticut, January 3–9, 1788 Massachusetts, January 9–February 7, 1788 _______________ Bernard Bailyn, editor THE LIBRARY OF AMERICA Volume compilation, notes, and chronology copyright © 1993 by Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., New York, N.Y. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced commercially by offset-lithographic or equivalent copying devices without the permission of the publisher. Some of the material in this volume is copyright 1981, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1990 by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin; copyright 1977 by The University of Chicago; copyright 1955 by Princeton University Press. Reprinted by permission. For acknowledgments, see Note on the Texts. THE LIBRARY OF AMERICA, a nonprofit publisher, is dedicated to publishing, and keeping in print, authoritative editions of America’s best and most significant writing. Each year the Library adds new volumes to its collection of essential works by America’s foremost novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and statesmen. If you would like to request a free catalog and find out more about The Library of America, please visit www.loa.org/catalog or send us an e-mail at [email protected] with your name and address. Include your e-mail address if you would like to receive our occasional newsletter with items of interest to readers of classic American literature and exclusive interviews with Library of America authors and editors (we will never share your e-mail address). Print ISBN: 978-1-59853-165-7 eISBN 978-1-59853-201-2 The publishers wish to thank The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation for funding the publication of The Debate on the Constitution. The publishers also express their appreciation to John P. Kaminski and Gaspare J. Saladino, editors of The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution, and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, the publisher, for editorial assistance, the use of archival materials, and permission to reprint extensive excerpts. Contents DEBATES IN THE PRESS AND IN PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE September 17, 1787–January 12, 1788 Benjamin Franklin’s Speech at the Conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, September 17, 1787 “I Agree to This Constitution, with All Its Faults” “Z” Replies to Franklin’s Speech, December 6, 1787 “No Wonder He Shed a Tear” Alexander Hamilton’s Conjectures About the New Constitution, September 1787 “A Revolution Effected by Good Sense and Deliberation,” September 24, 1787 David Redick to William Irvine, September 24, 1787 “The Loss of American Liberty” Strictures on the Proposed Constitution, September 26, 1787 “An American Citizen” [Tench Coxe] I, September 26, 1787 The English and American Constitutions Contrasted “An American Citizen” [Tench Coxe] II, September 28, 1787 Senators and Nobles “An American Citizen” [Tench Coxe] III, September 29, 1787 An Uncorrupted House “Cato” I, September 27, 1787 Deliberate with Coolness, Analyze with Criticism, Reflect with Candor Reply to “Cato” I: “Cæsar” I, October 1, 1787 On the Language of Distrust Rebuttal to “Cæsar” I: “Cato” II, October 11, 1787 On the Right of Free Deliberation James Madison to George Washington, September 30, 1787 Congress Forwards the Constitution to the States Richard Henry Lee to George Mason, October 1, 1787 On the Deviousness of Congress’s Action, and the Need for Amendments Rev. James Madison to James Madison, c. October 1, 1787 For an Experimental Period and an Absolute Separation of Powers “Southwark,” October 3, 1787 Antifederalists—Tories Reborn “Centinel” [Samuel Bryan] I, October 5, 1787 “A Most Daring Attempt to Establish a Despotic Aristocracy” James Wilson’s Speech at a Public Meeting, October 6, 1787 “Every Thing Which Is Not Given, Is Reserved” Reply to Wilson’s Speech: “A Democratic Federalist,” October 17, 1787 What Shelter from Arbitrary Power? Reply to Wilson’s Speech: “Centinel” [Samuel Bryan] II, October 24, 1787 To Avoid the Usual Fate of Nations Reply to Wilson’s Speech: “Cincinnatus” [Arthur Lee] I, November 1, 1787 To Defeat a Monstrous Aristocracy Reply to Wilson’s Speech: “An Officer of the Late Continental Army” [William Findley?], November 6, 1787 “A Set of Aspiring Despots, Who Make Us Slaves”. Rebuttal to “An Officer of the Late Continental Army”: “Plain Truth,” November 10, 1787 “I Have Answered All the Objections” Reply to Wilson’s Speech: “Cincinnatus” [Arthur Lee] V, November 29, 1787 “O Sense Where Is Your Guard! Shame Where Is Your Blush!” “An Old Whig” [George Bryan et al.] I, October 12, 1787 No Amendments Will Ever Be Made Without Violent Convulsion or Civil War “Marcus,” October 15, 1787 Interests and the Constitution “A Citizen of America” [Noah Webster], October 17, 1787 An Examination Into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution “Brutus” I, October 18, 1787 “If You Adopt It. . . Posterity Will Execrate Your Memory” The Weaknesses of Brutus Exposed: “A Citizen of Philadelphia” [Pelatiah Webster], November 8, 1787 “Congress Can Never Get More Power Than the People Will Give” A Political Dialogue, October 24, 1787 “There Is Some Trick In It” James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, October 24, 1787 The Constitution Explained and Justified, with an “Immoderate Digression” on a Defeated Proposal Thomas Jefferson Replies to Madison, December 20, 1787 “The Will of the Majority Should Always Prevail” “Cato” III, October 25, 1787 The Dangers to Liberty and Happiness “Publius,” The Federalist I [Alexander Hamilton], October 27, 1787 “Vigour of Government Is Essential to the Security of Liberty” “John Humble,” October 29, 1787 “To Lick the Feet of Our Well Born Masters” “Americanus” [John Stevens, Jr.] I, November 2, 1787 “We Must Think, We Must Reason, For Ourselves” Elbridge Gerry to the Massachusetts General Court, November 3, 1787 “The Greatest Men May Err” Reply to Elbridge Gerry: “A Landholder” [Oliver Ellsworth] IV, November 26, 1787 “To Alarm the Fears of the People” A Further Reply to Elbridge Gerry: “A Landholder” [Oliver Ellsworth] V, December 3, 1787 “To Combat Phantoms”
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