Virginia Ratifying Convention
The Virginia Ratifying Convention, also known as the Virginia Federal Convention, consisted of 168 Virginia’s delegates who gathered in order to discuss the issues concerning the ratification of the United States Constitution that had been introduced at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, and its implications for the citizens of the United States. The Convention held the meetings at the Richmond Theatre from June 2 to June 27 in 1788 under control of Judge Edmund Pendleton who was the Virginia delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Virginia endorsed the United States Constitution in two steps. The declaration of ratification was the first step. The following step was connected with the proposal of a bill
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James Madison addressed other delegates by saying: “But I go on this great republican principle, that the people will have virtue and intelligence to select men of virtue and wisdom. Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks--no form of government can render us secure. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea. If there be sufficient virtue and intelligence in the community, it will be exercised in the selection of these men. So that we do not depend on their virtue, or put confidence in our rulers, but in the people who are to choose them.” Among other prominent Federalists were John Marshall, William Overton Callis and George Wythe who also served in the Rules Committee at the Constitutional Convention. Delegates of the Virginia Ratifying Convention also relied on the opinions of George Washington who kept the conversation going through the letters as he was not at the …show more content…
Randolph expressed his concerns that the Constitution was implementing a one-man executive. He also admitted that the old Articles of Confederation were insufficient, but the new proposal of the Constitution presented a threat to the republican heritage. A republic was characterized by Thomas Jefferson as: “a government by its citizens in mass, acting directly and personally, according to rules established by the majority; and that every other government is more or less republican, in proportion as it has in its composition more or less of this ingredient of the direct action of the citizens. Such a government is evidently restrained to very narrow limits of space and population. I doubt if it would be practicable beyond the extent of a New England township. The first shade from this pure element, which, like that of pure vital air, cannot sustain life of itself, would be where the powers of the government, being divided, should be exercised each by representatives chosen...for such short terms as should render secure the duty of expressing the will of their constituents.” Therefore, Rudolph as a proponent of the process of amendment was afraid that the ratification of the Constitution would not present a possibility for the states to enhance it if needed. However, by the time of the Virginia Ratifying
James Madison’s Federalist 10 was written amid criticisms that a republican form of government had never been successful on a large scale. Madison’s argument was that a well-constructed union could control factions. He argued that in order to control factions from their causes, we would need to either give up liberty or free thought. Since we cannot infringe upon these two natural rights, we must move on to controlling the effects. A republic, Madison argues, would be able to do this because the people choose the representatives, and they choose representatives who they feel best represent their opinions.
In 1775, at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Patrick Henry wrote “Speech in the Virginia Convention,” for the President of Virginia, Peyton Randolph, to convince the delegates to secede from Britain; moreover, to fight back against them. This speech incorporates great rhetorical strategies that Henry emphasizes to make a clear and concise point. These rhetorical strategies will help receive a better perspective for seeking American Independence. In his speech, Henry analyzes allusions and repetitions to overcome a troublesome problem that foreshadows America. Ethos and allusion are similar because both strategies represent credibility for an event or person.
Virginia constitution of 1776 was one of the first constitutions written in an American history. Its core structure was developing its basic principle. Which included popular sovereignty, the idea that government is responsible to the people. While it protect the rights of all citizens, but at this time in age, this did not include slaves. Next was the separation of power, not allowing one to hold full power.
In May 25, 1787, a convention was called in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to express the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. However, the intention from many delegates was to draft a new constitution; create a new government rather than fix the existing one. Rhode Island was the only one of the 13 original states to refuse to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention. At the Convention, the first issues they had to address was the representation in Congress.
“The Framers of the Constitution and the ‘Genius’ of the People” written by Alfred E. Young is an article which was originally written in a newspaper called In These Times. In his article he explains the process the delegates went through at the constitutional convention and how revolutionary this moment in our history was. They were the first to form a totally new form of government and to do it in a way that didn’t involve much dispute. Delegates were originally called to revise the Article of Confederation but instead they decided to frame and entirely new document, the Constitution. The Framers wanted to create something completely unlike the monarchy they came from.
The Shay’s Rebellion, as well as economic depression in the United States, opened doors for protests and questions regarding the effectiveness of the Articles of Confederation. The question of whether a powerful central government was necessary to provide citizens fundamental rights caused deliberation among officials. After years of debate, the Articles of Confederation was overturned, resulting in the establishment of the United States Constitution. The Constitution, perceived as a supreme document, served as a solution to the defects of the Confederation. In 1787, the same year the Constitution was ratified, an essay was written, presumably by Robert Yates.
The presidential selection process was also a problem during the Constitutional Convention. The Virginia Plan suggested that the president should be selected by Congress because its members had the best knowledge and understanding of how the presidential selection process worked. In Federalist Paper No. 68, Hamilton asserted that the “men most capable of analyzing the qualities,” hence the members of Congress, to select the president since they had enough information on the presidential candidates to evaluate and make a reasoned judgment on which candidate would fit best in the president position. Pennsylvania delegate James Wilson, on the other hand, opposed this idea and suggested that the president should be selected by ordinary citizens.
The United States constitution and the North Carolina constitution were both created to initiate a form a government at their own levels, and to give those governments specific powers. Both constitutions have similar outlines of their executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and include an article that secures the rights of citizens through the legal systems. Although they bear conspicuous similarities, such as structure, the state and U.S. constitutions do exhibit differences as well. Possibly the most recognizable distinction between the two constitutions is that the North Carolina constitution has a basis of religion. The preamble states that the people of North Carolina are “grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations”.
James Madison starts this most popular of the Federalist papers by explaining that one of the toughest arguments in favor of the constitution is the principal that it establishes a government able to control the disturbance and damage made by factions. James Madison describes factions as groups of individuals in communities who gather around together in unity to promote and protect their special economic interests as well as political opinions. Even though these factions exhibit differences as well as distinguishing marks that separate them from each other, they constantly and continue work towards the public interest which gains support from inhabitants within those factions. And at times might infringe upon the social and communal rights
10 in an attempt to ratify the Constitution, the new form of government for the United States. In the Federalist Paper No. 10, Madison analyzed the way to deal with facts, made a comparison between a pure democracy and a republic, and made another comparison on whether a small government or a large government would be the best for America. He informed the people that there is not a way to completely get rid of factions, but there are ways to deal with them. One great way to deal with factions is by having a government that knows how to control and deal with their effects. Madison believes that a republic can do that job better than a democracy, because a democracy is a small society of people who can not admit there is a cure to factions.
The quote, “After all, sir, we must submit to this idea, that the true principle of a republic is, that the people should choose whom they please to govern them.” (“NY Debates” p.257), shows that there is a strong importance of freedom to the people and that they deserve that freedom granted by the Constitution. There are policies that can and must be changed to perfect the government but first, it must be implemented for the people to choose how they are governed. Citizens above all need the ability to choose who governs them, but that is just the beginning of rights the citizens
The new constitution, a document granting the framework for a new democratic government, replacing the Articles of the Confederation. This new document gained approval from some of the citizens, but also raised questions and concerns from others. There was a constant back and forth between the two groups on whether or not the constitution should be ratified. This editorial provides historical background on the issue and expresses my opinion on which side I would’ve chosen.
The whole discussion was based on Madison's terms. Delegates took the Virginia Resolution as well as Madison's proposal as their starting point for a new start on a Constitution. Roche describes the reaction to the program of the Convection as ‘interesting', some of the delegates were surprised and others were skeptical but not one of them
In Patrick Henry’s, Virginia Convention, he talked about how the people needed to fight back against the British. And in Benjamin Franklin’s, the speech he gave at the Constitutional Convention, talked about how the Articles of Confederation had some problems, and if they were to fix them that the people would most likely have better lives. But there are always differences and similarities. And in these speeches there are differences and similarities. But Patrick and Ben both explained what the people could do and what they shouldn’t do.
A role of an individual in society can be played many ways, one of them being that people should fight for their country. This can be exhibited in "Speech to the Virginia Convention" by Patrick Henry ,where Henry believes his country should fight for freedom against the British. He is calling on the patriots of Virginia to arm themselves in order to be prepared to fight the British if they do not yield to some of their demands. The author encourages this message by their emotional appeals and literary devices. In the text, the author exposes the audience to prepare for war by conveying them to fight for their country.