We now approach the third period of the work of the Convention, extending from 6 August to 17 September. During these six weekS the debate over the details of the draft progressed, and while great diversity of opinion was exhibited, it proceeded in the main without undue excitement, although the difference in the interests of the Northern and Southern States over commerce and slavery aroused for a time considerable excitement. Already during the preceding period it had become evident, as Madison records, the real difference of interest lay not between the large and small States, but between the northern and southern States. The institution of slavery and its con sequences formed the line of discrimination.* But these yielded, as in the case of so many other issues, to compromise. In regard to com merce it was agreed that Congress might regu late foreign and interstate trade but should not have power to lay any export tax. This was a compromise between the commercial States of the North and the agricultural States of the South. Again the Northern States desired that Congress should have power to pass navigation acts, but the three extreme Southern States ob jected, and refused at first tcp sanction the power except by a two-thirds vote of Congress for fear that the slave trade might be inter dicted. The situation became critical, and again a committee of one from each State was re sorted to. On 24 August they reported a com promise which as amended provided that Con gress should not prohibit the slave trade prior to 1808, but might impose a tax not to exceed $10 per head on such importations. This was carried by the votes of New England and those of the Carolinas and Georgia. By a simi lar combination of votes the clause requiring a two-thirds vote to pass navigation acts was defeated. It is noteworthy that the Virginia delegates earnestly opposed this compromise. Subsequently the provision in regard to the rendition of fugitive slaves was agreed .to. This probably formed a part of the above-men tioned compromise. These compromises were severely condemned by later generations who forgot that slavery at that day hardly was re garded as a great moral issue. It is altogether probable, also, that these compromises generally have been over-emphasized and that others, per haps of equal importance, have been overlooked. Certainly it is true, as has been well said, that "the Constitution is a series of compromises." No question gave the framers of the Constitu tion so much trouble as the choice of the execu tive. The Convention vacillated between several plans and showed a strange fluctuation of senti ment. Several times it voted in favor of elec tion by Congress; once it agreed to a choice by electors chosen by the State legislatures — a plan subsequently twice rejected. After re peated reconsideration the special committees in their report of 4 September recommended the electoral system very nearly as it was finally adopted on 6 September. This was regarded as a compromise between the large and the small States, as by many it was expected that the ultimate election would usually devolve upon the House voting by States. Thus it was said that the large States would nominate while the small States would elect. Over the organization of the executive, also, there was great differ ence of opinion between those who desired a strong executive, vested in one man, and those who feared an approach to monarchy. These conflicting ideas were compromised by con ferring upon the President great powers, but giving to the Senate or both branches of Con gress certain checks and limitations upon the exercise of those powers.
It is impossible to enter further into the de tails of the convention. Suffice it to add that on 8 September, when the members approached substantial agreement on the chief provision of the Constitution, a committee of five on astyle and arrangement"' was appointed. This com mittee made its report, largely drawn by Gouv erneur Morris, on 12 September. It was ar ranged in seven articles with the various sec tions as in the present Constitution. Discus
sion upon this report continued until the 15th, when the Constitution as amended was agreed to. On Monday, 17 September, the draft of the Constitution was signed by 39 of the delegates and the convention adjourned sine die. Three delegates present, Gerry, Mdson and Randolph, refused to sign, owing to the strong national features of the document, and to the rejection of the proposal to hold a second convention to consider amendments that might be recom mended by the State conventions. There is evi dence that only four of the 13 delegates who had been in attendance, but were absent at the time of adjournment, were opposed to the Constitu tion; certainly the majority approved of it.
It has been truly said that "cif Americans possess political genius to any degree, it is for adapting old institutions to new needs."' The work of the framers of the Federal Constitu tion strikingly illustrates the force of this state ment, and the institutional development of our fundamental law. The framers drew largely upon their experience both during the colonial times and under the State governments, and the chief features of the Constitution are but a se lection and adaptation of the provisions of the contemporary State constitutions. The Consti tution made provision for the establishment of a government which was neither wholly national nor wholly federal, but partaking of the feat ures of both. It provided for a mixed system. As Madison remarked, "In some respects it is a government of a federal nature, in others, it is of a consolidated nature.° Thus in the legis lature, consisting of two bodies, the Senate is based upon the federal, the House upon the national principle. In die new organization of the government the legislative department was improved, the executive and judiciary were sub stantially created. All were modeled in large measure after the similar departments in the State governments. The powers of the general. government were greatly increased, while those of the State governments were correspondingly decreased. Certain express limitations were laid upon the latter and certain other powers were denied both to the State and to the Federal governments. The convention by a tie vote refused to add a bill of rights, as the opinion prevailed that such a guarantee of individual rights was unnecessary as the Federal govern ment was one of delegated powers only. By providing that the ratification of nine States should be sufficient to establish the new govern ment the work of the convention was revolu tionary.
I:1 accordance with its resolves the Consti tution was transmitted to Congress and after some attempts to amend, that body finally agreed unanimously 28 September, in accord ance with the desire of the convention, to trans mit the Constitution to the legislatures of the several States to be submitted to State conven tions. At once there sprang up a great pam phlet and newspaper contest over the merits of the proposed frame of government. The most famous of these was a series of letters in ad vocacy of the Constitution written by Hamil ton with the aid of Madison and Jay, subse quently collected under the title of