On June 28, Franklin had made a motion for a special sermon on the Fourth of July. A simple sermon had exploded into an orchestrated procession from the State House to the Sassafras Street church, led in grand martial style by the Society of the Cincinnati.
When Madison and Wilson emerged from the State House, the Cincinnati had formed in the street, with Washington in the lead. Madison felt the rat-tat-tat beat of the fife and drum unit that stood immediately behind Washington. Looking behind the ramrod columns of military officers of the Revolution, Madison saw the delegates looking ill at ease and disorganized. “Shall we join the jumbled mess?” Madison asked lightly. “It appears our fellow delegates have brought the disorder of the chamber into the street.”
They joined the throng and soon found themselves unconsciously walking somewhat to the beat of the drums. When they arrived at the church, the Cincinnati stood politely aside as the delegates filed through the double doors and took the honorary front pews. Madison turned in his seat and watched the officers take the remaining seats or find standing room in the back. Every available space had been filled. Settling forward, Madison was startled to see a very young man climb the circular steps to the elevated pulpit. The immature reverend looked relaxed and at ease, as if he preached to a packed house of illustrious dignitaries every Sunday.
The man gazed over the congregation until everyone grew silent. When he spoke, his surprisingly robust voice easily carried his words to the far corners of the meetinghouse. “Gentlemen of the Federal Convention, welcome. I’m gratified that you’ve come to seek God’s guidance in your unprecedented and formidable commission.” Then with a self-deprecating smile, he added in a light tone, “We all need a little help now and then. Shall we pray?”
After a brief, eloquent prayer, the Reverend James Campbell looked over his congregation and spoke in a commanding voice.
“Gentlemen, your country looks to you with anxious expectations on your decisions. She rests confident that the men who cut the cords of foreign tyranny are also capable of framing a government that will embrace all of our interests. This is our chance for a new beginning. The illustrious Federal Convention should not rely upon the state constitutions, for they were made on the spur of the occasion, with a bayonet at our breast, and cannot reflect a perfect republic.”
Madison sat upright. Perhaps he and Wilson had another ally. He couldn’t have agreed more with the reverend’s first words. The state constitutions were a poor model for a general government, and the expediency of war had caused many states to forego many of the principles of a true republic.
“A plan acceptable to the people must remain faithful to the principles of our present government and the American character.”
These words deflated Madison’s hopes. Was the reverend suggesting that the convention must remain faithful to the Articles of Confederation?
“Any proposition to add kingly power to our federal system should be regarded as treason.”
This sharp statement might be a warning against a strong central government or, more literally, against enthroning an emperor.
“Is the science of government so difficult that we don’t have men among us capable of unfolding its mysteries and binding the states together by mutual interests and obligations? No! God will not abandon us after shepherding us to freedom. I already see the fabric of a free and vigorous government rising out of the wisdom of the Federal Convention.”
Madison decided that the reverend had no particular form of government in mind, only a heartfelt desire to preserve liberty. His reference to the science of government appealed to Madison. He believed that government was something that could be deciphered by analyzing ancient and modern systems. Madison knew he had designed a republic that could protect liberty and endure for generations, but now powerful forces threatened to gut his plan. This was wrong. The national government must represent freemen, not the self-righteous states.
If the young reverend’s intent was to inspire the delegates to rise to the occasion and hold fast to their principles, he had succeeded with at least one in the congregation.
Chapter 25
Thursday, July 5, 1787
Sherman charged into the room and circled his sweat-soaked collar with a finger to get air to his neck. He had rushed to a meeting with Ellsworth, Paterson, and Dickinson at the City Tavern.
“Where’ve you been?” Ellsworth asked.
“My apologies. The Reverend Witherspoon tied me up.”
“What did he want?”
“He believes I should be more tolerant of Madison’s positions.”
“The man should mind his own business,” Paterson said.
“Government is everyone’s business.”
“Not at the moment,” Paterson said. “Did Madison violate our oath of secrecy?”
“Witherspoon seems aware only that there’s discord.”
“That’s still a violation,” Paterson yelled. “It should be reported to Gen. Washington.”
“To what purpose?”
“To quiet the man.” Paterson slapped the table. “That little cat’s-paw ought to be taught a lesson.”
“William, I’ll hear no more of this. As soon as we breach this wall, we’ll need Madison. Opponents are temporary; enemies last a lifetime.”
“We need to be at the State House in a little over an hour,” Dickinson interjected.
“Thank you, John,” Sherman said. “First, the committee will propose a senate with one vote per state.”
“We won,” William Paterson said with a self-satisfied air.
“Not completely. All money bills must originate in the lower house, and the Senate cannot make amendments.”
“That’s outrageous!”
“William, please,” Sherman pleaded. “We gave up the least possible.”
“Does this money bill issue matter?” Ellsworth asked.
“Inconsequential, but important. Inconsequential because the Senate won’t pass a bill they don’t like, so the two houses will have to negotiate behind the scene.”
“Then why’s it important?” Dickinson asked.
“Because Franklin proposed it.”
“That old fogy,” Paterson said. “Why pay that cockeyed storyteller any mind?”
“William, you must adjust your attitude. Your negativism exhausts me.”
“I’ll adjust my attitude after the plan is adjusted.”
“That’s backward. You can’t get your back up every time you don’t get your way. When you throw ill-timed insults, it sets us back.”
“That old man’s opinion’s not important.”
“He’s an astute politician—and tightly tied to Washington.”
Looking like he wanted to protest, Paterson merely asked, “What’s his rationale?”
“Equal suffrage in the Senate could allow the small states to spend large state money. By requiring appropriations to be initiated in the lower house, the large states can protect themselves against our supposed avarice.”
“That’s an empty fear. They can keep their money.”
Sherman sighed. “If the doctor believes it’s a lever, he’ll convince others.”
Ellsworth interrupted. “Do you think we should accept this?”
Sherman felt relieved to answer a question from someone other than Paterson. “We must. The proof is that we barely got the doubtful members to acquiesce.”
“I don’t like concessions,” Paterson said.
“Then find another profession,” Sherman snapped. As he wiped his neck with a handkerchief, Sherman sensed that his patience was about to crack like an eggshell struck with a knife.
“I refuse to sit idle while my country is taken over by Virginia tyrants.”
“William, let’s step outside a minute.”
“I see no need.”
“I insist,” Sherman said with force. Paterson looked like he might make a scene, but instead, he stood and walked out the door. Sherman followed him into the hall. They walked in
stony silence down the stairs and out the back door into a sun so bright, it blurred the sharp edges of buildings. As they stepped into the herb garden, Sherman said, “William, you’re hurting our cause. If you continue to fight my leadership, I’ll exclude you from our deliberations.”
Paterson looked stunned. “I can’t believe what I just heard. We’ve worked together from the beginning.”
“And we’ll work to the end, but only if you accept my leadership.”
“I represent New Jersey.”
“You represent disaster. For me, the convention, and the country.”
“Friends don’t talk to each other like this.”
“Friends talk to each other exactly like this.”
Paterson turned and walked a few steps toward the back of the lot. When he turned around, Paterson didn’t close the space. “You believe I’m a stumbling block?”
“William, you’re a great pile of rubble strewn across the landscape.”
“I fight for principle.”
“Your powder’s wet and your shot’s out of round.”
Paterson gave Sherman a puzzled look and then took a few more steps into the yard. When he turned, he seemed more contrite. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“You let emotion addle your brilliant mind.”
“You think my anger unjustified?”
Sherman shrugged. “Emotion doesn’t help. We need to be coldly detached.”
“And under your leadership?”
“Yes.”
“Give me a reason.”
“Because I’ve established inroads into the opposition, and I can orchestrate the necessary moves.” Sherman closed one step toward Paterson. “I insist on a firm commitment.”
“Or you’ll expel me?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t give a man much room.”
“I’ve given you too much room.”
Paterson stood about ten feet from Sherman. He looked down a moment and then raised a proud head to Sherman. “May I have one condition?”
“What?”
“If the threat to New Jersey becomes imminent, I can withdraw my pledge?”
“If you agree to let me know in advance. No surprise mutiny.”
“I can live with that.”
“Then we have a deal?”
Paterson walked over to where Sherman had remained rooted. Sherman felt relief as he used both hands to grasp Paterson’s outstretched hand. After an enthusiastic shake, Sherman said with a disarming smile, “William, you’re one ornery son of a bitch. Thankfully, you’re our son of a bitch.”
“And you’re a cold bastard. Thankfully you’re on our side.”
With that, Sherman broke into laughter and clasped Paterson around the shoulders, giving him a brotherly hug that was returned, with the addition of a few slaps on his shoulder. “Come on. Let’s rejoin our little party of patriots.”
As they entered the private room, Sherman threw his arm around Paterson and said, “Great idea, William. If you don’t mind, I’ll claim it as my own.”
Sherman saw the look of gratitude in Paterson’s eyes as he said, “By all means.”
“Sorry for the interruption,” Sherman said. “Now where were we?”
“Close to having to leave for the State House,” Dickinson said.
“Yes, well … does anyone have a question?”
“What’s our plan for today?”
“We’ll let the heat dissipate.”
Gerry opened the session by reading their report. Sherman crossed his legs and immediately uncrossed them. His wool pants felt sticky, causing him to glance jealously at Pinckney, looking fresh in his linen suit.
“The committee submits the following report to be considered only in total. In the first branch, each state shall be allowed one member for every forty thousand inhabitants, and each state not containing that number shall be allowed one member.
“Second, all bills for appropriating money shall originate in the first branch, and shall not be altered by the second branch.
“Third, in the second branch, each state shall have an equal vote.”
Gorham asked why the propositions had to be adopted as a package. Gerry bobbed his head and muttered to himself before saying, “If all the elements aren’t adopted together, committee members may withdraw their support.”
“The committee exceeded its authority,” Wilson barked. “We’re not obligated to accept or reject the report in total. I move to divide the resolutions for separate votes.”
Madison spoke with more emotion than Sherman had ever heard from the diminutive scholar. “The origination of money bills in the lower house is meaningless. If the small states believe this a concession, they’re wrong! If both branches must say yes, it is of little consequence which says yes first.” In a rare display, Madison raised his voice. “All my objections against an equal voice in the Senate stand!”
Sherman marveled at Madison’s quick mind. He had skewered the meaningless concession in his first breath.
Madison bounced across the front of the chamber. “It’s fruitless to purchase immediate accord in exchange for everlasting discord.” As was his habit, Madison stopped his pacing in front of his table to signal that he was about to conclude his remarks. “Gentlemen, the small states won’t court foreign powers as Mr. Paterson threatened. They’ll make noise for a time, but they won’t defy sound republican principles.”
Gouverneur Morris gained the floor and thumped his wooden leg around before beginning. “This report is fatally flawed. The whole aspect is wrong! The states were originally nothing but colonial corporations. Upon the Declaration of Independence, governments were formed. The small states took advantage of the moment and demanded equality.” The usually amiable Morris glared at the delegates. “As proposed, the Senate will undermine the general government. Germany proves my point. The Germans share a common language, common law, common manners, and common interests, yet their local jurisdictions destroy every tie. The case was the same in the Grecian states. As we speak, the United Netherlands is torn into factions. Do you wish the same here?”
Morris stomped his leg with the force of a gavel. “Good God, sirs, is it possible we so delude ourselves? Who can say whether he himself, much less his children, will next year inhabit this state or that state? This country must unite. If persuasion does not unite it, the sword will.”
Morris directed his glare at Paterson. “What part foreign powers might take in a conflict, I cannot say. Mr. Paterson has thrown this threat at us.” Turning to the full assembly, Morris softened his tone. “Gentlemen, I came here as a citizen of America. Are we here to bargain for our states? No. We’re here to build a nation.”
Paterson signaled that he wanted to defend himself. “Gentleman, I’ve been misunderstood. I didn’t mean that New Jersey would court foreign powers. I only meant that foreign nations might use the abandoned states to apply pressure to the states that do unite. Lastly, I must ask some allowance for my profession. Heated exchanges are natural for prosecuting attorneys. If I may so humbly suggest, an apology is also due from Gouverneur Morris for his statement that the sword would force the small states to unite.”
Sherman accepted Paterson’s comments as an attempt to live up to his pledge on Sunday, but it was a far reach to interpret his words as an apology. He didn’t believe Morris would feel obliged to follow suit.
Mason spoke in a sensible, matter-of-fact voice. “Despite objections, the report is preferable to different sides appealing to the world for armed support.” A touch of melancholy crept into Mason’s final words, making them personal and heartfelt. “It’s highly inconvenient for me to remain absent from my private affairs, but I promise to bury my bones in this city rather than see my country dissolve. We must yield on some point for the sake of accommodation.”
Gouverneur Morris refused to relent and attacked the report from yet another direction. “Property is the main purpose of society. People renounce absolute liberty for the sak
e of property.” Morris paused a few beats. “Gentlemen, if property is the main object of government, then property ought to influence government. In addition to the number of inhabitants, property ought to be taken into account when determining representation.
“If you’ll allow me an additional point—” Morris glanced toward Washington, then returned his attention to the delegates in front of him. “I also fear new states. The rule of representation ought to secure the Atlantic states a permanent majority in the national councils. Some might say this is unjust, but the western settlers will know the conditions in advance.”
Wilson adjusted his glasses and stood for a long moment to collect his thoughts. “Gentleman, if the interior country should acquire population, then it has the right to govern, whether we like it or not. The same jealousy just displayed in this chamber misled Great Britain. And what were the consequences? Separation. We will suffer the same results if we pursue a self-serving policy.”
Mason, someone Sherman admired for always being reasonable, supported the self-important Wilson. “When the western states are made part of the union, they must be admitted on an equal footing. It’s impossible to rig the sails of our nationhood in a way that favors those in this room. At least, not without restricting the horizons of our empire.”
Mason had offered the alternatives: build an expansive empire or crowd together along the Atlantic. The western territories could be made into colonies and ruled as the British had ruled the American colonies, but the irony of that solution escaped no one. Sherman gave Mason a friendly nod as he jostled his way toward the exit after a long day.
Sherman didn’t bother to knock on the door but walked directly behind the house to the mulberry tree. As expected, Franklin sat in his overstuffed chair, enjoying the waning light with a hot cup of tea.
“Good evening, Mr. Sherman. Would you care for tea or something stronger?”
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