Tempest at Dawn (23 page)

Madison gave Sherman an odd look and then
said, “I was heartened to hear that you promised Washington to keep
the small states in assembly.”

“
James, you have put your best efforts
into an innovative system. I disagree with many aspects, but I
admire the logic.”

“
Thank you, Roger. Enjoy the rest of
your stroll.”

Sherman surprised Madison by extending his
hand. Before grasping it, Madison stole a glance behind him. After
a hasty waggle, he rejoined Hamilton.

“
What was that about?” Dickinson asked
after Sherman had rejoined him.

“
Mr. James Madison, Esquire, has
launched a courtship. He wishes to sway me to the other
side.”

“
The nerve!”

“
The brilliance.”

Chapter 14

Monday, June 4, 1787

“
We’re going too far in this
business!”

Keeping his head bent over his notes,
Madison peeked up at his friend and fellow Virginian, George Mason.
The Virginia delegation seemed to be unraveling. Mason and Randolph
feared a powerful executive and supported a council of three men.
Arriving late that day, Mason’s ire had been raised when he
discovered that the convention had approved a single executive in
his absence.

The professorial Wilson had solidly argued
the case for a single executive by pointing out that all thirteen
states had one executive, and that if there were three equal
members, they would fight relentlessly for control, and two might
never agree. The logic convinced the assembly to approve a single
executive.

Mason had started his tirade after Hamilton
proposed an absolute veto for the single executive. “Do the
gentlemen mean monarchy? Do you believe the people will consent to
such an outrage? They’ll never consent. Never!”

Due to his gout, Dr. Franklin spoke while
seated. “I have experience with an absolute veto in Pennsylvania.
The governor constantly used his veto to extort money. When the
Indians scalped people in the West, the governor withheld defensive
measures until the legislature exempted his estate from taxation.
People fought for their lives while he smugly bore no share of the
tax to field a militia.”

Franklin turned around in his seat to look
at the delegates behind him. “We must not vest too much power in
the executive. The first man we put at the helm will be a good one,
but nobody knows what sort of fellow might follow.”

Everyone looked at Washington, who continued
to sit impassively after Franklin’s allusion to the first man at
the helm.

After Sherman said he was against any one
man stopping the will of the entire legislature, Madison
reluctantly rose to offer a compromise.

“
A proper proportion of each branch
being allowed to overrule the executive would serve the same
purpose as an absolute veto.”

The convention gratefully approved an
executive veto, with an override by two-thirds of each branch of
the legislature. Another emotional issue barely circumvented. Could
nothing proceed without bitter debate?

Most of the delegates had already left the
chamber when Madison approached a brooding Mason. “George, perhaps
you could take a moment and look at my notes from this morning’s
session.”

“
To what purpose?”

Madison extended a couple pages toward
Mason. “Wilson presented a reasoned case for a single executive. I
thought you might like to see his arguments.”

Mason made no attempt to accept the notes.
“Wilson had his say; I did not.”

“
I would’ve talked until you arrived,
but I thought you were going to be absent the entire
day.”

Mason ripped the pages from Madison’s hand
and quickly scanned the notes. When angry, Mason took on the
demeanor of a pouty aristocrat. Although they were longtime allies,
Madison often cringed at his friend’s overt hostility toward people
with different opinions. Mason’s arrogant nature repelled men who
would otherwise be on his side.

“
The points are valid but not
convincing.”

“
If you had been present, the motion
would still have passed.”

“
Do you denigrate my debating
skills?”

“
I didn’t mean that.” Madison
recovered his pages and put them back in their proper sequence.
“Ask for a reconsideration.”

“
I’ll think about it,” Mason said in
his haughty manner.

“
In the future, I’ll move to postpone
when you’re absent.”

“
I’d expect that of a true
colleague.”

In an attempt to diminish the quarrel,
Madison added, “And you could return the favor. I tend to get
carried away. I’d appreciate it if you tugged my coattails when I
get too excited.”

“
Then I recommend you stay by our
table and cease scampering around like a squirrel.” Mason stood,
pulled his coat taut, and tramped out of the chamber.

As Madison gathered up his materials, he
felt someone tap his shoulder. The fingers belonged to Gouverneur
Morris.

“
Jemmy, my good man, may we
talk?”

“
Of course. At the Indian
Queen?”

“
No, this won’t take long. Let’s step
into the library.”

The two men opened a door to the left of the
dais.

“
They’ll probably name this the
Washington Door,” Morris chuckled.

Madison understood Morris’s reference. When
Washington had been nominated as commander in chief of the
Continental Army, he had bashfully left the chamber by this door,
the same from which he had made his grand entrance on the second
day of the convention. Beyond the door was a narrow, dingy library,
housed in a temporary lean-to structure scheduled for demolition
after the Philosophical Society building was finished. Aside from
clerks, hardly anyone except Washington used the door.

The dank room contained two wooden chairs
pushed against the wall. Morris pulled a chair out and ungracefully
plopped onto the seat, extending his inflexible wooden leg to the
side. Madison set his valise on the floor and sat with his legs
crossed and his hands clasped in his lap.

“
What can I do for you,
Gouverneur?”

“
I’m disturbed by the lack of
discipline in the Virginia delegation.”

“
If you’ll excuse me, I think you
might be overreacting. It’s natural to have a few disagreements on
specific points.”

“
Dissension within our ranks plays
into our opponents’ hands,” Morris argued.

”
A little turbulence is
unavoidable.”

“
It
is
avoidable.”

Some aspects of the last few days had
disturbed Madison, but he saw no damage. They still plodded ahead.
Today they had approved a single executive, worked out a compromise
on the veto, and established a supreme judiciary.

“
Randolph and Mason stand firmly with
us, but you must be tolerant when they voice disagreement,” he
said. “Even Dr. Franklin argued against an executive
veto.”

“
I’m not talking about Randolph or
Mason. I’m talking about you.”

“
Me?”

“
Yes, it’s your vacillation I wish to
address.”

Madison uncrossed his legs and laid his
hands on alternate knees. “I’m at a loss.”

“
Last Thursday, you disagreed with
resolution six. Why did you abandon the use of force?”

“
Why did you wait until now to discuss
it?”

“
I just found out that I must leave
for a time to settle an estate matter. I wanted to talk to you
before I leave in case the resolution reemerges before my
return.”

“
When do you leave?”

“
Thursday. Jemmy, why did you abandon
our cause?”

Madison shifted once more, this time leaning
forward with his elbows resting on his knees, hands folded under
his chin. He had to handle this carefully.

“
The new government will be granted
power from the people and act directly upon the people. The states
don’t act as an intermediary. The resolution had no purpose in the
grand scheme, and it generated resistance.”

“
That’s foolish. The states ignore
Congress. You’re repeating past mistakes.”

“
Means other than arms will be
strengthened.”

“
They won’t suffice. How can you
delude yourself?”

“
We’ll weaken state sovereignty until
it’s no longer a factor.”

“
You don’t understand.” Morris moved
his leg and leaned forward as well. “Power and arms are synonymous.
Without force, people defy rulers.”

“
The people won’t defy a government of
their own choosing.”

“
Jemmy, for god’s sake, they
choose
the current
government.”

“
A republic doesn’t force obedience
through arms.”

“
The government will never use arms
against its children, but without the threat, states will continue
to ignore higher authority.”

“
Obedience
must
come freely.”

“
You believe this?”

“
Yes.”

“
You disappoint me. I was led to
believe you had brought the perfect plan to
Philadelphia.”

“
I never claimed divine wisdom. I
expected the details to evolve with deliberation, minds changed,
improvements made. The flesh of the plan can be transformed as long
as the skeletal framework remains intact.”

Morris weighed Madison’s statements for a
moment. “I see a discouraging inflexibility.” With that, Morris
stood to leave the room. “I hope you don’t live to regret
this.”

Madison sat for a moment, wondering if he
had harmed his relationship with Morris. No, other issues would
soon emerge to push this one into distant memory. Still, in arguing
the case, he had convinced himself that Washington was right. Means
other than force had to be designed into the system to make the
states comply with federal intentions.

The next day started with the judiciary.
Again, the chamber divided into two parts: those who supported a
legislative appointment and those who insisted that the executive
select the judiciary. In his usual manner, Franklin told an
anecdote to relieve the tension.

“
Gentlemen, please, the answer to this
dilemma is obvious. We must follow Scotland. The Scots are wise and
noble—ingenious as well. As I understand their custom, all the
lawyers throughout the land select the most prosperous of their
profession for judiciary appointment.”

Franklin peered over the top of his glasses;
his hallmark twinkling eye told his audience that an amusing remark
was but a breath away. “This guarantees the selection of the most
able jurists—and gets rid of them so the remaining lawyers can
divvy up their lucrative practice.”

Madison laughed with the rest as he captured
the moment in his journal. It occurred to him that his notes
flattened the tone of the proceedings. It would be history’s task
to overlay emotion onto his sterile record.

With their usual predilection to put
off difficult issues, the delegates voted to postpone deciding how
to select the judiciary. They moved to the most crucial element of
Madison’s plan:
ratification of the new Constitution
by conventions appointed by the people.

Sherman presented the opposing argument.
“Fellow delegates, this measure is unnecessary. Approval by
Congress and the state legislatures is all that’s required. There’s
no need for undue complications.”

Madison rebutted. “I beg to differ with my
esteemed colleague from Connecticut. This provision is essential.
Only the supreme authority of the people can ratify our new
Constitution.”

Madison caught Sherman’s eye. “The Articles
are a defective foundation because they’re a treaty between
sovereign states.”

Madison had espoused the small state
position. Sherman must wonder where he was going with this
argument. “Under the well-established doctrine of treaties, the
breach of any one article
by any
member
absolves all parties from further obligation.
For example,” Madison paused and looked directly at Paterson, “New
Jersey’s refusal to pay their tax is such a breach.”

Madison let the point echo around the
chamber. “Gentlemen, this convention doesn’t pose a threat to the
union. The terminal threat to the Articles is buried within
itself.” Stretching out his arm, Madison slowly waved his hand
across the chamber. “Any member can destroy the Articles at will.
Is that the authority you wish to ratify our new Constitution? I
think not. It’s a tottering illusion.”

Madison looked around and was pleased to see
that he held everyone’s attention. “We must submit our Constitution
to an unassailable authority, the supreme fountainhead, the
strength of our great nation. Gentlemen, we must submit it directly
to the people!”

Madison sat to a satisfying burst of
applause. Sherman remained stolid, making no effort to recapture
the floor. Instead, Gerry spoke. At first, he presented the case
that the state legislatures had been picked by the people and were
their agents. Their instructions required approval by the states.
By emphasizing state approval, Gerry deflected Madison’s assault on
Congress, a good debate tactic. But then Gerry digressed to another
diatribe against commoners.