The effect of their manoeuvres, with
the defective attendance of Deputies from the States, resulted in
the measure of calling a more general convention, to be held at
Philadelphia. At this the same party exhibited the same practices, and
with the same views of preventing a government of concord, which they
foresaw would be republican, and of forcing: through anarchy their way
to monarchy. But the mass of that convention was too honest, too wise,
and too steady, to be baffled and misled by their manoeuvres. One of
these was a form of government proposed by Colonel Hamilton, which would
have been in fact a compromise between the two parties of royalism and
republicanism. According to this, the executive and one branch of the
legislature were to be during good behavior, i.e. for life, and the
governors of the States were to be named by these two permanent organs.
This, however, was rejected; on which Hamilton left the convention, as
desperate, and never returned again until near its final conclusion.
These opinions and efforts, secret or avowed, of the advocates for
monarchy, had begotten great jealousy through the States generally;
and this jealousy it was, which excited the strong opposition to the
conventional constitution; a jealousy which yielded at last only to
a general determination to establish certain amendments, as barriers
against a government either monarchical or consolidated.
Pages:
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747