Ratification of the Constitution

When the Constitutional Convention sent the Constitution to the Confederation Congress in late September 1787, controversy immediately broke out about whether Congress should recommend it to the states. Several members argued that the Convention had gone far beyond its assigned task and that the Constitution was a threat to liberty and to republican government; consequently, they said, either Congress should not transmit the Constitution at all or it should recommend against its adoption. James Madison, who was not only a member of the Confederation Congress from Virginia but also a just-returned delegate from the Constitutional Convention, successfully argued that Congress should merely send the Constitution to the states without comment, thus leaving to the people the decision whether or not to adopt the new form of government.

The Convention had provided in Article VII that the Constitution should be ratified by the people of each state in conventions specially called for that purpose. The alternative would have been ratification by state legislatures. But the Convention delegates shrewdly recognized that the legislatures would probably reject the Constitution out of hand. So they adopted an idea first put forward in the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780: the constitutional ratifying convention – an affirmation of faith in the general public's judgment.

At the time there were no clearly organized political parties, though loose networks of like-thinking politicians existed across state boundaries. Supporters of the new Constitution quickly seized on the name Federalists and stigmatized their opponents by referring to them as Anti-Federalists – the implication being that many of them wanted to break up the Union into several regional confederacies. Though they fought back, the Anti-Federalists could never rid themselves of the label.

The ratification debates were marked by high-minded intellectual argument and no-holds-barred political maneuvers. In Pennsylvania, for example, there were not enough Anti-Federal members of the state legislature to block the calling of a ratifying convention directly, but there were enough to deprive the legislature of a quorum if they all stayed home. The Federalist legislators angrily directed the sergeant at arms to locate and apprehend two Anti-Federal legislators, the minimum number needed to complete the quorum. Accompanied by a cheering mob, the sergeant at arms broke into a locked rooming house and seized the two men, who were held until their votes against calling a convention could be recorded. The ratification battle was conducted in the press, through broadsides and by pamphlets getting forth the arguments of both sides. The Letters of the Federal Farmer by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia was the most important Anti-Federalist publication. The most significant of the Federalist publications was The Federalist, a series of eighty-five newspaper essays written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.

The first five states to ratify – Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Connecticut - did so unanimously or by overwhelming majorities. Massachusetts proved far more difficult; the final vote for ratification (187 to 168) came about only after the Federalists suggested that their opponents prepare a series of proposed amendments to be affixed to the Constitution for consideration should it actually be ratified. Soon thereafter, Maryland and South Carolina ratified by wide margins. New Hampshire, on June 21, 1788, became the ninth state to ratify, thus putting the new constitution into operation under the terms of Article VII. But Virginia and New York, the largest and richest of all the states, had not yet taken action, and a nation without either or both could not survive.

James Madison and Edmund Randolph led the fight for ratification in the Virginia convention. Opposing them were George Mason, who had refused to sign the Constitution, Richard Henry Lee, and above all Patrick Henry, the leading orator of his time. Henry and Madison battled for weeks, until Virginia finally was persuaded by the cogency of Madison rather than by the sometimes incoherent remarks of Henry. On June 25, before word of New Hampshire's ratification arrived – but after adopting a twenty-article declaration of rights and twenty other amendments – Virginia's ratifying convention adopted the Constitution by a vote of 89 to 79.

Alexander Hamilton led the fight for ratification in New York, with the assistance of John Jay, the most respected Federalist political figure in the state. They wisely delayed the vote on ratification until news arrived of the ratifications of New Hampshire and Virginia. The Federalists then carried the day by a vote of 30 to 27, though New York's ratification was conditional on the consideration of proposed amendments by the new Congress.

North Carolina and Rhode Island failed at first to ratify the Constitution. North Carolina's first ratifying convention chose to keep the state in a kind of abeyance, and Rhode Island refused even to authorize the election of such a convention.

Congress at first declined to impose federal tariffs and other customs duties on goods entering the United States from Rhode Island and North Carolina. Then customs restrictions on goods from those states were passed in the summer and fall of 1789 – though only some minor restrictions were actually imposed, as a moratorium on imposing the others was adopted to encourage the two states to come into line.

North Carolina was the first to relent; the state had always been less rigidly Anti-Federalist than had Rhode Island. In fact, North Carolina had sent a delegation to the Constitutional Convention and had appointed commissioners to observe closely the actions of the new government. Despite the expectations of Anti-Federalists, the United States seemed all too able to do without the two holdout states, and the campaign for a second constitutional convention failed. Eventually Federalists succeeded in calling a second ratifying convention, which met in November 1789. Its delegates adopted the Constitution, 194 to 77.

Rhode Island proved far more stubborn, using excuses and delaying tactics. Congress's implied threat to remove its moratorium on major trade barriers against the state gave impetus to the Rhode Island Federalists' campaign to call a state ratifying convention. By then, the proposal to attach a bill of rights to the Constitution had removed one of Rhode Island's main objections. The ratifying convention was finally scheduled to meet in May 1790 – though, worried that the convention might reject the Constitution, Providence and Newport, the state's largest cities, threatened to secede if that did happen. The convention, however, did ratify the Constitution, by the narrow vote of 34 to 32. And so Rhode Island, one of the first states to declare its independence from England in 1776, became the last of the original states to ratify the Constitution.

LANGUAGE PRACTICE AND COMPREHENSION CHECK

useful vocabulary

controversy, affirmation, to rid oneself of, to stigmatize, implication,

to seize on, to apprehend, cogency, to secede, to relent, holdout, impetus, to deprive (of)

TASK I. a) Match the words to their definitions:

1) controversy, 2) affirmation, 3) to rid oneself of, 4) to stigmatize, 5) implication,

6) to seize on, 7) to apprehend, 8) cogency, 9) to secede, 10) to relent, 11) holdout, 12) impetus, 13) to deprive (of):

a) the assertion that something exists or is true;

b) to take into custody; arrest by legal warrant or authority;

c) the quality or state of being relevant, pertinent, to the point;

d) dispute, debate concerning a matter of opinion;

e) smth implied or suggested as naturally being inferred or understood;

f) to clear or free oneself of something objectionable;

g) to take advantage of promptly;

h) to remove or withhold something from the enjoyment or possession of;

i) to set some mark of disgrace, a stain or reproach as on one's reputation;

j) to soften in determination, to become more mild;

k) 1) a person or a party who delays signing a contract in hope of gaining more favorable terms; 2) a person who declines to participate in a group activity or undertaking;

l) impulse, stimulus;

m) to withdraw formally from an alliance, federation or association, as from a political union.

b) Translate the following sentences, use the GLOSSARY:

1. The Court, rather, has adopted an ad hoc balancing approach: “We can do little more than identify some of the factors which courts should assess in determining whether a particular defendant has been deprived of his right.

2. The Court unanimously, but with varying expressions of opinion, held that conviction by a unanimous five-person jury in a trial for a non-petty offense deprived an accused of his right to trial by jury.

3. This “two term” idea began when George Washington voluntarily retired from the presidency after being elected twice and serving eight years. Thomas Jefferson seized on Washington’s action and, in a public letter, elevated it to a tradition that prevailed until Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for a third term in 1940.

4. Justice Harlan stated emphatically that to allow a statute such as Section 415 stand would create the risky situation of allowing the government to potentially seize on the “censorship of particular words as a convenient guise for banning the expression of unpopular views.”

5. In some situations, law-enforcement officials must use deadly force to apprehend or stop an individual.

6. At stake in the Civil War was the survival of the United States of America as a single nation. Eleven Southern states, invoking the spirit of 1776, seceded from the Union in 1861 to form a nation they named the Confederate States of America.

7. The abortion controversy divides people into seemingly irreconcilable camps of those who sponsor family values and the rights of the unborn versus those who champion women’s individual rights and choice.

8. Government initiatives in medicine produced controversy about vaccinations, blood transfusions, and life-saving measures. Finally, ethnically diverse immigration produced urbanization patterns that heightened controversies over religious solicitation, religious displays in public places, and coercive religious expression in government-sponsored public forums.

9. The issue of the scope of impeachable offenses was early joined as a consequence of the Jefferson Administration’s efforts to rid itself of some of the Federalist judges who were propagandizing the country through grand jury charges and other means.

10. Like all oft-repeated truths, the argument has in time lost something of its actuality and cogency.

11. The impetus for including the commerce clause in the Constitution was the economic turmoil that prevailed under the Articles of Confederation.

12. The impetus for the strict scrutiny standard came from Supreme Court Justice Harlan Fiske Stone’s ruling in the case United States v. Carolene Products Co.

13. Subsequent to the Georgia Supreme Court’s affirmation of his conviction and sentence, McCleskey’s lawyers filed a petition for habeas corpus review in the United States District Court.

14. The Senate cannot originate an appointment. Its constitutional action is confined to the simple affirmation or rejection of the President’s nominations, and such nominations fail whenever it rejects them.

15. With regard to salaries, although there is no specific amount set for the president or vice president, Article II states that the president (and by implication the vice president) shall be compensated for services rendered; however, the amount of compensation shall remain constant during the term of office and that no other compensations may be received during this period.

16. Although the Supreme Court continued to clash with the Ohio Supreme Court over the contractual nature of the bank taxes, it became clear that the main issue at hand was not whether these taxes violated the contract clause. Rather, it had more to do with whether the state supreme courts had the final word over the construction of the contract clause and, by implication, the Constitution.

17. Classifications of citizens based solely on race are by their nature odious to a free people whose institutions are founded upon the doctrine of equality. Such classifications threaten to stigmatize persons by reason of their membership in a racial group and to incite racial hostility.

18. Even if the first trial is not completed, a second prosecution may be grossly unfair. It increases the financial and emotional burden on the accused, prolongs the period in which he is stigmatized by an unresolved accusation of wrongdoing, and may even enhance the risk that an innocent defendant may be convicted.

19. “Antlike persistency” is a patents slang expression which means the steady tenacity of a patent practitioner or applicant who tries to wear down the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by prosecuting patent claims in the hope that the Office will eventually relent.

20. The Court observed that Congress, as well as state legislatures and state courts, are free to adopt privileges for reporters. Although efforts in Congress have failed, 49 states have done so — 33 (plus the District of Columbia) by statute and 16 by court decision, with Wyoming the sole holdout.

TASK II. Match the phrasal verbs to their definitions; find them in the text and translate the sentences with them:

to break out as in: …controversy broke out…-

to break up as in: …to break up the Union…

to break into as in: … broke into the locked house…

- to enter by force;

- to begin abruptly, arise;

- to divide into pieces, to put an end to;

TASK III. Match the words from the text to their synonyms:

1) immediately

2) to transmit

3) shrewdly

4) to get forth

5) to put into operation

6) under the terms of

7) fight

8) to sign

9) to come into line

10) eventually

11) significant

a) wisely

b) finally

c) to join the rest

d) battle

e) to put forward

f) important

g) to give effect

h) to endorse

i) important

j) to pass

k) according to the provisions of

TASK IV. Make up new collocations with the words in bold type; identify the adjectives closest in the meaning to the adjective in the head phrase:

1) incoherent remarks – brief, passing, occasional casual, careless, tactless, derogatory, insulting, nasty, offensive, pointed, complementary, encouraging, innocent, critical, controversial, illogical, irrelevant, cynical, odd, silly, funny, rude, racist, sexist, defamatory;

2) overwhelming majority – handsome, huge, large, vast, massive, substantial, comfortable, decisive, clear, narrow, slender, slight, slim, tiny, wafer-thin, ten-seat, three-to-one, two-thirds, absolute, outright, overall, simple, working, parliamentary, government, Conservative, Labour, Republican, Democratic, etc., necessary, requisite;

3) loose networks – extensive, large, vast, wide, widespread, elaborate, intricate, dense, global, local, national, worldwide, strong, formal, informal, well- or poorly-organized;

4) like-thinking politicians – leading, prominent, outstanding, senior, experienced, influential, astute, clever, shrewd, corrupt, professional, left-wing, Labour, Conservative, etc.;

5) wide margins – comfortable, considerable, greater, huge, large, wide, narrow, slim, small, clear, safe;

6) cheering mob – angry, hostile, unruly, aggressive

TASK V. Use the text to complete the following:

1. Controversy immediately broke out…

2. Convention had gone far beyond …

3. Congress should recommend against …

4. James Madison successfully argued that….

5. According to Article VII of the Constitution …

6. State legislatures could have rejected the Constitution out of hand if …

7. The opponents of the new Constitution…

8. The ratification campaign …

9. Anti-federal legislators in Pennsylvania…

10. The sergeant at arms…

11. The new Constitution went into force…

TASK VI. Paraphrase the sentences given below without changing the original sense:

1. The Convention had provided in Article VII that the Constitution should be ratified by the people of each state in conventions specially called for that purpose.

In compliance with Article VII of the Constitution … .

2. New Hampshire, on June 21, 1788, became the ninth state to ratify, thus putting the new constitution into operation under the terms of Article VII.

The new Constitution took effect when ….

3. In Massachusetts the final vote for ratification came about only after the Federalists suggested that their opponents prepare a series of proposed amendments to be affixed to the Constitution for consideration should it actually be ratified.

Anti-Federalists of Massachusetts agreed to vote for ratification under the condition that … .

4. But Virginia and New York, the largest and richest of all the states, had not yet taken action, and a nation without either or both could not survive.

A new nation could survive … .

5. Alexander Hamilton led the fight for ratification in New York, with the assistance of John Jay, the most respected Federalist political figure in the state. They wisely delayed the vote on ratification until news arrived of the ratifications of New Hampshire and Virginia.

New York ratified the Constitution due to the efforts of … .

The vote on ratification was taken when … .

6. New York's ratification was conditional on the consideration of proposed amendments by the new Congress.

The Constitution was ratified by New York providing … .

TASK VII. Translate the following passages:

1). James Madison, who was not only a member of the Confederation Congress from Virginia but also a just-returned delegate from the Constitutional Convention, successfully argued that Congress should merely send the Constitution to the states without comment, thus leaving to the people the decision whether or not to adopt the new form of government.

2). So they adopted an idea first put forward in the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780: the constitutional ratifying convention – an affirmation of faith in the general public's judgment.

3). The ratification debates were marked by high-minded intellectual argument and no-holds-barred political maneuvers.

4). At the time there were no clearly organized political parties, though loose networks of like-thinking politicians existed across state boundaries.

5). Supporters of the new Constitution quickly seized on the name Federalists and stigmatized their opponents by referring to them as Anti-Federalists – the implication being that many of them wanted to break up the Union into several regional confederacies.

6). Soon thereafter, Maryland and South Carolina ratified by wide margins.

TASK VIII. a) Characterize the following political leaders as Federalists or Anti-Federalists; b) Describe their role in the ratification campaign:

1. James Madison

2. Richard Henry Lee

3. John Jay

4. Alexander Hamilton

5. Edmund Randolph

6. George Mason

7. Patrick Henry

TASK IX. a) List the states in the order of their ratification of the Constitution; use the information from the text to prove your point:

1) New Hampshire, 2) North Carolina, 3) South Carolina, 4) Virginia, 5) Pennsylvania, 6) Rhode Island, 7) Connecticut, 8) New Jersey, 9) New York, 10) Delaware, 11) Maryland, 12) Georgia, 13) Massachusetts.

b) Describe the ratification processes in some of the states listed above; name the political leaders where possible.

c) Add states to the following vote results:

TEXT 5

Date: 2015-02-16; view: 637