Chapter 13 4. How should the cake be divided?

The so-called how the cake should be divided is actually how the seats in the parliament should be allocated. Here, we must explain the concept of "government".The national government to be established by the Constitutional Convention, or the government of the United States, is called Government.This government is not the same concept as the government in our country's four sets of teams (party committee, government, people's congress, and political consultative conference).Their government, including the legislative, executive, and judiciary, is collectively called the US government or the federal government.Of these three branches, the most important again is the legislative branch (Congress), at least in the eyes of the delegates to the Constituent Assembly.Therefore, how to establish the Congress has become the focus of discussion, and the focus of debate lies in the distribution of seats.Because everyone understands that whoever holds the majority of seats controls the country.

This is of course indisputable.In fact, the so-called struggle between civil rights and state power, or between state power and state power, or even democracy and republic, is, to put it bluntly, a struggle for seats.There are two ways to arrange seats, one is based on population or wealth, and is allocated according to a certain ratio; for example, every 40,000 people elect one member of parliament, this is called the proportional system.There is also a system of equality, regardless of size, rich or poor, each state has one vote, and states are equal.Both the proportional system and the equal system have reason and basis.The proportional system is based on democratic principles.Since democracy is desired, the number of public opinion representatives (members of parliament) should of course be allocated according to the population of voters.The republican principle on which equality is based.Since there is a republic, the sovereignty of each state should be equal.What's more, the so-called United States of America as a confederation was originally a union of equal states with one vote per state.Therefore, whether it is the Confederate Congress or this constitutional convention, once a vote is required, votes are counted by state.

Such a voting method is the focus of Madison's reform.Because Madison’s original idea was to establish a unitary nation-state and turn 13 states into administrative regions similar to provinces. How could they agree to one vote per state?What's more, this voting method is obviously beneficial to small states, and it is not fair to large states.So as soon as the meeting started (May 30), Madison, Randolph, and Hamilton, among others, raised the issue.They either advocated an explicit provision that "seats in the National Assembly be allocated in proportion to the population", or suggested wording that "the allocation of seats in the National Assembly no longer follows the current system".But no matter how you say it, the meaning is the same.Madison made it clear that whatever the reasons for the equal suffrage in the first place, a union of sovereign states would always be a confederacy.This state of affairs must cease now that we are establishing the supreme government of the country.

This immediately caused Xiaobang's dissatisfaction.Delaware even threatened to withdraw the regiment and leave.We have explained this before.Madison and the others had no choice but to avoid this topic first.Fortunately, everyone basically agreed to establish a national supreme government. Even Delaware voted for it, and only Connecticut and New York's Yates opposed it.The next day (May 31), it was unanimously agreed to implement a bicameral system in the National Parliament.In this way, it is possible to discuss separately the methods for the selection of members of the two chambers.

Randolph's proposal on behalf of Virginia was for members of the first house of the national legislature (the House of Representatives) to be elected by the people of each state.This proposal was immediately opposed by Sherman, whose situation we have already described.He was a Connecticut representative and a veteran revolutionary leader who participated in the First and Second Continental Congresses and was a member of the drafting committees for the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.The old revolutionary was born in poverty. When he was young, he opened a shop, worked as a carpenter, blacksmith, and land surveyor. When he earned money, he printed papers and almanacs at his own expense, and printed his observations on the universe and poems on them.He opened a restaurant and bookstore at Yale University, and also worked as a lawyer and judge, and he has been a Connecticut justice and mayor of New Haven.Pierce's "Character Description of the Representatives of the Constitutional Convention" said that Sherman has an ugly appearance, expressionless face, strange behavior, and peculiar personality. Praise", because "there is no one else with such a good heart and clear mind".He has rules to follow, his thinking is integrated, his debating skills are extraordinary, and he speaks penetratingly. He is a very prestigious old comrade.

Sherman was the first to oppose the "Virginia Plan", before Paterson and Lansing.When discussing whether to establish a supreme government, the two representatives of the Connecticut delegation, Sherman and Ellsworth, both voted against it, which shows that they did not even agree with the first political resolution of the Constitutional Convention.Wilson proposed that members be elected by the people, and Sherman also opposed it.He believed that the common people had absolutely no hand in establishing a government.This statement was endorsed by Gerry of Massachusetts.Gerry is also a naysayer, and he has been mentioned many times before.Gerry outright opposed democracy, arguing that "the crimes we have experienced are all due to the excessive proliferation of democracy."For peoples who are not devoid of virtue are always bewitched by conspirators.

Sherman and Gerry's views were refuted by Mason, Wilson and Madison.Mason and Wilson insisted that members of the First House be elected by the people.Because "the First House is the greatest treasure house of the government's democratic principles" (Mason), "without the support of the people, no government can last long" (Wilson).Madison argued that for a free government at least one house must be elected by the people.As for the second court, administrators and judges, other methods can be considered.Madison's attitude is extremely important, because it is tantamount to opening the door for the "two houses, two systems" plan.

The committee of the whole voted on the proposal.Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia 6 states in favor, New Jersey, South Carolina 2 states against, Connecticut, Delaware 2 states in favour, and Maryland has no voting record. On May 31st there should be four delegates from Massachusetts—Rufus King, Gorham, Strong, Gerry.Massachusetts voted for it, indicating that Gerry was the only one against.A 50/50 vote in Connecticut means Ayersworth voted for it.Clearly, Sherman and Gerry were in the minority on this issue. So Wilson decided to make persistent efforts and proposed that both houses of the national parliament should be elected by the people.But this time it didn't go so smoothly.Even the original plan of "the second house is nominated by the state legislatures and the first house is elected" failed to pass, and was opposed by Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, and Georgia. Only Massachusetts, Virginia and South Carolina voted in favor.

Not only that, on June 6, Charles Pinckney and Rutledge of South Carolina made a big rebuttal, proposing that "members of the First House of the National Assembly should be elected by the state assemblies, not by the people."It is not surprising that South Carolina, which originally opposed the election of representatives by the people, proposed this motion.However, their supporters are not many, and even Gerry has changed his attitude, supporting the election of members of the House of Representatives by the people, but hopes that the Senate will be elected in a different way.As a result of the vote, 8 states opposed it, and 3 states, Connecticut, New Jersey, and South Carolina, voted in favor.The meeting rejected the proposals of Charles Pinckney and Rutledge.The previous vote affirmed Randolph's plan, and this vote negated the objection, and it became a conclusion that the members of the House of Representatives were elected by the people.

On the surface, this vote is not a small victory for Madison and Wilson.Because the results of the vote not only reaffirmed their plan, but also increased the number of states that supported them from 6 to 8.What is particularly gratifying is that Delaware changed from being in favor of it to being in support, and New York did not sing against them because of Lansing's presence.But Madison and Wilson should be aware that their victory came at a price.Delaware, which was in favor of the opposition, certainly stood up, and Connecticut, which was also in favor of the opposition, also stood over.More importantly, many of the opposition supported them in order to bargain with them on issues in the other house (the Senate).That is to say, Congressman, we agree with your plan, and the people will elect it; Senators, you can no longer be elected by the people, and you have to agree with our plan.

This level of meaning has already been expressed by Gerry, and Dickinson will explain it more clearly.Dickinson's situation was briefly mentioned earlier.He was the early spiritual leader of the American Independence Movement. Nine years before the Declaration of Independence came out, he put forward the slogan "No Taxation without Representation" and predicted that the relationship between North America and Britain would be resolved by force. "Revolutionary literati" and "secular saints" are revolutionaries older than Washington and Franklin. On July 2, 1776, when the Continental Congress discussed the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, Dickinson, as the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Articles of Confederation, voted against it, and submitted the Articles of Confederation drafted by him nine days later.It was this act that first named the nascent country the "United States of America."Therefore, it is well deserved to call Dickinson the founding leader. Dickinson was also a representative of Delaware, but he was milder than Bedford, and he also seemed mature and reserved.On June 6 and 7, he made two speeches on the relationship between the state and the national government.He compared the United States of America to the solar system and the states to the planets.The solar system cannot live without the sun, and this is the national government.There cannot be no planets, and this is the states.Planets should be allowed to move freely in their proper orbits.Therefore, it is not right to destroy the states.The reform is just to merge 13 streams into a big river, not to oppose each other.He therefore considered it essential that the first house should be directly elected by the people, and that the other house should be elected by the assemblies of the states.This amalgamation of state and national governments is as politically wise as it is practically inevitable.Because it is imperative to retain the state governments.Of course, this creates friction between the state governments and the federal government.But Dickinson believes that this kind of friction is not terrible, because it just achieves mutual checks and balances; and this kind of checks and balances is exactly what we hope to establish a republican government. This is foresight and foresight.Because the plan envisaged by Dickinson is basically the political model implemented in the United States later.The American people can have such a political system superior to the unitary system, in fact, thanks to the opposition in the Constitutional Convention, especially the eclectic in the opposition like Dickinson. It's a pity that Madison and the others can't listen to Dickinson's old-fashioned opinions.They insist on their own way, and even speak rudely.This forced Xiaobang to stand up and defend himself.As a result, the air of the Constituent Assembly was full of gunpowder.The two parties in the debate are not only at war with each other, but also at war.