Chapter 16 Three, verbal sword

Lan Xin was the first to attack. On June 20, Lan Xin criticized the Constitutional Convention in a speech, pointing out that the Philadelphia Conference has no right to change the confederacy system, and has no right to make a difference. More than that, and so on (please refer to Chapter 3 of this book).Lan Xin also specifically refuted Hamilton's June 19 claim.He said that my colleague said that the interests of the big states will not be the same at the same time, and that the small states should not be afraid.If it be true, that there is indeed a general unity of interest among the states, would it not be equally safe for all states, whether to adopt the present system of representation, or the proposed system of proportional representation?This trick is very powerful.Because it pushed Hamilton and the others to a dead end: either it was a big lie to admit that the interests of the states were aligned, or it was unreasonable to admit that they refused to agree to equal voting rights.

Both Luther Martin and Sherman spoke in support of Lansing.Luther Martin said that the lives of the people of the United States depend on the states, and they entrust their lives, rights, and safety to these separate sovereignties.The reason why they form an alliance is precisely to support their own state and prevent their own state from being annexed by others.The people of the states have delegated their powers to the state assemblies and they will not take back the mandate as long as their state governments are not dissolved. Sherman also said that in the past, large states did not suffer because small states enjoyed equal voting rights, which shows that in the long run, the interests of all states are originally the same.Besides, the Congress of the Confederation did as much work as any government, and it helped us win the war.Of course, if there is no other way to solve the difficult problem of the distribution of seats, he can also agree to a bicameral system, in which seats are divided proportionally in one house, but on the condition that the states in the other house are equally represented.

As soon as Sherman finished speaking, Wilson pushed back.Wilson said that the success of the revolution was not due to the Articles of Confederation.Dabong did back down, but that was because there was no other option at the time.The next day (June 21), Wilson said again, people are always asking, how can the state governments be guaranteed by the general government?In fact, this question can also be asked in reverse: how can the state governments guarantee the overall government?If the governments of the states think that they can defend their rights only by appointing their own representatives to the general government, is it not permissible to give the general government an equal chance of self-defense, and appoint some to the states as members?If it is necessary for one party to demand security, then it is reasonable and reasonable for the other party to demand the same security.It is a pity that I really do not see any danger to the governments of the states from the general government, even if someone in the general government should have such an idea, the National Assembly itself will be in an uproar.This uproar was bound to spread to the parliaments of the States, and finally to the whole people.At this time, the general government will protect the rights of the state governments, just as the state governments will protect the individual rights of citizens.Members of the National Assembly come from all states, how can they not protect the rights of the states?

Madison agrees with Wilson.In his opinion, first, the danger of the general government eroding the power of the state governments is less than that of the state governments eroding the general government; 2, the general government eroding the power of the state governments will not be fatal, but the state governments will erode the power of the general government.Therefore, what needs to be guarded against is the erosion of the power of the general government by the state governments. The result of this debate: 7 states are in favor, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware are against, and Maryland is in favor of and against.The Constitutional Convention agreed to a bicameral Congress, with Madison winning the first round.

The second round, on June 25, discusses the election of members of the second house of the Federal Parliament (Senate) by the state assemblies.Wilson was firmly against it.This, he said, would place the people in a dual relationship as citizens of the overarching government and citizens of a state government.Not only that, Wilson also proposed that when we establish an overall government, we should try to remove the idea of ​​​​state governments, and treat state governments as non-existent.The general government is not the collection of the governments of the states, but the collection of the people as a whole.The object of general government is not the states, but the whole people who make up the nation.Therefore, it is individuals, not states, that should have their own MPs in the general government.

Aylsworth disagrees with Wilson.He believed that the hospital was always a citizen of the state he was in, no matter who elected the members.Likewise, states, through whatever channels, will always find ways to convey their unique views to the general government.Therefore, the existence of the state governments and their agents must be maintained, =.In such a vast country, it is impossible to support a republic without the cooperation of the state governments.The only way to do this is to graft the general government onto the state governments one by one. Both Johnson and Williamson (North Carolina) agreed, and even Virginia Representative Mason supported it.Mason said there was consensus that for a government to be effective, it must be empowered to defend itself.For the various departments that make up the government to be effective, each department must also be able to defend itself.And the only way to confer this power on the state governments is to have them appoint members of the Second House of the Federal Parliament.

At this time, Madison proposed not to discuss the question of who should elect the Senate, but to discuss the distribution of Senate seats, that is, to discuss Article 8 of the Committee of the Whole Report "Second House seats are distributed in the same way as the First House." South Carolina Butler proposed to discuss Article VII instead, "Proportional allocation of seats in the First House," and Madison agreed.What Madison meant was that it didn't really matter who was elected as long as the seats were distributed in proportion to the population.It's a pity that neither of their two proposals was passed, and the result of the third vote of the assembly was: 9 states were in favor, Pennsylvania and Virginia were against, the meeting agreed that the members of the second house should be elected by the state assemblies, and the small state won the second round.

The result of this vote is meaningful.Because in addition to Pennsylvania and Virginia, other states, including large states such as North Carolina and Massachusetts, and medium-sized states such as Maryland, New York, South Carolina, and Connecticut, all stand on the side of the three small states of New Jersey, Georgia, and Delaware.Afterwards, Madison concluded that although only the proportional system is in line with the principles of democracy, the "reasonable and unreasonable" actions of the two major states will indeed arouse deeper worries and stronger reactions from other states.

That rally exploded on June 27.On this day, the General Assembly discussed Article 8 of the report of the Committee of the Whole, "Seats in the Second House are distributed in the same manner as in the First House."Luther Martin, one of the "Four Diamonds" who insisted on opposing the Constitution of the Philadelphia Conference, made a long speech, which was emotional and incoherent.Luther Martin, Maryland's representative, was 43 years old when he attended the meeting.It was the Attorney General of Maryland, well versed in the law, familiar with the situation, but extremely poor in eloquence.Every time I speak, my patience is exhausted to the extreme. This speech lasted for 3 hours, and I didn't finish the speech the day before, and I continued to talk the next day.Luther Martin’s basic views are: 1. The purpose of establishing a general government is to preserve the states, not to directly govern individuals; The overall government has little to do with it, but is closely related to the state government. Handing over the citizens to the overall government is tantamount to throwing them back to a state of nature; 4. The establishment of each state government is authorized by the people. Five, the states have performed well in complying with the legislation of the Confederate Assembly, and even if there are problems, it is because of their inability; Six, the states have equal voting rights, which is the basic idea of ​​​​the founding of the United States. This idea is based on justice and freedom. 7. In the state of nature, states, like individuals, enjoy equal sovereignty and freedom. States on an equal footing, without giving up their rights to civil liberties, cannot be deemed to have renounced their equal right to vote because of an alliance; 8. The scheme now under discussion is tantamount to slavery for a small state. To correct this Wrong, it is better to dismantle a large state than to unite a small state.After making these points, Luther Martin was exhausted.

The next day, June 28, Luther Martin continued to speak.He pointed out that if it is true, as some people say, that big and small states have the same interests, then there is no danger in giving small states equal voting rights.Xiaobang will not hurt himself, and he has no ability to hurt Xiaobang.On the contrary, if the interests of the big and small states are different, and the seats are not equal, the small state is too dangerous.Finally, he said that even if the Confederacy is dissolved, the small states will not worry about losing any power, and if the three large states want to form an alliance, the other 10 small states will do the same.He would rather see this kind of ending than agree with the present plan.

Madison, of course, would not agree with this statement.His rebuttal was, as always, intelligent and strategic.Madison pointed out that the recognition of the sovereign equality of states originated from the confusion of contracts and leaps.A treaty is a set of specific obligations, a contract creates a mandate.When we want to authorize the establishment of a national government, how can we use the method of signing a treaty?There is no need to protect small states from being bullied by large states.Historical experience shows that strongmen and powerful countries have always competed with each other (such as Sparta and Athens), and there are few alliances.From this point of view, small states should also place their hopes on a strong overall government.Because only such a government can govern equally between large and small states.In the end, he said that the way out before us is nothing more than two extremes, either the 13 states are completely separated, or they are perfectly combined.In the former case, the small state will always worry about the large state.In the latter case, you can sit back and relax.If you want the latter result, then please give up your objections! After Madison's speech, Wilson and Sherman argued again. Wilson believed that equal voting rights were not equal, while Sherman believed that the problem was not which rights naturally belonged to people, but how these rights were equally and effectively protected.Don't the ladies and the poor feel equally safe with the same votes? The eighty-year-old Franklin was deeply worried when he saw the constitutional representatives quarreling.He said, we have been meeting behind closed doors for four or five weeks.Everyone is groping hard in the dark, but few people think about how things can get like this!I've lived a long time.The longer I live, the more I believe that God is in charge of human affairs; and the proceedings of the council prove that human understanding is far from perfect.It seems that we can only pray to God to bless us.Hire a priest, lead a prayer service before each daily meeting, and let the Almighty guide us forward, he suggested. However, Williamson, the representative of North Carolina, told everyone that the Constitutional Convention did not have the funds. It seems that God can't help them either.