I Am Writing A Book #2

Introduction

Photo by camilo jimenez on Unsplash

Here is the first part of the introductory section of my book “Why is Progress a Dirty Word?”:

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To Form A More Perfect Union

The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania State House (since renamed Independence Hall) from May 25^th to September 17^th 1787. The convention was initially intended to revise the system under the Articles of Confederation, which had been found wanting, but key proponents for the convention, including James Madison of Virginia, and Alexander Hamilton of New York, thought a new framework for government was needed. George Washington of Virginia and former commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War – who was a proponent of a stronger national government – was elected as President of the convention. Most of the delegates were in agreement that a new system was needed, but not all, which lead to lengthy discussion over the details which threatened to sink the whole effort. However, nearly 4 months later they finally were able to conclude their efforts.

On Saturday, the 15^th of September 1787 the delegates at the Constitutional Convention completed working through each point of the committee of the second draft of the Constitution. As the day closed, Randolph of Virginia, Mason of Virginia, and Gerry of Massachusetts gave speeches against it as written; Randolph called for a second convention which was unanimously voted down. In a move that seems prescient to us today, he proposed to remove the President’s pardon power in cases of treason. Wilson of Pennsylvania disagreed. Presidents should be able to pardon all offenses, and treasonous Presidents could be impeached, removed from office, and prosecuted. Randolph’s motion failed, and would echo through time