The Fathers of the Constitution Part 9

SECTION. 3. 1. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

2. The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

ARTICLE IV.

SECTION. 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

SECTION. 2. 1. The Citizens of each State shall be ent.i.tled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

2. A person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the Executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the Crime.

3. No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

SECTION. 3. 1. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislature of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

2. The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Const.i.tution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

SECTION 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this

Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.

ARTICLE V.

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Const.i.tution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Const.i.tution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

ARTICLE. VI.

1. All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Const.i.tution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Const.i.tution, as under the Confederation.

2. This Const.i.tution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Const.i.tution or Laws of any States to the Contrary notwithstanding.

3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Const.i.tution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

ARTICLE VII.

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Const.i.tution between the States so ratifying the Same.

DONE in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven, and of the Independance of the United States of America the Twelfth In Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,

GO: WASHINGTON-Presidt. and Deputy from Virginia.

New Hampshire. JOHN LANGDON, NICHOLAS GILMAN

Ma.s.sachusetts. NATHANIEL GORHAM, RUFUS KING

Connecticut. WM. SAML. JOHNSON, ROGER SHERMAN

New York. ALEXANDER HAMILTON

New Jersey. WIL: LIVINGSTON, DAVID BREARLEY, WM. PATERSON, JONA: DAYTON

Pennsylvania. B. FRANKLIN, THOMAS MIFFLIN, ROBT. MORRIS, GEO. CLYMER, THOS. FITZSIMONS, JARED INGERSOLL, JAMES WILSON, GOUV MORRIS

Delaware. GEO: READ, GUNNING BEDFORD JUN, JOHN d.i.c.kINSON, RICHARD Ba.s.sETT, JACO: BROOM

Maryland. JAMES MCHENRY, DAN OF ST THOS JENIFER, DANL. CARROLL

Virginia. JOHN BLAIR - JAMES MADISON JR.

North Carolina. WM. BLOUNT, RICHD. DOBBS SPAIGHT, HU WILLIAMSON

South Carolina. J. RUTLEDGE, CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY, CHARLES PINCKNEY, PIERCE BUTLER

Georgia. WILLIAM FEW, ABR BALDWIN

Attest WILLIAM JACKSON Secretary

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE There are many comprehensive histories which include the period covered by the present volume, of which a few-without disparaging the other-are deserving of mention for some particular reason. David Ramsay's "History of the American Revolution," 2 vols. (1789, and subsequently reprinted), gives but little s.p.a.ce to this particular period, but it reveals the contemporary point of view. Richard Hildreth's "History of the United States," 6 vols. (1849-1852), is another early work that is still of value, although it is written with a Federalist bias. J. B. McMaster's "History of the People of the United States from the Revolution to the Civil War," 8 vols. (1883-1913), presents a kaleidoscopic series of pictures gathered largely from contemporary newspapers, throwing light upon, and adding color to the story. E. M. Avery's "History of the United States," of which seven volumes have been published (1904-1910), is remarkable for its ill.u.s.trations and reproductions of prints, doc.u.ments, and maps. Edward Channing's "History of the United States," of which four volumes have appeared (1905-1917), is the latest, most readable, and probably the best of these comprehensive histories.

Although it was subsequently published as Volume VI in a revised edition of his "History of the United States of America," George Bancroft's "History of the Formation of the Const.i.tution," 2 vols. (1882), is really a separate work. The author appears at his best in these volumes and has never been entirely superseded by later writers. G. T. Curtis's "History of the Const.i.tution of the United States," 2 vols. (1854), which also subsequently appeared as Volume I of his "Const.i.tutional History of the United States," is one of the standard works, but does not retain quite the same hold that Bancroft's volumes do.

Of the special works more nearly covering the same field as the present volume, A. C. McLaughlin's "The Confederation and the Const.i.tution" (1905), in the "American Nation," is distinctly the best. John Fiske's "Critical Period of American History" (1888), written with the clearness of presentation and charm of style which are characteristic of the author, is an interesting and readable comprehensive account. Richard Frothingham's "Rise of the Republic of the United States" (1872; 6th ed.1895), tracing the two ideas of local self-government and of union, begins with early colonial times and culminates in the Const.i.tution.

The treaty of peace opens up the whole field of diplomatic history, which has a bibliography of its own. But E. S. Corwin's "French Policy and the American Alliance" (1916) should be mentioned as the latest and best work, although it lays more stress upon the phases indicated by the t.i.tle. C. H. Van Tyne's "Loyalists in the American Revolution" (1902) remains the standard work on this subject, but special studies are appearing from time to time which are changing our point of view.

The following books on economic and industrial aspects are not for popular reading, but are rather for reference: E. R. Johnson et al., "History of the Domestic and Foreign Commerce of the United States" 2 vols. (1915); V. S. Clark, "History of the Manufactures of the United States, 1607-1860" (1916). G. S. Callender has written short introductions to the various chapters of his "Selections from the Economic History of the United States" (1909), which are brilliant interpretations of great value. P. J. Treat's "The National Land System, 1785-1820" (1910), gives the most satisfactory account of the subject indicated by the t.i.tle. Of entirely different character is Theodore Roosevelt's "Winning of the West," 4 vols. (1889-96; published subsequently in various editions), which is both scholarly and of fascinating interest on the subject of the early expansion into the West.

On the most important subject of all, the formation of the Const.i.tution, the material ordinarily wanted can be found in Max Farrand's "Records of the Federal Convention," 3 vols. (1910), and the author has summarized the results of his studies in "The Framing of the Const.i.tution" (1913). C. A. Beard's "An Economic Interpretation of the Const.i.tution of the United States" (1913) gives some interesting and valuable facts regarding economic aspects of the formation of the Const.i.tution, and particularly on the subject of investments in government securities. There is no satisfactory account of the adoption of the Const.i.tution, but the debates in many of the State conventions are included in Jonathan Elliot's "Debates on the Federal Const.i.tution," 5 vols. (1836-1845, subsequently reprinted in many editions).

A few special works upon the adoption of the Const.i.tution in the individual States may be mentioned: H. B. Grigsby's "History of the Virginia Federal Convention of 1788," Virginia Historical Society Collections, N. S., IX and X(1890-91); McMaster and Stone's "Pennsylvania and the Federal Const.i.tution, 1787-88" (1888); S. B. Harding's "Contest over the Ratification of the Federal Const.i.tution in the State of Ma.s.sachusetts"(1896); O. G. Libby's "The Geographical Distribution of the Vote of the Thirteen States on the Federal Const.i.tution, 1787-1788" (University of Wisconsin, "Bulletin, Economics, Political Science, and History Series," I, No. 1,1894).

Contemporary differences of opinion upon the Const.i.tution will be found in P. L. Ford's "Pamphlets on the Const.i.tution," etc. (1888). The most valuable commentary on the Const.i.tution, "The Federalist," is to be found in several editions of which the more recent are by E. H. Scott (1895) and P. L. Ford (1898).

A large part of the so-called original doc.u.ments or first-hand sources of information is to be found in letters and private papers of prominent men. For most readers there is nothing better than the "American Statesmen Series," from which the following might be selected: H. C. Lodge's "George Washington" (2 vols., 1889) and "Alexander Hamilton" (1882); J. T. Morse's "Benjamin Franklin" (1889), "John Adams" (1885), and "Thomas Jefferson" (1883); Theodore Roosevelt's "Gouverneur Morris," (1888). Other readable volumes are P. L. Ford's "The True George Washington" (1896) and "The Many-sided Franklin" (1899); F. S. Oliver's "Alexander Hamilton, An Essay on American Union" (New ed. London, 1907); W. G. Brown's "Life of Oliver Ellsworth" (1905); A. McL. Hamilton's "The Intimate Life of Alexander Hamilton" (1910); James Schouler's "Thomas Jefferson" (1893); Gaillard Hunt's "Life of James Madison" (1902).

Of the collections of doc.u.ments it may be worth while to notice: "Doc.u.mentary History of the Const.i.tution of the United States," 5 vols. (1894-1905); B. P. Poore's "Federal and State Const.i.tutions, Colonial Charters, etc.," 2 vols. (1877); F. N. Thorpe's "The Federal and State Const.i.tutions, Colonial Charters, and other Organic Laws", 7 vols. (1909); and the "Journals of the Continental Congress" (1904-1914), edited from the original records in the Library of Congress by Worthington C. Ford and Gaillard Hunt, of which 23 volumes have appeared, bringing the records down through 1782.

NOTES ON THE PORTRAITS OF MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL CONVENTION WHO SIGNED.

THE CONSt.i.tUTION.

BY VICTOR HUGO PALTSITS.

Forty signatures were attached to the Const.i.tution of the United States in the Federal Convention on September 17, 1787, by thirty-nine delegates, representing twelve States, and the secretary of the Convention, as the attesting officer. George Washington, who signed as president of the Convention, was a delegate from Virginia. There are reproduced in this volume the effigies or pretended effigies of thirty-seven of them, from etchings by Albert Rosenthal in an extra-ill.u.s.trated volume devoted to the Members of the Federal Convention, 1787, in the Thomas Addis Emmet Collection owned by the New York Public Library. The autographs are from the same source. This series presents no portraits of David Brearley of New Jersey, Thomas Fitzsimons of Pennsylvania, and Jacob Broom of Delaware. With respect to the others we give such information as Albert Rosenthal, the Philadelphia artist, inscribed on each portrait and also such other data as have been unearthed from the correspondence of Dr. Emmet, preserved in the Ma.n.u.script Division of the New York Public Library.

Considerable controversy has raged, on and off, but especially of late, in regard to the painted and etched portraits which Rosenthal produced nearly a generation ago, and in particular respecting portraits which were hung in Independence Hall, Philadelphia. Statements in the case by Rosenthal and by the late Charles Henry Hart are in the "American Art News," March 3, 1917, p. 4. See also Hart's paper on bogus American portraits in "Annual Report, 1913," of the American Historical a.s.sociation. To these may be added some interesting facts which are not sufficiently known by American students.

In the ninth decade of the nineteenth century, princ.i.p.ally from 1885 to 1888, a few collectors of American autographs united in an informal a.s.sociation which was sometimes called a "Club," for the purpose of procuring portraits of American historical characters which they desired to a.s.sociate with respective autographs as extra-ill.u.s.trations. They were pioneers in their work and their purposes were honorable. They cooperated in effort and expenses, 'in a most commendable mutuality. Prime movers and workers were the late Dr. Emmet, of New York, and Simon Gratz, Esq., still active in Philadelphia. These men have done much to stimulate appreciation for and the preservation of the fundamental sources of American history. When they began, and for many years thereafter, not the same critical standards reigned among American historians, much less among American collectors, as the canons now require. The members of the "Club" entered into an extensive correspondence with the descendants of persons whose portraits they wished to trace and then have reproduced. They were sometimes misled by these descendants, who themselves, often great-grandchildren or more removed by ties and time, a.s.sumed that a given portrait represented the particular person in demand, because in their own uncritical minds a tradition was as good as a fact.

The members of the "Club," then, did the best they could with the a.s.sistance and standards of their time. The following extract from a letter written by Gratz to Emmet, November 10, 1885, reveals much that should be better known. He wrote very frankly as follows: "What you say in regard to Rosenthal's work is correct: but the fault is not his. Many of the photographs are utterly wanting in expression or character; and if the artist were to undertake to correct these deficiencies by making the portrait what he may SUPPOSE it should be, his production (while presenting a better appearance ARTISTICALLY) might be very much less of a LIKENESS than the photograph from which he works. Rosenthal always shows me a rough proof of the unfinished etching, so that I may advise him as to corrections & additions which I may consider justifiable & advisable."