Ratification by Pauline Maier

Author:Pauline Maier [Maier, Pauline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Politics, bought-and-paid-for, Non-Fiction
ISBN: 9780684868547
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2010-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

UPSTAGED

It had been a great show. When witnesses looked back, they remembered Henry’s “popular Eloquence” with awe and no apparent annoyance at his having talked on and on, day after day. Henry had “made a most noble stand in Defence of the Liberties of the People.” He “was always attacked, but never conquered.” He was “indefatigable,” growing “more & more able day by day, for near three weeks.” He gave “exemplary proofs of his Greatness, & in the opinion of many, of his Virtue,” Henry’s son-in-law Spencer Roane concluded, adding to the opinions of other, less biased, observers. “I have heard some Touches of Eloquence from him,” Roane added, that would “almost disgrace Cicero or Demosthenes.” Henry’s response to defeat, promising to carry on his cause peacefully, without violence or disorder, added to his honor—except with Madison, who expected a continued, determined effort by Henry to “undo” the Constitution, whether through the state legislatures or the new federal Congress.56

On the other side, George Nicholas “was thought more equal to answering Henry, than any other person.” Pendleton, “tho much impaired in health” and “in the decline of life,” showed “as much zeal… as if he had been a young man,” although one account said his weak voice deprived three-quarters of the delegates of hearing his “solid and persuasive Arguments.” Randolph “amazed everyone” by the warmth with which he argued for ratification: “He spoke often and eloquently,” and he contributed “in no small way to the favorable outcome.” John Marshall’s “perspicuity & force were greater than ever.”57

But Madison stood out among the Constitution’s supporters. He was “the one who, among all the delegates, carried the vote of the two parties,” one observer claimed. Madison “was always clear, precise and consistent in his reasoning, and always methodical and pure in his Language.” Another account of the “many shining characters” at the Virginia convention described his performance with a bit of poetry:

Maddison among the rest,

Pouring from his narrow chest,

More than Greek or Roman sense,

Boundless tides of eloquence.

William Nelson, Jr., had missed the convention, but he listened attentively as others discussed at length the various speakers’ performances. In the end, he regretted most not hearing Madison and also James Innes, whose one speech at the end of the debates had a powerful impact. “By the unanimous voice of all whom I have heard speak on the subject, except one coxcomb, who did not like Madison,” Nelson said, those two men were “astonishingly great in their respective ways.” Zachariah Johnston also “surprized every body.” Although Johnston had a reputation for being “very sensible & clear-headed,” his speech at the end of the convention astounded listeners. Nelson heard one “man of judgement” declare that Johnston’s speech was the best of any in the entire convention.58

Only one delegate left the convention with a tarnished reputation: George Mason, who, according to Nelson, was said to have behaved with less good temper than Henry. Unlike Henry, Mason had no political ambitions to mute his resentments; he was now sixty-two, eleven

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