Tempest at Dawn by James D Best

Author:James D Best [Best, James D]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Queen Beach
Published: 2009-10-06T07:00:00+00:00

Despite Madison’s and Hamilton’s exhortations the previous day, Ellsworth continued to insist that each state have an equal vote in the second branch.

Wilson removed his spectacles and looked directly at the delegates. “If there is a compromise, it won’t come from the large states. Shall one-quarter of the United States withdraw from the union, or shall three-quarters of the population abandon their rights?” Wilson let an uncharacteristic edge creep into his voice. “If these defiant little states refuse to join us, then separation it shall be.”

Madison watched Ellsworth display uncharacteristic emotion as he answered Wilson’s attack. “The danger of the big states combining is not imaginary. Suppose three free ports are to be established. Wouldn’t an alliance be formed to favor Boston, Philadelphia, and some port in Chesapeake?”

Ellsworth absentmindedly reached into his waistcoat, pulled out his snuffbox, looked down at it, and stuffed it back in his pocket. He looked as if he wanted to add something but then glared at Wilson as he returned to his seat.

Madison rose to offer a rebuttal, but his frustration with the stupidity of the entire debate caused him to utter the unspeakable. “Gentlemen, let’s be honest. Our differences don’t lie between the large and small states. Our divisions result from whether we own slaves or do not own slaves. If defensive powers are to be given, they ought to go to slaveholding states.”

Madison sat to stunned silence. As he reached for his quill to note his own remarks, he realized he had stumbled badly.

As the embarrassed silence extended, Franklin tried to relieve the tension by moving the debate away from slavery. “Opinions turn on two points. With proportional representation, the small states claim their liberty is at risk. With equal state votes, the large states fear their property is at risk. When a broad table is to be made and the edges of the planks don’t fit, the carpenter takes a little from both planks to make a perfect fit. In like manner, both sides must part with some of their demands in order to achieve other accommodations.”

Madison seethed as Franklin presented some complex and convoluted proposal that the doctor intended as wadding to cushion Madison’s faux pas. He knew he had overstepped the unspoken bounds of propriety, but if they were to move the convention forward, they needed to address the real issues instead of false dilemmas. They argued endlessly over state power, but everyone squeezed their eyes tight against the greatest danger to the new nation. Slavery held a scythe above the delegates’ heads that could slice their best intentions to bloody pieces.

When King spoke, he looked directly at Sherman. “I’m astonished, sir, that when a fair government is within reach, you renounce the blessing because of an idealistic attachment to your state.”

As King sat, Paterson stood unrecognized and nearly shouted, “The large states must believe we’re blind! The South is so puffed up with her wealth and Negroes that evenhanded treatment is out of the question.” Paterson swatted a fly away with enough force to stun it, had he had the luck to connect.

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