Constitutional history -- United States; United States -- Politics and government; United States. Constitution. 18th Amendment
If we wish to realize the sensational nature of those resolutions, let
us assume for a moment a similar convention of delegates assembled
in the City of New York. Let us assume that the delegates have been
commissioned respectively by the governments of America, Great Britain,
Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium and other
nations. Let us assume that the ostensible and proclaimed purpose of
the convention, stated in the commissions of the delegates, is that
it frame a set of _federal_ Articles for a league or federation of
the independent nations represented and report the drafted Articles
to the respective governments for ratification or rejection. Let us
then assume that, on the second day of the convention, Lloyd George,
on the suggestion of Charles E. Hughes, calmly proposes that the
convention, as a Committee of the Whole, consider three resolutions,
exactly similar to those proposed by Randolph on May 30, 1787. Imagine
the amazement of the world when it found that the resolutions were to
the effect that the convention should draft and propose a constitution
of government which would create an entirely new nation out of the
human beings in all the assembled nations, and create a new national
government for the new nation, and destroy forever the independence
and sovereignty of each represented nation and its government and
subordinate them to the new national and supreme government.
This was exactly the nature of the startling resolutions of
Randolph. Moreover, before that one day closed, the Committee of
the Whole actually did resolve “that a national government ought to
be established consisting of a supreme legislative, executive and
judiciary.” The vote was six to one. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina voted “aye.” From
that day on, the Convention continued to prepare a proposal involving
the destruction of the complete independence of the existing nations
and of the governments which respectively commissioned the delegates
to the Convention. From that day on, the Convention concerned itself
entirely with the drafting of constitutional Articles which would
create a new nation, America, the members thereof to be all the
American people, and would constitute a national government for them,
and give to it _national_ powers over them, and make it supreme, in its
own sphere, over all the existing nations and governments.
It is interesting and instructive to know that all this startling
purpose, later completely achieved by appeal to the existing ability of
the possessors of the supreme will in America, the people, assembled in
their conventions, had not been the conception of a moment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account