The Journal of the Debates in the Convention which Framed the Constitution of the United States, May-September 1787. Volume 1Madison, James
History
The Journal of the Debates in the Convention which Framed the Constitution of the United States, May-September 1787. Volume 1
Madison, James
Constitutional law -- United States; Constitutions -- United States; United States. Constitution
M^r Gov^r Morris opposed it as fettering the Legislature too much.
Advantage may be taken of it in time of war or the apprehension of it,
by new States to extort particular favors. If the mode was to be fixed
for taking a Census, it might certainly be extremely inconvenient: if
unfixt the Legislature may use such a mode as will defeat the object:
and perpetuate the inequality. He was always ag^{st} such shackles on
the Legisl^{re}. They had been found very pernicious in most of the
State Constitutions. He dwelt much on the danger of throwing such a
preponderancy into the Western Scale, suggesting that in time the
Western people w^d outnumber the Atlantic States. He wished therefore to
put it in the power of the latter to keep a majority of votes in their
own hands. It was objected he said that if the Legisl^{re} are left at
liberty, they will never readjust the Representation. He admitted that
this was possible; but he did not think it probable unless the reasons
ag^{st} a revision of it were very urgent & in this case, it ought not
to be done.
It was moved to postpone the proposition of M^r Randolph in order to
take up the following, viz. "that the Committee of Eleven, to whom was
referred the report of the Committee of five on the subject of
Representation, be requested to furnish the Convention with the
principles on which they grounded the Report," which was disagreed to;
S. C. alone voting in the affirmative.
Adjourned
WEDNESDAY JULY 11. IN CONVENTION.
M^r Randolph's motion requiring the Legisl^{re} to take a periodical
census for the purpose of redressing inequalities in the Representation
was resumed.
M^r Sherman was ag^{st}. Shackling the Legislature too much. We ought to
choose wise & good men, and then confide in them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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