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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC00819.18 |
| From Archive Folder | Constitution and Constitutional Convention archive: Pierce Butler's notes |
| Title | Objections to the Constitution as far as it has advanced... |
| Date | 30 August 1787 |
| Author | Randolph, Edmund (1753-1813) |
| Document Type | Miscellany; Government document |
| Content Description | Lists eleven objections to the Constitution (the 12th has been struck). Docket reads "Objections to the Constitution / by Mr. Randal." |
| Subjects | US Constitution US Constitutional Convention Law Government and Civics Congress Commerce Pardon Judiciary Taxes or Taxation |
| People | Randolph, Edmund (1753-1813) Butler, Pierce (1744-1822) |
| Place written | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Theme | Creating a New Government; Government & Politics; The American Revolution; Law; Banking & Economics |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859 |
| Additional Information | Over the course of the Constitutional Convention, the delegates devised the fundamental principles that underlie the American framework of government: separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and judicial review. The system they created emerged gradually in response to certain deep-rooted concerns. Balancing the framers' republican faith in the people was a fear of direct democracy and the dangers posed by unchecked majorities. And balancing their desire to create an effective national government was a fear that a strong national government with the power to regulate trade and levy taxes would not truly be republican. The challenge the founders faced was to create a national government that would be both strong and effective and republican, a government that would not ultimately degenerate into anarchy or tyranny. The only recent examples of republican-like societies--the Netherlands and Switzerland--were small, loosely-knit confederations. Many doubted that a it was possible to have a large and diverse republican society with a strong central government. James Madison formulated an answer to this concern: he argued that in a large republic, difficulties of communication and a wide variety of interest groups would make it difficult to form an oppressive majority. The Constitutional Convention was unable to achieve unanimous agreement on a plan of government. In this selection, Pierce Butler summarizes the objections that Edmund Randolph, a Virginia delegate, raised over the proposed Constitution. Randolph was one of three delegates, the other two were Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814) and George Mason (1725-1792), who refused to sign the Constitution because they objected to the powers it granted to the federal government. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |
| Transcript | Show/hide |