Free citizens—defend your rights! For six years, we fought to throw off the
tyranny of British rule. Now we face a new threat from within our borders.
The self- anointed aristocracy that gathered in Philadelphia last summer
has devised a scheme to deprive Americans of their liberties. They are
telling us that the American people are incapable of self-government and
that we must turn our public affairs over to the so-called “better classes.”
Is this the freedom for which we shed blood? Are we to trade the liberty
cap of the free citizen for the yoke of the serf? Never!
Look closely at the small circle of conspirators that assembled in
Philadelphia. It is made up almost exclusively of rich merchants, investors,
and lawyers. These were not the men who stood bravely at the Concord
Bridge and Valley Forge. Few can plow a straight furrow or hold out hands
calloused from honest work. And yet, these same men want us to bow to
them as if they were Roman patricians.
The Federalists have whipped up fears of chaos to win support for their
Constitution.
In fact, they are concerned mainly with protecting their wealth and
investments. The crises that they have manufactured are no more than the
inevitable birth pangs of our new nation. The proposed Constitution is
hardly the answer to our problems. The strong national government
suggested by the Philadelphia convention would allow only a handful of
wealthy men to participate in the affairs of the republic. Who else would be
able to travel seven hundred miles to serve in Congress or seek justice in
the national court?
Our political system must be grounded in the common citizen—not a
privileged elite. There is no better guarantee of liberty than a democracy
founded on the good judgment of independent small farmers. Political
power must be widely dispersed to give the greatest number of our citizens
an opportunity to participate in government. None of us is more than a few
days journey away from our state capitals, even in Virginia and Georgia.
The states are the proper defenders of the republican form of government.
In contrast to the state governments, there is little room in the proposed
Constitution for the common man to express his views. At every turn, the
popular voice of democracy is stifled. Only the representatives in the lower
house would be chosen by the citizens at large. In the Senate, small states
would be equal to large states in voting power. The plantation owners of
the southern states have even insisted that their slaves be taken into
account in determining representation.
Of particular danger is the clause which grants Congress the power “to
make all laws which shall be necessary and proper” to fulfill its role. This is
a blank check that the American people are expected to blindly sign. The
delegates to the Philadelphia convention are asking us to turn over the
rights that inspired our struggle for independence. Perhaps they should
have reread the Declaration of Independence before drafting their
Constitution.
What our would-be aristocrats in fact have in mind is a return to the Old
World. Under the proposed Constitution, the president would conspire with
the Senate to secure his re-election and rule with the authority of a king.
Together, they would exercise their treaty- making power to impose their
will on the entire nation. The national government would grow rich on
taxes, while the state legislatures would be starved of revenue. Should any
of the states raise a cry of protest, the president would be quick to order a
professional standing army to punish his critics. A military tyranny would
be just over the horizon.
Our patriots did not give their lives to create such a government. On the
contrary, the proposed Constitution is a slap in the face to the cause of
liberty. We must remember always that the only source of legitimate
authority is the citizenry. We must not give away the rights we shed blood
to gain.