Miracle At Philadelphia

Though debate was hardly over, the Convention now turned to the task of presenting the Constitution for ratification. A Committee of Style including Hamilton, Madison, and Morris would translate the various resolutions into a cohesive text, and Bowen remarks that “it is hard to see how there could have been a better choice” (234). Morris and Hamilton had made some careless errors in floor debate, but their skill as writers was without equal, as was Madison’s grasp of politics. A letter to Congress, signed by George Washington, summarized the work of the Convention, describing the “consolidation” of the states despite skeptics seeing that word as a threat to abolish the state governments entirely. Despite earlier objections, Morris went to work on a preamble, with the opening phrase “we the people of the United States” a bold announcement of a single nation composed of varying states (240), which states’ rights partisans like Patrick Henry instantly recognized. The Committee’s work would produce many of the most memorable phrases of the Constitution, which would become crucial to later rounds of interpretation.