Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-09-18


Twelve Of the thirteen states re-
sponded. Rhode Island stayed ont.
That convention was heartbreaking.
1t opened May II. 1891. and the final
draft Of the Constitution was not
signed until September II; ana tnea d., ny
only thirty-pine Of the sfxty-nve oeie-
gates. It was not such CONSTITUTION
as Hamilton hoped TOR. His plan had
been rejected. He wanted sometnlns
akin to limited or elecuve , mon
archy. He wanted a President elected
for life senators elected for life. CEN
tralization of power in the government
and a lessening. If not a wipins out OF
state rights He wanted one nation not
group of thirteen sovereign states s., tho
Nothing stands out more nooiy IN tne
career Of Alexander Hamilton than MS
conduct after the Constitution was fram-
ed at Philadelphia. He looked upon the
instrument as thing OF little value, nut
work he and Washington had done to
awaken the people to the need OF ma,
tional policy. But the Constitution haa
to be adopted by nine states pefore II
could be put in force. no get t'ls psUpre
was the struggle harder than In rev
York. Gov Clinton and all his great FOL
lowing were against 1t. To explain the
Constitution and its needs ia n.ost
started the Federalist. one OF the most
remarkable Of political papers the coun-
trv has known. OF the eighty-f1ve essays
printed in the paper more than hfty were
by Hamilton. OF the rest Madison wrote
the most Jay wrote few. They were
the greatest force that worked on mems
minds to make them consent to adopt the
Constitution. They are as striking IN their
logic in their appeal and In their literary
beauty as any political papers in his
tory
But all the power of the Federalist
could not sway Clinton and his followers
When the New York convention met in
Poughkeepsie in June, 1ISS, Hamilton
wrote that ''two-thirds of the convention
and four-sevenths of the people are
against u.s. He was beaten on the first
day by a vote of fOrty-siX to nineteen.
but he returned to the struggle. Day AFTER
day he argued. Day after day he ex-
planned every point, met every argument.
He drew tears and he won applause. Dut
every day it was the same-forty-six 10
nineteen. For six weeks he labored
Other states were voting: he 1ough. LOT
ton by other states would help to turn
the scales in New York. At last he tri-
umphed. At last the forty-six began to
waver. On July q Hamilton had ma
iority of three and New York had adopt
ed the Constitution. The most masterful
man in America had triumphed in one of
the most remarkable struggles In the his
tory of the state.
Washington when he was elected PreSi-
dent committed a grave blunder. In his
effort to allay sectional or party strife he
selected his cabinet from rival camps.
Jefferson he made Secretary of State and
Hamilton Secretary of the Treasury.
Knox and Randolph were the other men,
bers. It was as easy to get JEFFERSON
and Hamilton to agree as it is to make
oil and water mix. The same. too, was
.rue of Knox and Randolph.
Hamilton had three main ideas to work
out. One was to bring order out of the
government had heen plunged Another
was to promote manufactures and COM
merce. The third was to establish a for
eign policy that would guard the United
States from entangling alliances. But,
above all things. he meant to breathe into
the Constitution all the power it did not