El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-10-26
The Formation OF Parties
II-CoNGREsS1oNAL CAMPAIGNS.
' HE first congress of the United !
States under the constitution was !

TT HE first congress of the United
States under the constitution was
chosen in haphazard fashion
that did not arise to the dignity Of a
general campaign. Americans seem g
have the naDit Of believing that Their
political world was called into being
by a constitutional fiat in the wear
1877. Important as that constitution
has become in later years, sacred as it
now is, the people IF me country in
1888 gave it no reverence and were
persuaded with difficulty 10 accept it il
the nature of an experiment
During the long quarrel between the
people of the American colonies and
the English king, the colonists we're
divided into two parties bearing the
English names of Wing and Tory. The
Wings were the aggressive patriots
and the Tories were the conservative
and cautious loyalistS. When the rev
clution came the Wuigs were patri IT'S
ard the Tories were prescribed and
deSpiSed traitors. After the colonies
had won the war and had become thir-
teen independent republican sta: cs
united only by that 'rOpe nf jan1' the
Articles of Confederation the Tories
were driven into exile OF compelled TO
abstain from political activity Then
the Wing party divided Upon questions
OF confederation policy. But for the
most part the people we're selfish adj
herents to local state interests and
the shadow of a confederate govern
ment almost entirely disappeared.
Small Quarrel starts 1t.
A foreign shipmaster whose vessel
was at anchor in the Potomac river,
under the Jurisdiction of Maryland, had
quarrel with the wharfmas-er at AL
exandria in Virginia. His ship was
discharging and taking on cargo at
Alexandria, and yet he was actirg I'M
der the authority of Maryland law in
defying the Virginia authorities 30
feet away. This condition of affairs
was intolerable. Efforts to induce the
state legislatures to grant the conti-
mental congress power to control the
tariff and to regulate commerce, had
proved unsuccessful
But in the Virginia legislature Mr..
Madison brought UP the case of the AL
exandria wharfmastef and the foreign
shipmaster and succeeded in procuring
authorization for a conference Of Mary
land and Virginia representatives for
the establishment of mutual CONNER
cial regulations. This conference.
which met at Alexandria and later
moved 10 Mount Vernon, decided to in
vite the other central states-Penn-
sylvania, New Jersey and Delaware
to subscribe to the same system of
commercial treaties. Out of this grew
the Annapolis convention which in turn
called a constitutional convention
which submitted to the people Of the
states that document which created
the American republic.
Fight on Ratification.
When the constitution was submit
ted, the people at once divided into
two parties, these urging its adoption
taking the name of Federalists and
those in opposition that of anti-Feder-
alists- BY the middle of the summer
OF 1888 eleven of tue states had rat
flied the constitution and elections
were held in the various states for rep
resentatfves, the legislatures chose the
senators, and preSid entail electors
were selected-in five states by the
people, and in the others by the legis-
1atures. In some states each district
chose its representatives in congress
when it pleased, while in others there
was a statewide election day Most of
the elections continued for three days
and the voting was viva voce.
The continental congress after the
close of the war had been treated with
slight consideration and generally was
held in open contempt. There is no
good reason to believe that the mass
of the people expected the new expert
ment in government to succeed The
senators and Representatives elected
to congress were so careless as to de-
lay their attendance, so that more than
a month was wasted in vain efforts to
obtain quorum North Carolina and