THE TUMULTUOUS TIDES OF DEMOCRACY
by Charles S. Canning
Past Grand Commander, Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania
from Knight Templar magazine Vol. 34 No. 10 October 1988
and Vol. 34 No. 11 November 1988
Perhaps no phrase is as simple or as much used as "we the
people."  The celebration of the Constitutional bicentennial
has brought our great charter of government into public
focus.  Beginning in 1987 and continuing with the various
periods of the establishment of our federal system, the
commemoration concludes with the 200th anniversary of the
ratification of the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1991.
The years just before the Constitutional Convention proved
that the Congress, which was created during the war for
independence under the Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union, was too weak.  The states, being
independent sovereignties, had no supreme law over them.
Congress had no power to coin money, raise taxes, or compel
states to observe treaties.  The result was economic
confusion, rebellion, and ineffective trade and foreign
relations.
Due to these weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation, a
convention was called to meet in Philadelphia.  From May 25
to September 17, 1787, the delegates, who were sent to amend
and strengthen the Articles, developed instead a whole new
government: a federal republic.  Having committed the new
government to a written framework, the Constitution was sent
to Congress with the recommendation it be submitted to state
conventions for ratification by delegates elected by the
people.  Thus it was to be truly a social contract by "we,
the people."  Many of these people were also Masons.  The
Constitution was first printed for the public on September
19 in the Pennsylvania Packet, operated by Brother John
Dunlap, a member of Lodge No. 2 in Philadelphia.
During the next year, the debates continued between the
Federalists, who supported a strong federal system, and the
Anti-Federalists, who objected to it.  The press carried the
arguments of both the proponents and opponents of
ratification.  This was particularly prolific in New York,
where the Anti-Federalist essays by "Brutus," "Federal
Farmer," and "Cato" were countered by the eighty-five essays
of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay known as
THE FEDERALIST PAPERS.  In Virginia, the debate raged in
that state's ratifying convention and nearly came to a duel
between Governor Edmund Randolph, then the Grand Master of
Virginia, and Patrick Henry, a former governor and one who,
strong evidence supports, was also a Mason.  These debates,
though heated at times, generated an analysis and
understanding of the new-born Constitution.
However, no state acted as quickly or as vigorously for
ratification as did Pennsylvania, where we find much overt
action on the part of Federalists and Anti-Federalists
alike.  No sooner had the ink dried on the copies of the
Constitution than the Pennsylvania delegates reported to the
state legislature and pushed for a ratification convention.
On September 28, the date set for the assembly to take
action on setting a date and place for election of
delegates, the Pennsylvania legislature was two members
short of a quorum.  Sixteen Anti-Federalist assemblymen had
boycotted the session.  These Anti-Federalists had met
previously in Harrisburg to urge revision of the
Constitution and planned another convention to be held in
Lancaster.  To secure the quorum, Commodore and Brother John
Bary of Lodge No. 2 in Philadelphia and a number of citizens
entered the lodging of assemblymen James McCalmont and Jacob
Miley and dragged them to the assembly, where they were
forced to remain until the vote for a convention was
approved.  While Federalists controlled the assembly almost
two to one, they needed a two-thirds vote for a quorum.  The
opposition, however, was determined in its purposes.
At the time of the Declaration of Independence, Pennsylvania
was the only colony where property qualifications were not
required for the right to vote; as a result, by 1787 the
general population was greatly interested by the political
issues of the day.  The Anti-Federalists generally
represented farmers and people of the frontier, "beyond the
reach of newspapers."  They thought it unwise to hastily
elect delegates before Congress made recommendations to the
states.  They also pointed out that there should be more
time to reflect on the new document, as even "a bill to
build a small bridge would get three readings."
Furthermore, the delegates who drafted the Constitution were
not chosen to form a new government and, of course, there
was the suspicion that the federal government would be
controlled by wealthy merchants and professionals.  The
issue of taxation was also clearly foreseen.
The Pennsylvania Assembly voted to meet in Philadelphia on
November 20 to hold a ratification convention made up of
delegates elected by the counties.  Partisanship of high
intensity marked the country election campaigns.
As early as October 5, the first of eighteen arguments by
Anti-Federalist Samuel Bryan, under the pen name "Centinel,"
appeared in the PHILADELPHIA INDEPENDENT GAZETEER AND
FREEMAN'S JOURNAL, which was published by Brother Eleazer
Oswald.  The first "Centinel" was widely reprinted, and
argued that the intricate checks and balances in the
Constitution would prevent the people from detecting
corruption and tyranny.  Brother Oswald, another member of
Lodge No. 2, also published the NEW YORK JOURNAL and was
active in a network of Anti-Federalist communications in
several states other than Pennsylvania.
There was no defense of the new federal system during the
initial weeks after its being published when the
Anti-Federalists made their attack.  The following day,
Federalist James Wilson discussed the Constitution at a
public gathering in the state house yard.  This speech was
then printed in the PENNSYLVANIA PACKET on October 10 and
became one of the most widely reprinted defenses of the
proposed Constitution.  Positive assurances came from
Brother George Washington, who wrote to David Humphreys on
that date, stating, "the Constitution...is not free from
imperfections - but there are as few radical defects in it
as would well be expected."  The PENNSYLVANIA JOURNAL
reported on October 17 that, in Massachusetts, Elbridge
Gerry, who was possibly a Mason, "is censured by his best
friends for not signing the Constitution."  On November 2,
the INDEPENDENT GAZETEER challenged Federalist optimism by
publishing the "Foreigner," who asked, "...whether mankind
is worthy of the free will, the great gift of the Creator...
or if men are the most voracious beasts upon earth, that
would devour each other if the had power and liberty?"
The Pennsylvania elections for delegates concluded on
November 6 and were reported to be hotly contested.  Colonel
John Montgomery referred to the Anti-Federalist delegates as
"animals...a pack of sorry scoundrels"; Robert Whitehill,
one of the "anti-rats," was noted as telling Brother and
General John Armstrong of Army Lodge No. 19 that Washington
was a fool and Franklin was an imbecile.
On the night of November 6, a mob of pro-Federalists
attacked the house of Major Alexander Boyd in Philadelphia,
where seven Anti-Federalist assemblymen were sleeping.
Stones were thrown through windows but no casualties were
reported.  On the eve of the elections, Assemblyman and
Brother William Findlay presented twenty reasons for
defeating the Constitution, including the ideas that the
President was an elected monarch, slavery was going to
resume its empire in Pennsylvania, and Quakers were to be
compelled to serve in the nationalized militia.  However,
civil disobedience was the exception rather than the rule in
the intense debate; the citizens of Pittsburgh expressed the
opinion that the new system of government was the result of
political wisdom, good sense, and candor.
Among the forty-four Federalists elected to the ratifying
convention were such famous names as James Wilson; Timothy
Pickering, future Secretary of State; Chief Justice and
Brother Thomas McKean, signer of the Declaration of
Independence and a future governor; General and Brother
Anthony Wayne of Winchester Lodge No. 12; and Dr. and
Brother Benjamin Rush.  Rush was a signer of the Declaration
of Independence, and was reputed to have recanted his
Masonry in a dispute with Joseph Reed and the "leather apron
majority in Pennsylvania," that group of which Judge George
Bryan was referred to as the "Grand Master."  Twenty-four
Anti-Federalists also won convention seats, among them
Whitehill; John Smilie; Brother Findlay, future governor and
U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania; and Brother Joseph Hiester
of Lodge No. 62 in Reading, also a future governor of the
state.
The ratification convention assembled and on November 21
elected the Reverend Brother Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg
of Lodge No. 3, Philadelphia, as president.  Brother
Muhlenberg would become the first Speaker of the U.S. House
of Representatives.  Debate on ratification continued until
December 12.  The Anti-Federalists, led by Brother Findlay,
opposed the Constitution as exceeding its authority,
containing no bill of rights, and destroying the sovereignty
of the states.  Fifteen amendments, including a bill of
rights, were presented by the Anti-Federalists.  However,
having heard that Delaware had ratified, Pennsylvania
quickly voted forty-six to twenty-three to do so.  The
proposed amendments were never included in the minutes, even
after protest by Whitehill.
At noon on December 13, ratification was formally announced.
To celebrate, the bells of Christ Church rang, thirteen
cannon fired a salute, and a parade was organized.  One of
the floats in the parade drew much attention: a boat mounted
on a wagon drawn by five horses while the crew chanted,
"Three and twenty fathoms, foul bottom; six and forty
fathoms, safe anchorage," referring to the convention vote.
The festivities concluded with the members of the Supreme
Executive Council and Congress dining at Epley's Tavern.
There they engaged in thirteen toasts, the first to "the
people of the United States" and the last to "peace and free
government to all the nations of the world."
The Pennsylvania Anti-Federalists, however, continued their
assault on the Constitution.  During the ratifying
convention, Alexander J. Dallas, father of Grand Master
George Dallas, published notes and speeches of the
convention in the PENNSYLVANIA HERALD, but was pressured by
the Federalists to cease from November 28 through December
12.  On December 18, the PENNSYLVANIA PACKET AND DAILY
ADVERTISER published the semi-official "Address and Reasons
of Dissent of the Minority of the Convention of the State of
Pennsylvania to their Constituents," which was also printed
in pamphlet form by Brother Oswald.  Charges against the
Federalists also emerged as to their omission of the motions
of the Anti-Federalists at the convention and for
deliberately delaying the mail, which was a vital
communications link for newspapers such as Oswald published.
Many communities around the state celebrated the
ratification with strong support of church bells, bonfires,
and cannon.  However, on the day after Christmas in 1787, a
Federalist celebration in Carlisle was turned into a riot
when armed Anti-Federalists attacked the peacefully
assembled revelers.  Effigies of Brother Thomas McKean and
James Wilson, a noted citizen of Carlisle, were burned.
Anti-Federalists armed with clubs also attacked Wilson
physically; it is reported that he would have been beaten to
death had an old soldier not thrown himself in the way of
the blows.  When both sides resorted to firearms and twenty
Anti-Federalist rioters were arrested, the militia was
called to the scene and the incident finally resolved.  The
only casualty was one participant who lost an eye-gouging
match in the street fighting that occurred.
The conflict between Federalists and Anti-Federalists had
other picturesque incidents.  In the fall of 1787, a
signboard painted by Matthew Pratt hung in front of the
unfinished tavern at Fourth and Chestnut.  The picture was
titled "Representatives of the Constitution" and contained
portraits of thirty-eight of the delegates who signed the
document.  Crowds gathered to identify the men who were
pictured upon the sign.  At some time during the winter,
mischievous Anti-Federalists splattered the pictures of the
delegates with filth from the street.  On April 24, there
appeared in the INDEPENDENT GAZETEER a poem referring to the
sign, which concluded, "All that was wanted to complete the
bleak scene / Was a gallows that would hold at least ten or
fifteen."
Not all the states had such overt activity over ratification
as took place in Pennsylvania.  The smaller states were
quick to ratify, especially those without frontiers.
Delaware was the first to ratify - and by unanimous consent
- on December 7, 1787.  That state was represented at the
convention by Brother John Dickinson of Lodge No. 18 of
Dover Delaware.  New Jersey followed Pennsylvania on
December 18 and Georgia on January 2 in 1788, both by
unanimous vote.  Connecticut approved 128 to 40 on January
9, and Massachusetts accepted the Constitution on February 6
by a vote of 187 to 168 with nine suggested alterations,
including a bill of rights.  The Massachusetts ratifying
convention president was Brother John Hancock of Lodge No.
277, Quebec and St. Andrews, Boston; its vice president was
Brother William Cushing of St. Andrews Lodge.
Maryland voted 63 to 11 on April 28, with Brother George
Plater as president of the convention, and only after an
unsuccessful filibuster by Luther Martin.  Brother James
McHenry of Spiritual Lodge No. 23 supported the Constitution
in that state, and Brother Daniel Carroll of Lodge No. 16
told us that half of the delegates were instructed to ratify
the Constitution without considering any amendments.  South
Carolina followed by ratifying on May 23 by a vote of 149 to
23.
The ninth state to ratify, thus assuring adoption of the
Constitution, was New Hampshire.  Helpful to the New England
Federalist cause was Brother Oliver Ellsworth of St. John's
Lodge in Princeton, New Jersey, whose "Landholder" essays
did much to sway opinion in Connecticut and elsewhere.
While New Hampshire debated, so did Virginia, which finally
ratified on June 26.  The debate in Virginia saw Brother
Edmund Pendleton of Fairfax Lodge No. 43 as president of the
ratifying convention.  Here Patrick Henry (whose Masonic
affiliation is not verified), Brother Richard Henry Lee of
Hiram Lodge No. 59, and George Mason spoke against
ratification, while Brothers George Washington, John Marshal
(Grand Master of Virginia in 1795), Henry Lee of Hiram
Lodge, and Edmund Randolph (Grand Master and governor of
Virginia) supported the Constitution.  Patrick Henry implied
that the Philadelphia delegates were in criminal conspiracy
and that "it squints toward monarchy."  Henry's language
became so abusive, in fact, that besides precipitating a
near-dual with Randolph, it also caused Brother Nicholas
Gilman in New Hampshire to write to Brother John Sullivan,
of Henry and George Mason, that if spirited away to "the
regions of darkness" the whole ratification would be smooth.
Virginia finally ratified on June 26 by a vote of 89 to 79,
with a proposal for a bill of rights of twenty amendments.
Near the end of the convention, Patrick Henry, in a forceful
oration in a reply to James Madison, who strongly defended
the Federalist cause, prophesied:
...I see beings of a higher order anxious concerning our
decision.  When I see beyond the horizon that binds human
eyes, and look at the final consummation of all human
things, and see those intelligent beings which inhabit the
aetherial mansions, reviewing the political decisions and
revolutions which in the progress of time will happen in
America...the consequent happiness or misery of
mankind...will depend on what we now decide.
While Henry spoke, a storm was gathering and the darkness,
lightning, and thunder which ensued dramatically assisted
the orator.
Not all the debates were as heated or as divinely inspired.
While these state debates progressed, the Anti-Federalists'
objections began to crystallize in specific proposals for
amendments to limit the power of the central government.
Massachusetts proposed a short list of amendments in
February of 1788 and Virginia a much longer list in June.  A
more radical list of amendments was even proposed by Rhode
Island as late as March 6, 1790.  Of the debate, however,
George Washington wrote to Brother John Armstrong in April
of 1788, "Upon the whole I doubt whether the opposition to
the Constitution will not ultimately be productive of more
good than evil."  The accuracy of this prediction is now
evident.
As the states ratified, celebrations were held.  In
Charleston, Massachusetts, the allegorical ship of union,
THE FEDERALIST, was drawn by eight horses on May 27.  On
June 26, the SHIP OF UNION was drawn by nine horses in New
Hampshire, with a tenth harnessed and ready, representing
Virginia.  On July 2, 1788, the president of Congress, Cyrus
Griffin of Virginia, announced the Constitution ratified by
the necessary number of states.  The new federal government
would be instituted.
Pennsylvania, having had their ratification celebration on
December 13, 1787, held a "federal procession" and
Independence Day observance on July 4.  This procession was
indeed federal, acknowledging all the states.  It took three
hours for the mile-and-a-half-long parade of five thousand
participants and their floats to travel to the Union Green,
while upwards of fifty thousand spectators viewed the
festivities.  It was this Federalist procession that was
reenacted in Philadelphia on September 17, 1987.
The parade was divided into eighty-eight parts, and was
directed by Francis Hopkinson, the son of a Grand Master and
often referred to as a Mason, and a signer of the
Declaration of Independence.  One of the parts, "The New
Era," featured Chief Justice and Brother Thomas McKean and
Brother Peter Muhlenberg of Lodge No. 3, vice president of
the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania.  Brother
Benjamin Franklin, president of the Supreme Council, was
apparently absent.  One of the outstanding floats was the
"New Roof," a satire of the Anti-Federalists who "preferred
the old one."  It was designed by Hopkinson.  The "New Roof"
stood on a carriage drawn by ten white horses, with its dome
supported by thirteen pillars, three of which were
incomplete, with the letters of the states on each.  Around
the pedestal were the words, "In Union the Fabric stands
firm."
Many symbols of the unity under the Constitution were
displayed by various trade and professional groups.  The
clergy of different faiths walked arm in arm.  At the end of
the activity ten, rather than thirteen, toasts were given to
commemorate the ten states which had ratified to that date.
The Pennsylvania Anti-Federalists continued their activity
even after the new Constitution was ratified.  Not all their
opinions were innocent.  In July, Brother Eleazer Oswald was
in jail in Philadelphia on a contempt charge while under
bond in a libel suit against a rival editor.  Oswald, it
seems, commented on the scarlet robes Brother McKean wore in
the Fourth of July federal parade when he referred to that
jurist as being "like the whore of Babylon."
The debate continued in New York, which finally voted 30 to
27 on July 26, 1788, to ratify the Constitution.  Brother
George Clinton of Warren Lodge No. 17 was governor and had
vigorously opposed the ratification by using the press.
Brother Robert R. Livingston of Union Lodge served as
president of the ratifying convention and told the people
that New York would be hard put to defend itself in war if
it did not join the Union.  It was Livingston, as Grand
Master of Masons of New York, who administered the oath of
office to Brother George Washington on April 30, 1789, using
the altar Bible from St. John's Lodge No. 2.
The omission of a bill of rights from the federal
Constitution alarmed many individuals who were concerned
that guarantees of basic liberties be required of the new
central government.  The number of actual amendments
introduced into the House and Senate was reduced to twelve
after almost four months of conferences headed by James
Madison and Brother Oliver Ellsworth.  On September 25,
1789, vice President John Adams, president of the Senate,
and Brother Frederick A. Muhlenberg, Speaker of the House,
signed the amendments, which were then sent to the states.
North Carolina ultimately ratified the Constitution in
November of 1789.  Brother Samuel Johnston, a Grand Master,
was the president of that state's ratifying convention.
Finally, after economic sanctions had been employed as
persuasion, Rhode Island ratified in May of 1790, completing
the union of thirteen states.
Many of the participants in the ratification debate and
related events were Masons.  They were governors, signers of
the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of
Confederation, participants in their state constitution
conventions and assemblies, representatives to Congress,
delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and to
the state ratification conventions.
Many others were or would be Masters of their Lodges or
Grand Masters of their states.  Some of the Lodges were even
considered "patriotic" Lodges; an example is Lodge No. 3 in
Philadelphia, which in the war for independence had
eighty-five Continental Army officers as members, and Lodge
No. 2, which was described by the British in 1777 as "a nest
of rebels."  During the ratification debates, many Masons
were involved both as Federalists and Anti-Federalists.
Each side even had printers and publishers who were Masons,
and the presidents of most of the ratification conventions
were Masons, as well.
Whatever their feelings and position on the issues of
federalism, states' rights, taxes, or personal guarantees of
rights, we can be confident their actions were sincere.
There debates which took place in the newspapers, at public
meetings, through broadsides and pamphlets, and at the
ratifying conventions were necessary.  They performed the
great service of examining the Constitution and declaring
its intent.  Without the analysis of James Wilson and the
essays of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, a public understanding
of the Constitution and the federal republic it outlined
would not have come about.  The Anti-Federalists contributed
the Bill of Rights.  Ironically, many of the very strong
Anti-Federalists eventually took an active part in the new
federal government; for example, Brothers George Clinton and
Elbridge Gerry became Vice Presidents of the United States.
Brothers William Findlay and Richard Henry Lee became United
States Senators, while Brother Joseph Hiester served in the
House of Representatives.
It should be a priority for us as Masons, during this
bicentennial anniversary, to renew our research into the
Masonic affiliation and involvement of those personalities
who shaped this period of our nation's history.
