state, Henry was elected by the legislature one of the delegates to the Convention for revising the Articles of Confederation among the states. His name stood upon the list, as recorded in the journal, next after that of Washington. The same imperious consideration, which had compelled him to decline reëlection as Governor, the urgent necessity of attending to his private affairs, also imposed it upon him as a duty to refrain from the acceptance of this high and honorable commission, the full importance of which was not, however, so distinctly perceived at the time as it is now. After the national Convention, which met the following year at Philadelphia, had terminated their labors, and submitted the result to the people, a state Convention was called in Virginia, to take the proposed constitution into consideration. Henry was elected by the county of Prince Edward, where he then resided, a member of this body, which met at Richmond on the 2d of June, 1788.

CHAPTER VII.

Virginia Convention for considering the Plan of the Federal Constitution. Henry opposes its Adoption.

IN following the progress of Henry through his long political career up to the point which we have now reached, we have more than once seen him acting upon his own views, in direct opposition to those of the most distinguished and patriotic of his fellow-laborers, in the common cause of independence and liberty. On all these occasions he had the satisfaction of finding his course sanctioned, after a short interval, by the almost unanimous approbation of his fellowcitizens; and the public opinion of the country seems to have settled down in the conviction that the bold, vigorous, and, as it may have appeared to some at the time, violent policy, which he recommended and acted on, was the one best fitted to effect the common purpose.

In regard to the course which he pursued in the Convention for considering the plan of the federal constitution, he did not enjoy the same good fortune. He appeared in that Assembly as a determined opponent of the adoption of the plan, and maintained his views throughout the

whole discussion with his characteristic ardor, perseverance, and power of logic and eloquence. Taking the whole country through, he was by far the most distinguished and conspicuous person, who opposed the new system. The great prosperity which the country has enjoyed for half a century in succession under this system, and which is justly attributed in no small degree to its beneficial influence, has long since stamped the constitution with the seal of general favor. It is now a matter of surprise and regret, to find that any one, and especially one so renowned as Henry for talent, patriotism, and eloquence, should have failed to perceive what has since become so apparent to all, and should have labored with so much earnestness to prevent the adoption of a system that has proved, in practice, the salvation of the country. We are half tempted to doubt, whether the opponents of the constitution acted with correct intentions and purely patriotic feelings, in resisting a measure which appears to us, at the present day, so clearly and manifestly right, and to attribute their course to perversity and selfishness, rather than to the lofty and patriotic motives upon which it was at the time justified by themselves.

We must recollect, however, in forming an opinion upon their conduct, that the constitution presented itself to their minds under a very

to us.

different aspect from that in which it now appears It came before the State Conventions, no doubt, under circumstances, in some respects, of the most auspicious character. It was offered as the result of the long and anxious deliberations of a most respectable assembly; it bore the signature of Washington. But there were other considerations connected with it of a different kind. It was known that the Convention had been greatly divided in opinion, and that the most important provisions in the constitution had been sanctioned by the smallest possible majorities, after the most intense and bitter opposition. The plan was untried, and patriotism imperiously required that an untried system, involving a complete revolution in the government, should be examined with extreme jealousy. This appeared the more necessary, as the Convention, in framing a new government, instead of merely amending the existing one, had in some degree exceeded its formal powers.

The system presented, in its most conspicuous, if not most important, features, particularly that of a single executive magistrate, forms repugnant to the cherished and habitual feelings of the people. These feelings were, of course, not diminished, in the present instance, by the knowledge, that the prominent friends of the constitution had urged, with great earnestness, in the Convention, the

adoption of the provisions in a much more obnoxious shape. If the tendency of the system, as it stood, were considered doubtful, the fact that its ablest supporters in the Convention declared the British constitution, especially in the executive branch, to be the model of a good government, might well justify the suspicion that the new project had, as Henry remarked, an “awful squinting towards monarchy." It may even be doubted, whether the views of the opponents of the plan were not, on some points, more correct than those of its supporters, and whether the immense amount of good, which has resulted from the adoption of the constitution, may not have been the effect of its great leading principles, operating in spite, rather than by the aid, of some provisions, which were considered at the time, both by friends and opponents, as more important than they really were, and which, so far as they have operated, have been of injurious rather than beneficial tendency. On the whole, it not only seems unnecessary to attribute the action of the opponents of the constitution to perversity or selfish views, but it may even be doubted whether the course pursued by them was not the one, which would most naturally recommend itself to an ardent and uncompromising friend of popular principles of government.

The point upon which the debates in the Gen