[August 1, 1776] (1) Question of great importance
The Abbe Reynall, an author who predicted so exactly all the circumstances of the present contr[overs]y 7 years ago, informs us that the liberties of the 7 United Provinces were lost from the foll[owin]g causes.(2)
AUGUST 1, 1776
Perfect unan[imit]y being required in their counsels.
Each province & city being unable to assent to anything 'till it had cons[ulte]d its Constituents.
Each province having an equal Vote.
From the experience we have had of the effects of the second of these causes-much weight in the last. We have lived to see several colonies well nigh ruind-nay more-the union of the whole well nigh dissolved-by the fatal operation of instructions, & I apprehend many of us will live to see greater evils to indiv[idua]l states, & to the whole if each state is all [owe]d a seperate Vote.
I am not able to point out all the mischiefs &c. In every case of doubtful issue it becomes us to imitate the mariner who has lost sight of the sun-keep eye steadily fixed upon his compass-thus we should keep our eyes steadily fixed on the principles of reason & rules of justice.
Shall attempt to point out the misch[ief] of this mode of voting].
1. [deist?]. Equal representation] the foundation] of liberty. To face the effects of unequal representation] would be to point out the principal cause of the downfall of liberty in most of the free States of the world.
The members of the congress it is true are appointed by States, but represent] the people-& no State hath a right to alienate the privilege of equal representation: it belongs solely [to] the people. The Objects before us are the people's rights, not the rights of States. Every man in America stands related to two legislative bodies-he deposits his property, liberty & life with his own State, but his trade [and] Arms, the means of enriching & defending himself* & his honor, he deposits with the congress.
If entitled to equal representation] in the first case, why not in the second?(3)
I add further-that the people of America have been accustomed to view the Congress without the intervention] of the states to which they belonged. And no wonder-the constitution & leaders of their states betrayed them-they looked up [to] the congress & it saved them. [ . . . ] I apprehend will the case [ . . . ] if time.
2. Evil-keeps up colony distinctions-we are now One people- a new nation-our Interests, language & trade not more divided than they are among the people in Britain who with a Better form of government] might have been happy & free under one complete System of Laws forever. Strange if we cannot, who are bound only by a few, &- those chiefly in the time of war.(4)
But I go further-our variety of interests is an Advantage to us- had our produce or manufactures between the same in our colony, more reason for jealousy-but the variety of both in every State points out that heaven intended us for one people.
Colony distinctions should be lost here. The more any man for gets the State which gave his birth, or which he represents, the better member of congress, & as in private life the more a man promotes the happiness of his neighb[ors], the more finally his own. So the more a man aims to promote the honor & happiness of the whole continent, the more certainly his own state. Every Act of the Conf[ederatio]n is general-all tend to the advancement of the whole.
3. Promote faction-a majority of the people, not states, will determine questions out of doors, and wherever we go contrary to their sentiments they will resent it-perhaps with arms. Already the States & people have divided upon the subject of independence. Bad consequences from it perc[eive]d-perhaps not fully known. Perhaps they will be known & felt in the course of the present war.
4. By this mode of representation we check the progress of freedom in this country. We shall soon experience such inconv[eniencie]s from voting by colonies that we will not readily admit small colonies into the confederation. But if they vote by numbers congress may judge when to admit colonies just as legislatures judge when to admit counties. If we do, whole system of confed[eratio]n be altered.
Sir I am alarmed at the consequences of the mode of voting proposed in this article. If we vote by numbers I maintain that we cannot deposit too much of our liberty & safety in the hands of the congress. They cannot be put out to better interest any where. Here colony factions may be destroyed-here the Aristocratic will cease to pant for a title-or to complain of the inequality of mankind. But if we vote by colonies I maintain that we cannot deposit too little in the hands of the congress. The Scheme is big with ruin, not only to one but to all the colonies.
But Sir, providence has held up a testim[on]y against this manner of voting. If ever colonies should think of having seperate interests, it must be those that are contiguous to each other. Now Sir let us examine the rel[ationshi]p which the several colonies have to each other. M. Bay lies contiguous to Rh. Island & New Hamshire- Pens[ylvania] to New Jersey & the lower Counties-N. Carolina to South Carolina & Georgia. If they vote by Colonies, think of the weight any one of these three large martial colonies will derive from their neighbours-but if by numbers they can derive no advantage from them that will not be ballanced by the members who will Vote in the other large colonies that are remote from it.
Sir, some of the colonies have lost sight of their true situation by being too familiar with the word independence. When confed[erate]d Sir, they are independant states, but in their seperate capacity, as they are defendant states, They cannot exist without each other. (Still however they are free and) Our weakness, & strength of enemies, &c require it. Their dependance differs from former dependance on the crown of &c, in their still retaining their freedom.
The congress interferes with no internal legislature, & each colony has a voice in proportion to the services it renders the states.
I have heard it said, that if we vote by Colonies 3 can bind the whole. If this the case, these three colonies are so seperated [they] can have no interest but within the interest of the whole. But if by Colonies don't the minority of people bind majority?(5)
By one article, 7 Colonies are to assess proport[ion] of taxes [for] each colony. Is there no danger from this to the large colonies? Is [it] not Subjecting them to the very evil We fled from G.B. to avoid -taxation without representation?
They say small colonies will plunge them into a war &c-no-here let 3/4 or 4/5 Determine.
Appeal once more to history to determine the question. Montesquieu pronounces the Confed[eratio]n of Lycia the best in the world. 25 cities,(6) large ones 3 votes, second size 2, small ones one. Strabo says the happiest & freest people in the world.(7)
But suppose 9 now include a majority-will this always be the case? May not some one from excell[enc]y of laws, soil, climate, become more popul[ous] than Whole? But, again suppose only 8 concur-shall we have no peace, alliances, money, &c? Or shall we [bribe?], persuade &c the 9th colony, or dissolve without doing any thing?
They say small Colonies deposit their all. Suppose we admit 8 or 10 Colonies with 5000 or 10000 inhabitants each. They deposit all too, but would the smallest colony among us be now willing to give each of them a Vote equal with itself? I believe not. But Sir-We are deceived here with a word. To suppose that a colony deposits all its liberty in the Congress is to give it one life-to make it as one man. This Idea is a most dangerous one. It is to contract millions to a span. It is to give a colony a single [ . . . ], & whether it is, intended or no, it is to invest the Congress with the power of a Caligula.
I might mention the advantages of voting by numbers. If any exclusive advantages from it will induce Colonies to cultivate the arts of population-to reform, & perfect their gov[ernmen]ts, to destroy religious establish[men]ts & to keep down arb[itrar]y power of every kind.
I am not plead[in]g the Cause of Pensylvania. In half a century she may be and probably will be as near the smallest as she now is the greatest states. New Hamshire & Georgia will probably receive most benefit from it if any exclusive Advantages from repres[entatio]n by numbers. No Sir-I am pleading the cause of the Continent-of mankind-of posterity.
I shall not say I will not sign the confed[erac]y if we vote by numbers-but I will say that every man who does, signs the death warrant of the liberties of America.
Propose a plan-every 5000 a member; when the congress amounts to above 100, encrease the proportion of people who are to send a member.
This is not the most perfect that can be wished; is certainly much better than the worst that can be contrived.
MS (PPL). In the hand of Benjamin Rush. Endorsed: "Notes of Speeches delivered in Convention in 1776, in Congress in 1776 Sc in Convention of Pennsya 1776."
1 It is clear from the notes of debates of both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, this date, that Rush delivered this speech on August 1, 1776.
2 The abbe Raynal (Guillaume Thomas Fransois) discussed the government of the Dutch Republic in book 19 of his Histoire philosophique et politique des etablissemens et du commerce des Europeens dans les deux Indes. See Philosophical and Political History of the Settlements and Trade of the Europeans in the East and West Indies, trans. J. O. Justamond, 6 vols. (London: J. Mundell & Co., 1798; reprint ed., New York: Negro Universities Press, 1969), 6:265 68.
3 At this point, Rush attached a small sheet of paper to his notes with sealing wax, masking over the following passage, which he probably ignored when he delivered his speech. "One right excepted which belong [to] States-boundaries- this perhaps by colony Voting. The rest are all the rights of individuals-no state can alienate them."
4 Here Rush attached a second insert, containing the next paragraph, which overlays the following lined out passage. "Let us remember our number [is] small- 300000 [3000000?] of people a small nation."
5 Rush interlined four words between this paragraph and the next: "in 9 binding 13."
6 According to Montesquieu, who cited book 14 of Strabo's Geography, the Lycian Confederation consisted of 23 cities. Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws, bk. 9, chap. 3.
7 Here Rush attached a third insert, containing the next two paragraphs, which overlay the following passage. "Our Confederation will partake of the infirmities of men. But let it be slight disordered. Dont let us [. . .] it that will 'grow with its growth, strengthen with its strength'--& finally ending its ruin." The biological metaphor Rush developed here undoubtedly rests upon his reading of Alexander Pope. "The young disease, that must subdue at length, Grows with his growth, and strengthens with his strength." Essay on Man 2.135.
* - Keep in mind that this was written by Mr. Rush well before the adoption and ratification of our Bill of Rights, (In reference to “he deposits his property, liberty & life with his own State, but his trade [and] Arms, the means of enriching & defending himself & his honor, he deposits with the congress.”). And, I'm sure that by now ALL are familiar with the restrictive clause in the Bill of Rights;
"the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
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