The Federal Convention of 1787

The greatest assault on democracy in America's history.

There is a great deal of discussion these days about how democracy is under assault in America. That is true. It is also true that democracy is always under assault – anytime and anywhere it manages to take root and blossom. The most successful assault on democracy in the history of America took place over a long, hot summer in Philadelphia in 1787, as fifty-five men of commerce, many of them slaveowners, drafted our Constitution.

As the delegates debated the details of the form of the government they hoped to put in place, the pros and cons of democracy were hotly debated. That portion of the deliberations constituted the greatest and most consequential debate on democracy that has ever been conducted. Democracy lost. Many of the flaws that continue to plague democracy in America two and a half centuries later can be traced to the fact that most of the delegates to the convention that drafted our Constitution were strongly opposed to democracy.

Madison's Contribution to the Historical Record

One of the first decisions made by the delegates to the convention was to keep their deliberations private. Nothing spoken in the convention was to be repeated outside the convention or made public.

Despite the vow of secrecy that had been adopted, several of the delegates took notes. James Madison was far and away the most active in that regard. He attended every session and took comprehensive notes, using a system of shorthand he devised himself. His stated purpose was to preserve a historical record of the proceedings. He succeeded admirably. Thanks to his efforts, we have an excellent and reliable record of what was said at the Federal Convention of 1787.

The other delegates in attendance knew that he was taking notes. In fact, he routinely checked with those who had spoken each day to verify that he had captured the essence of their remarks accurately. They knew that they could trust him not to share those notes publicly. And their trust was well placed. The notes that Madison took were not published until after his death and as the youngest of the delegates, he was the last to pass away.

Madison’s Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 fully accomplished his stated objective of preserving for history a record of the debates that took place at the Convention – “the process, the principles, the reasons & the anticipations, which prevailed in the formation of” our Constitution.

Meeting behind closed doors and having taken a vow of secrecy, the Framers of our Constitution were free to free to share their true feelings about democracy. Madison’s notes are the most complete and most accurate record of what was said and who said it.

As documented by Madison, most of the men who drafted our Constitution were openly hostile to democracy. Only four of the delegates spoke out in favor of democracy. Nineteen of the delegates spoke out harshly against democracy. And the remaining delegates generally sided with the antidemocratic delegates when votes were taken on the motions that were made in the convention that then became our Constitution.

Most of the delegates did not want to allow “the people” to have any role whatsoever in the new government. In the end, the delegates reluctantly agreed to let the people elect the members of the House of Representatives because they knew that if they did not allow the people to have some voice in the government, it would be difficult to get the Constitution ratified.

In their own words: Quotes from the framers of our Constitution:

Here are a few examples of what some of the delegates had to say:

One of the most outspoken critics of democracy was Elbridge Gerry, who became the namesake of the term “gerrymandering” when he drew an electoral map that contained district lines so convoluted that some people thought one district resembled a salamander. At the convention, Gerry stated that: “The evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy.” [Many of the “evils” that plague and corrupt our electoral system today flow from gerrymandering.]

Roger Sherman “opposed the election by the people", insisting that it ought to be by the State Legislatures. "The people should have as little to do as may be about the Government. They (lack) information and are constantly liable to be misled.”

John Dickenson considered “a limited Monarchy" to be "one of the best Governments in the world."

Edmund Randolph observed that “the general object was to provide a cure for the evils under which the U. S. labored; that in tracing these evils to their origin every man had found it in the turbulence and follies of democracy.”

Regarding the election of the president, George Mason, “conceived it would be as unnatural to refer the choice of a proper character for chief Magistrate to the people, as it would, to refer a trial of colors to a blind man.”

It may come as a shock to many Americans to learn that the men who drafted our Constitution, with few exceptions, were not fond of democracy. They did not trust “the people” to vote wisely. They knew, however, that they could not leave the people out of the government altogether. The Declaration of Independence had stirred the passions of Americans by stating that governments derive their "just powers from the consent of the governed."

A Government Founded on Fear

In his Thoughts on Government, John Adams observed that:

“Fear is the foundation of most governments; but is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men, in whose breasts it predominates, so stupid, and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it.”

And yet, the framers of our Constitution, at least some of whom had clearly read and been influenced by Adams’ Thoughts on Government, drafted a document infused with fear. Fear of the tyranny of a monarch on one hand and fear of democracy (the tyranny of the majority and "mob rule") on the other. And still, a majority of the Americans who cast votes during the ratification process approved that Constitution.

Adams may have been wrong in predicting that Americans would reject a government founded on fear. He has, however, been proven right in another regard – fear has, indeed, proven to be “so sordid and brutal a passion” that a great many Americans from his time down to ours have been rendered “stupid” and/or “miserable” as a result of our government being founded on fear. And that stupidity and misery, as well as sordid and brutal passions are evident in the way we conduct elections in America.

Our Constitution has long been revered by most Americans, very few of whom have ever actually read it. Even fewer among us have taken the time to make a critical comparison of the form of government put in place by our Constitution and the democratic ideals expressed so clearly and powerfully in the Declaration of Independence.

The material on this website is adapted from a soon to be published book: Government by the People: Perfecting Democracy in the 21st Century by Winston Apple.

Permission is granted to share with proper attribution. All Rights are Reserved.

This website is paid for by Perfect Democracy - a 501(c)4 political action committee.