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The Achievement of the Philadelphia Convention
True Gentleman. ‘‘As the sword of the best tempered metal is most flexible, so the truly generous are to their inferiors.’’ The gentleman should be
a man of honor who would not lie or cheat. He should be a man of valor
who would serve the commonwealth as magistrate or member of an assembly, and a man of charity, both spiritual and material. No doubt a few
of the Framers were what Fuller called Degenerous Gentlemen, that is,
selfish and cunning opportunists. But most lived by gentlemen’s rules as
best they could. And some of them—Washington, George Mason, John
Dickinson, Gouverneur Morris, Alexander Hamilton, C. C. Pinckney, Rufus King, John Rutledge, James Madison, Daniel Carroll, and others—
fulfilled throughout their lives the gentleman’s obligations of manners,
honor, valor, duty, and charity.
The Constitutional Convention was therefore often more like a gathering of polite friends than an assemblage of angry political zealots. Under the influence of gentle manners, the Convention was conducted with
a decorum not since encountered in these United States, as delegates of
differing views observed with one another the old traditions of civility.
Temperate speech led to moderation, and moderation made it possible
for the Framers to resolve their differences peaceably and to achieve a
lasting consensus.
Such was the general tone of things at Independence Hall in the summer of 1787. Of course in any legislative body, or large council or committee, most of the work is accomplished by a minority of the members.
So it was at the Convention of 1787. A score at least of the delegates were
very active, while the others, quiet enough, approved or disapproved developments. With that understanding let us examine the character and
ideas of the Convention’s leading men.
A Wide Range of Talents
George Washington, the most popular and most dignified of Americans,
presided impartially over the Constitutional Convention. He was now
first in peace as he had been first in war and represented both the American people as a whole and his native Virginia.
Edmund Randolph, Governor of Virginia, a man of great family and
perfect manners, presented the Virginia Plan to the Convention. Even-