Section #1 - The Congressmen Who Built Then Broke The Union
Chapter 8: The Legislature
On July 26 a “Committee of Detail,” headed by John Rutledge of South Carolina, is assigned to “enumerate” the agreements reached on the Legislative branch.
Some of the Key Issues Raised in 1787 About the Legislative Branch
| Key Issues | Resolution |
|---|---|
| How will the Legislature be set up? | In two chambers, a House of Representatives and a Senate |
| How will the members be selected? | The public will elect House members and the state legislature will select the Senators. |
| For how long will they serve? | House terms will be two years and Senate terms will be six years |
| How many total House seat will exist? | Initially set at 51 but raised to 68 per Washington’s request |
| How many members will each state have? | The state’s population will determine the number of House seats it has while each state will have two Senators. |
| Will a state’s slaves be counted in its population? | Yes, but only as the equivalent of 3/5ths of white man |
| What will be required to pass a bill? | All bills must be approved by a simple majority in both chambers |
| How will the federal government be funded? | By certain excise taxes and the sale of lands in the public domain |
| Where will the funds be kept? | In a Federal Treasury which will also oversee banking and the money supply |
| How will federal revenue be spent? | All spending bills will originate in the House but required approval by both chambers |
| Who will approve judges, ministers and treaties? | The Senate will play an “advise and consent” role on these posts |
| Who will oversee impeachments? | The House will lay out the charges with the final trial in the Senate |
| Who will regulate interstate commerce? | The Congress will pass legislation to handle this. |
| Who will declare war? | The Congress is given this power. |
Despite many breakthroughs, the Legislative charter fails to arrive at a final resolution on slavery — with the Southern planters wishing to codify its permanence and future expansion, and others openly troubled by humans treated as chattel in the “land of the free.” In the end, slavery is legally sanctioned in states below the Mason-Dixon line and the Ohio River, and the North agrees to return any fugitive slaves to their proper owners. But the actual word “slavery” disappears from the final document in favor of “people bound to service,” and no guarantees are made regarding future expansion.
In hindsight, the treatment of slavery at the convention will be viewed as no more than a “temporary truce” on behalf of union.