Page 2, Portland Observer, January 28, 198/
The Origins of the Constitution
by James M 0 ' Fatten
E D IT O R S N O TE
This >• th e ftre t in a eerie« o f w e e k ly a rticle «
a b o u t th e C o n s titu tio n o f th e U n ite d S ta ta a W r itte n by fa c u lty
m e m b e rs o f th e U n iv e rs ity o f O re g o n , th e a rtic le s a re pre
s e n te d In re c o g n itio n o f th e c e le b ra tio n th is year o f th a Bi
C e n te n n ia l o f th a C o n a tltu tio n
Tha series is a jo in t e ffo r t of
th e U n iv e rs ity o f O re g o n a n d th a O re g o n N e w s p a p e r P u b lis h
ers A s s o c ia tio n
Th« gathering in Philadelphia that we know as the
Constitutional Convention began inauspiciously. On
the day appointed for convening. May 14. only a few
delegates were assembled
Not until May 25 were
enough states represented to allow business to begin
The timely delegates were not idle while waiting Led
by James Madison and other members of the Virginia
delegation, they developed a set of resolutions that
would control the agenda during the convention's early
weeks
The Virginians had led the effort to obtain the call for
the convention from the Continental Congress, the
governing body under the Articles of Confederation.
They were convinced that prospects for the country
were gloomy On their view, the Confederation govern
ment was inadequate to provide security against foreign
invasion, and incapable of checking quarrels between
the states, particularly with regard to commercial mat
ters.
To cure these defects. Virginia proposed a strong
national government
In fifteen resolutions, the Vir
ginia Plan set out a general design for a new political
system. It should have a legislature of two branches,
an executive and a judiciary: The Confederation govern
ment consisted of a single branch legislature, without
executive or judiciary.
Representation in the new
government should be proportional to population or
taxation: Under the Articles, each state had an equal
vote, and unanimity was required for action The new
government should be able to use force against states
to ensure compliance with its laws: The Confederation
depended on voluntary compliance.
From May 30 to June 13 the convention met as a
committee of the whole to discuss the Virginia plan
thoroughly without the inconvenience o, strict parlia
mentary rules They adopted a rule of secrecy, to en
courage candor
A most significant development during this period
was a shift away from the idea of a national govern
ment that would act on the states, towards one that
would act directly on individuals Rather than requisi
tions of funds from the states that might have to be
collected by armed force, the national government
would be empowered to levy and collect taxes from the
citizens
Many delegates became unhappy with the general
tendency of the convention. Whilo agreeing that the
national government needed more power, they wanted
to maintain state independence and autonomy
The
Virginia Plan, in their view, concentrated far more
power than was safe in the national government On
June 15 they presented an alternative, the Patterson
Plan, calling for modost additions to the powers of Con
gress but maintaining the preeminence o, the states in
the governing structure After a few days discussion,
heavily laden with political theory and featuring propo
nents of a strong national government including Madi
■son, Alexander Hamilton and James Wilson, the Con
vention laid aside the Patterson Plan, and turned to re
fining the Virginia Plan
For the next several weeks, as Philadelphia simmered
In the summer heat, the convention stalled on the ques
tion of representation in the new government
Large
state delegations Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massa
chusetts — insisted that proportional representation in
both legislative houses was necessary in a government
that was to act on individuals rather than on states
Delegates from smaller states held out for representa
tion by states, arguing that otherwise their concerns
would have no effective vote. Tempers grew short As
the Fourth of July approached. Benjamin Franklin sug
gested that they begin each day with prayer for divine
guidance.
Franklin's suggestion was not taken up. perhaps
owing to lack of money to pay a chaplain, but soon
thereafter the convention-achieved" a saving compro
mise In the Senate, each state would be equally re
presented Representation in the House of Represen
tatives would be by population, counting slaves as 3 /5
of a person The inclusion of slaves in the count was an
indirect way of representing property in the determine
tion of representation, not a means of representing the
slaves themselves
Other hotly debated issues included the method of
selecting the executive, and a proposal to give the
national legislature a veto over state laws The decision
to employ the electoral system to select the President
resolved a dispute between those who wanted popular
election in order to reinforce the independence of the
executive, and those who wanted election by the
Senate in order to enhance the power of the States in
the new government The veto dispute reflected a simi
lar split between strong nationalists and supjxxters of
state authority It was resolved by adoption of the Sup
remacy Clause, which establishes the Constitution and
laws of the United States as "supreme law of the land
any thing in the constitution or laws of any state
to the contrary notwithstanding "
The convention gave surprisingly little attention to
the particular powers granted the new government
The Virginia plan proposer) that the national legislature
should enjoy the legislative rights vested in Congress by
the Articles of Confederation, and power to legislate
"in all cases to which the separate States are mcom
petent, or in which the harmony of the United States
may be interrupted by the exercise of individual legis
lation " In response to a claim that the breadth and
vagueness of this specification of power would allow
the national government to run roughshod over the
states, James Madison acknowledged the potential but
despaired of finding a more precise statement of power
that would still be adequate to the task
In the end, the convention produced a list of powers,
capped by the power to make all laws "necessary and
proper to give effect to the enumerated powers Madi
son s notes on the debate on this provision cover one
half page After adoption of the Constitution, the ques
tion so easily resolved in the convention became the
locus of detiate between states' rights advocates argu
ing for narrow construction of national powers, and
strong nationalists supporting broad construction
Thus many of the issues apparently settled in the con
vention were reopened as questions of constitutional
interpretation
The convention closed on a hopeful note Benjamin
Franklin commented that during the porceedings he had
often gazed at a painting of the sun on the back of the
President's chan without being able to tell whether it
was using or setting "But now at length I have the
happiness to know that it is rising and not a setting
Sun.'*
On September 17. 1787. all but three members of the
convention signed the Constitution
In one of those
ironies that lend poignancy to history, Edmund Ran
dolph, who had presented the Virginia Plan to the con
vention. declined to sign He believed that the Const)
tution should be sent out to the states for their con
»deration, then referred to another convention for fur
ther refinement His fellow delegates, having endured
one summer m Philadelphia, would not hear of it.
IO I allot! ix (H iileaaor o t law « I th « U n ive rs ity o f O re g o n an d eh««
m an ot th « P '« « id e n t « Com m ittee tor lite Hi C e n te n n ial i t the Untver
uty I
The Prognosis Is Bloody and Chilling
Calvinism first came to Arnenka during the early part
of the 17th Century by way of the Pilgrim and Puritan
migrations from England. These two groups introduced
the Calvinistic version of Protestant Christianity into
Arnenka
Blacks were not a part of early Amenkan
culture
Ramifications of some of these beliefs still
exist. The key idea of the new theology was that an
individual's relationship to God needed to be screened
by some intermediate level of authority: a government
This intermediate level of authority between God and
the Black man come to be the caucasoid man himself
The Puritans thus set the foundation for so called Chn
stian caucasoid Amenka's Rassenwissenscraft, or "race
science", which refused even to see the Black man
capable of becoming the equal in status to the so called
Christian caucasoid man. This is the historical and
philosophical background of "racism which lies behind
the guise of a thousand and one contumacious ideas
that the colleotive caucasoids have about Blacks And
the ideas give rise to the actions - tanging from murder
in Mississippi to moving out of the neighborhood in
Northeast Portland designed to maintain the so called
Christian caucasoid man s superior status and to keep
the Black "in his place."
The Black man's presence in Amerika was dictated
from the beginning by his utility value as an unpaid
worker Although he did not matter in any other tangi
ble way. his very existence as a deviant character in
Caucasian civilization also served the caucasoid man's
interest According to the sociology of deviance, hu
man groups have a need to view some persons or
classes or groups of other humans as misfits, as beyond
the pale. I’m inclined to believe the so called Negro
...is victimized by the psychological and social conflicts
now inherent in a so called Christian caucasoid civil*
zation. caucasoid society is purely and simply incapa
ble of really accepting their creation, the so called Ne
gro. and assimilating him. I'm inclined to believe in
order to minimize the sense of hazard and disaster al
ways latent in themselves, the collective Caucasians
have to project their fears on to some object outside
themselves caught in this inescapable syndrome is the
so-called Negro, who has had the misfortune to make
his presence, his wretchedness, his own conflicts, his
own disruption, clearly visible now, when caucasoid
society is least prepared to cope with an extra load of
hazard What is the result?., a viciously pathological
hardening of the insecure, a tightening of resistance, a
confirmation in fear and hate on the part of those Icon
servatives and otherwise) who are determined to blame
someone else for their own inner inadequacies
The
incredible inhumanity of this refusal to listen for a m o
ment to the so called Negro in any way whatever, and
of this determination to keep him down at all costs, is,
it seems to me, almost certain to provide a hopelessly
chaotic and violent revolutionary situation More and
more, the animosity, suspicion and fear which these
caucasoids feel develops into a setf fulfilling pro
phecy Blaming to so called Negro This is not just a
matter of rationalizing and verbalizing It has become
a strong emotional need for the caucasoid man, espe
cially in Oregon Blaming the so called Negro (and by
extension the Communist, the outside agitator, etc.I
gives the caucasoid a stronger sense of identity —or,
rather it protects an identity which is seriously threat
ened with pathological dissolution It is. by blaming the
so called Negro, that the caucasoid man tried to hold
himself together The so-called Negro is in the unen
viable position of being used for everything, even for
the caucasoid man's psychological security.
The collective caucasoid racist's hate of the so called
Negro (I repeat, Hate; for this is only a mild word to
represent the reality in the hearts of these disturbed
people) is made acceptable to him when he represents it
as a so called Negro hatred of the caucasoids. fermen
ted and stimulated by Communism. Cold war and racist
fears nearly click together in one unityl Everything is
so simple1 ..(And) all this in the name of Religion,
Christ, Christian heroism, etc., etc........which is, in
reality, a falsification and a perversion of natural per
spectives. which separates him (the Amenkan cauca-
soid man) from the reality of creation and enables him
to act out his fantasies as a little autonomous god. see
mg and judging everything in relation to himseff The
primeval wellspring in the caucasoid man's past - his
pattern of thinking based on his conception of himself
as a man and his cultural inclination to preceive him
self as the unsullied "good guy", and his opponent as
the Devil reincarnate - will determine the caucasoid re
action to the Black assertion The Prognosis is Bkxyly
and Chilling.
Dr. Jamil Cherovee
A lo n g th e C o lo r Line
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14Ó
Jesse Bashing
A sophisticated type of "political Uncle Tomism”
has emerged in 1986 1987 "Jesse Bashing." There has
been a deep strain of opportunism among some middle
class. Black leaders, who curry favor among white
political bosses The technique is simple Trash the
most prominent Black spokesperson on the national
scene counsel political pragmatism and a retreat from
demonstrations and political activism; and advocate
go-slow economic policies designed to perpetuate
Blacks' oppression The leading Republican practition
ers of this style of stoogery are the "Black Reaganites",
led by political administrator Thaddeus Garret, execu
tive Wendell Wilkie Gunn, ideologue J Parker civil
rights director Clarence Pendleton, and economist Tho
mas Sowell, Walter Williams and Glen Loury
But now a Democratic version of this accommoda
tionist trend has developed, which is designed to de
stroy the progressive dynamic of the Rainbow Coalition,
and especially to derail any presidential candidacy of
Jesse Jackson in 1988 A number of Black politicians
are already scurrying behind Cuomo. Hart, Nunn.
Robb, Babbitt, Biden, and other nameless lesser lights,
hoping to gain some crumbs and favors for themselves
For them, the technique is to "Bash" Jesse, to deplore
his emotional rhetoric, to attack his economic and social
ideas, to criticize his confrontations with business and
political leaders This is essentially a form of negative
criticism without providing any real alternative agenda
At last month's Virginia meeting of the Democratic
Leadership Council, a group of conservative Demo
crats. the rhetoric of "Jesse Bashing was combined
with a lukewarm version of Reaganism. or "Reagan
With A Human Face " Several Black politicians show
ed up, prepared to follow the script Michael Lomax,
the chairman of the Fulton County Commission in Geor
gia, urged his white colleagues to pursue a "moderate
approach" as the winning strategy for the 1988 elec
tions "It doesn't do any good to be knocking on the
door from the outside," Lomax argued Former Con
gresswoman Barbara Jordan was given the special task
to "bash" the Rainbow Coalition at a panel on social
welfare policy Warning darkly about the dangers of the
"Jesse Jackson factor." Jordan received an ovation
when she rhetorically challenged Jackson: "W hy don't
you |oin us? Don't frighten everybody off Don't be so
volatile that people become afraid to associate with us."
What Jordan actu ally means is: "don't be so politically
progressive or uncompromising on liberal issues that
the conservative, white middle class won't support the
Democratic party in presidential elections "
Jackson remains the most popular leader of Black
Americans, and one of the few politicians who has the
potential to unite millions of minorities, feminists, wor
king people and the poor under an umbrella of progres
sive social policies However Jackson has not been
able to transfer his personal popularity to several local
candidates who agree with his basic program of social
justice Last year in North Carolina, for example. Jack
son endorsed Black candidate Theodore Kinney in the
Democratic primary for the U S. Senate Despite Jack
son’s 25 percent total in the 1984 North Carolina Demo
cratic primary vote. Kinney got less than 5 percent In
Savannah. Georgia's mayoral election, Jackson's can
didate was former city alderman Roy Jackson. Al
though Blacks comprise almost half of the city’s voting
age population, incumbent mayor John Rousakis de
feated Roy Jackson by a two to one margin.
One of the most highly publicized political defeats for
the Rainbow last year occurred in New Jersey's Tenth
Congressional district. Jackson had received 70 per
cent of the district's vote in the 1984 presidential pri
mary Although the district was represented in Con
gress by veteran liberal Peter Rodino, many constitu
ents felt that the time had arrived for a Black liberal to
replace him Announcing his candidacy just before the
1986 primary, Donald Payne, a two term Newark City
Council member and a former president of the national
YMCA, represented a Black, liberal alternative
The local and national media deliberately distorted
this campaign as a Black vs. white contest, and used
Jackson's endorsement of Payne as evidence in its
“ Jesse Bashing" campaign The New York Times edi
tonalized "M r. Jackson felt compelled to take out after
(Rodino), using Mr Payne as a racial prop
Jackson
seems incapable of looking at anything except race
Other newspapers lumped on the Jesse Bashing Band
wagon."
Although Payne was defeated by Rodino, this cannot
be blamed on Jackson's participation in this campaign
Payne entered the primary late, less than one month be
fore the election He spent only $25,000 vs $175,000
for the incumbent
Moreover, Rodino also had the
support of many members of the Congressional Black
Caucus. But the net outcome was the perception that
Jackson was a "racist” , and that the Rainbow had lost
its influence
On the positive side, the Rainbow Coalition continues
to grow at the grassroots level, and Jackson has re
mained at the forefront of professive struggles As of
last Novemtier, the National Rainbow Coalition had
over 20,000 paid up members, and chapters now exist
in 40 states Jackson has travelled to South Carolina,
to help promote the struggle against racist harrassinent
and discrimination at the Citadel. Last fall, when Japa
nese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone publicly crib
cized the "low level" of intelligence by Blacks and His
panics, most politicians tried to skirt the issue. Instead,
Jackson flew to Japan, and challenged the Japanese
companies for their total insensitivity to the legitimate
business quests" of minorities and women. Unlike
many Black politicians, who have said little about the
Iran-Contra arms scandal. Jackson has repeatedly
attacked Reagan and his administration's actions as
"illegal" and "immoral."
Jackson's Operation PUSH has also continued to
make headway on the economic front. In mid Decern
ber, PUSH signed a $1 billion extended agreement with
Burger King Corporation, that will create thousands of
Black and working class jobs. By 1992, Burger King is
to increase its Black franchise owners from 70 to 550
The deal provides for money to Black owned food dis
tnbutors, advertising agencies, and landscapers
It
even calls for the company to send many of its employ
ees to Black physicians for their regular physicals De
spite the obvious limitations of these types of "corpo
rate covenants", they illustrate that the economic and
political pressuie tactics espoused and implemented by
Jackson can yield real benefits Conversely, the Jesse
Bashing rhetoric of Barbara Jordan and Company leads
the Black community to a political dead end
Jackson correctly senses that political cowardice, in
this era of conservatism, will never provide the way
forward But so far the Rainbow Coalition has tried to
push the Democratic Party bat k to liberalism, and away
from its dangerous flirtation with Reaganism Sooner
or later, it must begin to address the question "Is it too
late to move the Democratic Party back to the left?'
The Democratic Leadership Council makes it perfectly
clear that it sees no future for the typ>e of progressivism
Jackson personifies If a Sam Nunn, or Chuck Robb,
or Gary Hart won the Democratic nomination, what
kind of policy concessions would we receive for our
electoral support, if any? If there is no real difference
between the Democratic and Republican presidential
candidates on policy issues, would our energies be bet
ter used in local electoral and social protest activities?
These are the hard issues which Jackson and his sup
porters must address in the coming months
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