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MI Publius Huldah (Joanna Martin)
| Responses to Joanna Martin/Publius Huldah's Claims “What the Convention Lobby isn’t telling you about our Declaration of Independence” James Madison quotes/claims: QUOTE: “Having witnessed the difficulties and dangers experienced by the first Convention which assembled under every propitious circumstance, I should tremble for the result of a Second” From James Madison's letter to George Turberville in 1788 RESPONSE: This quote is taken from a letter Madison wrote to George Turberville regarding whether a second Convention (also referred to as a General Convention in this letter) should be called to make changes to the newly adapted Constitution. Madison acknowledges that he believes there are amendments that should be made to the Constitution. > “I am not of the number if there be any such, who think the Constitution, lately adopted, a faultless work. On the Contrary there are amendments wch. I wished it to have received before it issued from the place in which it was formed. These amendments I still think ought to be made according to the apparent sense of America and some of them at least I presume will be made.” Madison then says that the question is which mode of amendment given in Article V should be used to get those amendments. > “With respect to the first class, the only question is which of the two modes provided be most eligible for the discussion and adoption of them.” Madison discusses both options in view of the political climate in America at that time and speculates that the use of Congress to propose amendments to the Constitution would be easier to achieve and the faster way to get to the desired objective. > “A convention therefore does not appear to be the most convenient or probable channel for getting to the object.” Madison points out that the Article V Convention has a higher and more difficult bar to achieve because the States at the Article V Convention are bound by the Convention. > “A convention cannot be called without the unanimous consent of the parties who are to be bound by it, if first principles are to be recurred to; or without the previous application of . of the State legislatures, if the forms of the Constitution are to be pursued.” He indicates that Congress is the more convenient option for proposing amendments because unlike the Article V Convention, Congress is not bound by a single subject. > “The difficulties in either of these cases must evidently be much greater than will attend the origination of amendments in Congress, which may be done at the instance of a single State Legislature, or even without a single instruction on the subject.” Having established that he thinks that the first method under Article V (Congress proposing amendments) would be the most efficient answer to the need for amendments he proceeds to address the original question of his letter: Should another General Convention (like the Constitutional Convention) be called to amend the Constitution? Madison points out that a General Convention would be considered to have much greater power than Congress operating under Article V. > “If a General Convention were to take place for the avowed and sole purpose of revising the Constitution, it would naturally consider itself as having a greater latitude than the Congress appointed to administer and support as well as to amend the system; it would consequently give greater agitation to the public mind;” Madison rejects the idea of having another General Convention in the quote above. > “Having witnessed the difficulties and dangers experienced by the first Convention which assembled under every propitious circumstance, I should tremble for the result of a Second, meeting in the present temper of America and under all the disadvantages I have mentioned.” Read the letter in it's entirety. |
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| Created: | 2024-08-01 22:31 GMT |
| Updated: | 2025-10-20 18:20 GMT |
| Published: | 2025-05-29 15:53 GMT |
| Converted: | 2025-11-11 12:41 GMT |
| Change Author: | Sarah Santana |
| Credit Author: | |
public/cb_mirror/mi_publius_huldah_joanna_martin_txt_pages_25759.txt · Last modified: 2025/11/11 12:41 by 127.0.0.1