Virginia and Maryland also were having their troubles. Virginia owned the lighthouses on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay entrance and demanded fees from every vessel entering the bay. Maryland, on the other hand, claimed the entire width of the Potomac River, citing old land charters to the effect that even if a vessel were tied to the Virginia shore, it still was in Maryland waters.
Connecticut, on the basis of a royal charter of 1662, laid claim to the Wyoming Valley, which Pennsylvania regarded as her own. The two states were on the verge of open war before cool heads prevailed and Pennsylvania’s claim was recognized as the more valid.
With such discord between the states, even in time of war, the winning of the Revolution and the survival of the Union approached the miraculous.
Merchants in Philadelphia and then in Boston decided to follow the lead of the New York merchants. Orders went out to English shippers not to ship more goods to America as long as the Stamp Act was in effect. In this tempest the seeds of revolution were broadcast, and it was a tempest that would not subside until the Colonies had won their freedom from Great Britain.
Despite the jealousies and the conflicts between the Colonies during and after the war, the people realized that only in unity could there be any real hope for survival. This realization moved leaders among the thirteen states to call the Constitutional Convention of 1787. And here it was they hammered out the Constitution which was to become the foundation for the United States of America and a blueprint for freedom.
The Convention met in New York City on May 14, 1787. The delegates chose George Washington as presiding officer of the Convention. The document produced at this convention by no means won the unanimous approval of the representatives from the various states. There were disagreements and reservations to the Constitution. A total of sixty-five qualified delegates were certified by the states to attend the Convention but ten of these did not attend. When the document was completed there were only thirty-nine who actually signed on September 17, 1787. Sixteen failed to sign, and some of those who did sign had reservations. This document was sent by George Washington to Congress, and Congress sent it to the various legislatures for their consideration.
The greatest fear at the time was that a central government would become too powerful. Having thrown off the yoke of one oppressive government, the Colonies wanted no part of another.
Washington reflected these fears when he sent the newly drafted Constitution to Congress. He was sensitive to the fact that the states would have to surrender some rights if they hoped to have an effective central government. In a letter to the president of the Congress, dated September 17, 1787, he said in part:
... It is obviously impractical in the Federal government of these States to secure all rights of independent sovereignty to each, and yet provide for the interest and safety of all. Individuals entering into society must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest....
The Constitution went into effect on March 4, 1789, and Congress acted with remarkable swiftness on measures which would insure the financial stability of the young government. On April 8, 1789, James Madison arose in the House of Representatives and said: