This change was occasioned by the people. A petition signed by 18,000 persons had been sent to the Council of Censors, opposing all changes in the Constitution. Then, too, George Bryan had been elected from Philadelphia to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of a Conservative. Bryan was a radical of the radicals, and his election was sensed as an indication of the drift of public sentiment.
President Muhlenberg admitted early in the summer that the Conservatives were beaten, and attributed it to the “blind passion and mad party spirit of the common crowd.” General Joseph Reed thought their chief mistake was in presenting too many amendments. Bryan was severely attacked, and was characterized as the censor general of Pennsylvania.
In justification of their cause the censors simply issued an address to the people and then adjourned. They admitted that there were defects in the Constitution, but they could not agree on the changes. Even this address lacked unanimity, for twelve voted for it and nine opposed it. Thus the Constitution, which had been assailed so long, weathered the first storm and still remained unchanged.
The discontent with the Constitution did not die with the inaction of the censors. The old confederation was now expiring and the chaos was becoming darker than ever. Finally when all authority was gone, and the people had suffered enough for the lack of it, they were willing to adopt another constitution containing the principles of enduring life.
The movement that led to the ratification of the Federal Constitution by Pennsylvania gave the proponents of a new constitution the suggestion that a convention should be called to adopt another constitution for Pennsylvania.
The necessary steps were then taken, and the Legislature, acting upon petitions addressed to it, after many heated debates, reported the resolutions from the Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendations.
By this time it was clearly evident the majority of the people desired this in preference to a new Constitution made by the Council of Censors.
Furthermore, the Bill of Rights recognized the people as possessed of all the necessary powers in the premises. The report recommended a plan for the election of members to the proposed convention, and method of procedure. The resolution was adopted by a vote of 39 to 17.
The learned members of the Council of Censors did not agree; indeed, there was a strong and general feeling, especially among the most influential and intelligent, that the Constitution of 1776 was inadequate, and was still more so since the close of the war, when the situation was entirely changed.[changed.] On November 24, 1789, the convention met to revise the Constitution.