At the Independence Institute, Rob Natelson: New information on the Constitution’s ratification—Part IV North Carolina. From the introduction:
The editors of the Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution recently released two volumes of documents covering the Constitution’s ratification in North Carolina—the last state covered in the Documentary History’s series. My earlier updates summarized new findings from volumes covering South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Vermont. For full understanding, you should read this blog entry in conjunction with those three.
The North Carolina volumes are numbers 30 and 31 of the set. By far their most important lesson pertains to Article V of the Constitution—specifically the convention method of proposing amendments. The documents firmly debunk claims by some commentators that the composition of an amendments convention is unknown, unknowable, and/or must be determined by Congress. Instead, the North Carolina documents amply confirm what the records from other states tell us: an amendments convention is a “convention of the states.” This means it is composed of state delegations of equal voting power in the 300-year tradition of other conventions of the states and conventions of colonies.
And among a number of interesting findings:
* As in other states, “Commerce” was understood to mean only mercantile trade and a few related subjects and not the entire economy. 30 DH 12, 14; 31 DH 797. Other than copyright laws, federal power was not to extend to regulating the press (or, presumably, other local businesses.) 30 DH 10, 27. Similarly, Congress has no general power to legislate criminal law. 30 DH 427. However, the founding generation recognized that federal regulation of commerce necessarily affects other human activities, such as agriculture and manufactures. 30 DH 56, 244
* It was recognized that the courts would undertake judicial review to void unconstitutional federal actions. 30 DH 291.
* The North Carolina volumes further undermine the claim that the Constitution was adopted to protect slavery. Even in a slave state like North Carolina some of the Constitution’s strongest advocates were people who opposed slavery and the slave trade. 30 DH 103, 317, 389, 415. (And on the other side, the Constitution was opposed by many slaveholders.) Even the three-fifths compromise was not entirely pro-Southern—some North Carolinians objected to it because it increased the taxes of slaveholding states. 30 DH 253. Nor was the compromise driven by racism (although, of course, racism provided a justification for slavery). 30 DH 253.
* The right to keep and bear arms was understood to include “keeping arms for [one’s] own defense.” 30 DH 123.
Posted at 6:30 AM