ave done the same
with a constitution submitted to them by a single citizen." [Pomeroy's
Constitutional Law, p. 55]

The labors of the convention lasted four months. The constitution was
agreed to September 15, 1787.

Some of the difficulties encountered.--Of these perhaps the most
formidable was the adjustment of power so as to satisfy both the large and
the small states. So long as the idea of having the congress consist of
one house remained, this difficulty seemed insurmountable. But the
proposal of the bicameral congress proved a happy solution of the
question. [Footnote: See discussion of section 1, Article I.,
Constitution, page 124.]

Although so much distress had followed state regulation of commerce, and
although most of the delegates from the commercial states were in favor of
vesting this power in the federal government, it was only after much
deliberation, and after making the concession that no export duties should
be levied, that the power to regulate commerce was vested in congress.

Another perplexing question was the regulation of the slave trade. For two
days there was a stormy debate on this question. By a compromise congress
was forbidden to prohibit the importation of slaves prior to 1808, but the
imposition of a tax of ten dollars a head was permitted.

The men who constituted the convention.--The convention included such men
as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, James
Madison, Roger Sherman, Gouverneur Morris, Edmund Randolph, and the
Pinckneys. "Of the destructive element, that which can point out defects
but cannot remedy them, which is eager to tear down but inapt to build up,
it would be difficult to name a representative in the convention."
[Footnote: Cyclopedia of Political Science, vol. I., article
"Compromises."]

The constitution a growth.--The constitution was not an entirely new
invention. The men who prepared it were wise enough not to theorize very
much, but rather to avail themselves of the experience of the ages. Almost
every state furnished some feature. For instance: The title President had
been used in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Delaware, and South Carolina;
The term Senate had been used in eight states; the appointment and
confirmation of judicial officers had been practiced in all the states;
the practice of New York suggested the president's message, and that of
Massachusetts his veto; each power of the president had its analogy in
some state;