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Constitutional Law

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Federal convention

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Table Annexed To Article: The Text Of The Standing Orders Of The Federal Convention: Jackson’S And Madison’S Texts Surveyed, Peter Aschenbrenner Aug 2015

Table Annexed To Article: The Text Of The Standing Orders Of The Federal Convention: Jackson’S And Madison’S Texts Surveyed, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Drawing on Farrand’s Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, Vol. 1, Our Constitutional Logic has reconciled the differences between the text of the standing Orders as presented in the text of William Jackson, the convention’s secretary, and James Madison, the convention’s semi-official reporter, both as edited by Max Farrand. This text will appear in Basic Texts in the Founding of Parliamentary Science Originating from the United Kingdom and United States (in MR Text Format), 2 OCL 136_5; in turn, OCL is producing the first concordance of these texts in Founding the Science of Parliamentary Procedure, 1785-1789: Basic Texts in …


The Text Of The Standing Orders Of The Federal Convention: Jackson’S And Madison’S Texts Surveyed, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Jul 2015

The Text Of The Standing Orders Of The Federal Convention: Jackson’S And Madison’S Texts Surveyed, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Drawing on Farrand’s Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, Vol. 1, Our Constitutional Logic has reconciled the differences between the text of the standing Orders as presented in the text of William Jackson, the convention’s secretary, and James Madison, the convention’s semi-official reporter, both as edited by Max Farrand. This text will appear in Basic Texts in the Founding of Parliamentary Science Originating from the United Kingdom and United States (in MR Text Format), 2 OCL 136_5; in turn, OCL is producing the first concordance of these texts in Founding the Science of Parliamentary Procedure, 1785-1789: Basic Texts in …


An Introduction To Quorum Issues At The Federal Convention, Peter Aschenbrenner Feb 2015

An Introduction To Quorum Issues At The Federal Convention, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The first Standing Order of the federal convention directed voting by states under a ‘one state, one vote’ formula, but without the fatal ‘one state, one veto’ formula which Rhode Island abused in the Confederation Congress. “A House to do business shall consist of the Deputies of not less than seven States; and all questions shall be decided by the greater number of these which shall be fully represented; but a less number than seven may adjourn from day to day.” See A Survey of the Standing Orders of the Federal Convention and the Differences Between Jackson’s and Madison’s Text, …


Details Of Committee Membership At The Federal Convention, Peter Aschenbrenner Feb 2015

Details Of Committee Membership At The Federal Convention, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

From May 25 through September 13, 1787 the convention appointed twelve committees of which eleven reported. (The work of the Committee of the Whole House, technically not a committee, is addressed elsewhere.) Our Constitutional Logic calendars the committees by full name, date established and the date on which it reported to the convention. Each delegate’s assignments are then detailed and cumulated; the reader can identify the ‘never serving’ delegates – there are 19 of 55 who never served – and the workhorse delegates: King and Williamson served on five committees apiece, with King taking ‘top committeeman’ honours based on his …


Table Annexed To Article: An Introduction To Quorum Issues At The Federal Convention, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Jan 2015

Table Annexed To Article: An Introduction To Quorum Issues At The Federal Convention, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The first Standing Order of the federal convention directed voting by states under a ‘one state, one vote’ formula, but without the fatal ‘one state, one veto’ formula which Rhode Island abused in the Confederation Congress. “A House to do business shall consist of the Deputies of not less than seven States; and all questions shall be decided by the greater number of these which shall be fully represented; but a less number than seven may adjourn from day to day.” See A Survey of the Standing Orders of the Federal Convention and the Differences Between Jackson’s and Madison’s Text, …


Table Annexed To Article: Detailed Delegate Attendance Table Updating Farrand’S Records Of The Federal Convention: May 25, 1787-September 17, 1787, Peter Aschenbrenner, David Kimball Jan 2015

Table Annexed To Article: Detailed Delegate Attendance Table Updating Farrand’S Records Of The Federal Convention: May 25, 1787-September 17, 1787, Peter Aschenbrenner, David Kimball

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Fifty-five delegates were appointed by twelve states to attend the 1787 federal constitutional convention: the first day of business was held May 25, 1787. Twenty-nine delegates attended the session on that day, the low-water mark; forty-five attended on June 15, the high-point for delegate appearances. OCL updates the attendance data, which was last surveyed in Farrand's Records, 3 Farrand 586-590 (rev. ed. 1937).


Detailed Delegate Attendance Table From Farrand’S Records Of The Federal Convention (May 25, 1787-September 17, 1787), Peter J. Aschenbrenner, David Kimball Dec 2014

Detailed Delegate Attendance Table From Farrand’S Records Of The Federal Convention (May 25, 1787-September 17, 1787), Peter J. Aschenbrenner, David Kimball

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Fifty-five delegates were appointed by twelve states to attend the 1787 federal constitutional convention: the first day of business was held May 25, 1787. Twenty-nine delegates attended the session on that day, the low-water mark; forty-five attended on June 15, the high-point for delegate appearances. OCL updates the attendance data, which was last surveyed in Farrand's Records, 3 Farrand 586-590 (rev. ed. 1937).


Table Annexed To Article: How The Twenty-Six Superfounders Fared At The Ballot Box, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Dec 2014

Table Annexed To Article: How The Twenty-Six Superfounders Fared At The Ballot Box, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Twenty-six delegates who attended the federal convention at Philadelphia and who signed the constitution also attended their state ratifying conventions. Many of these SuperFounders ran for federal elective office in the first federal elections.


Table Annexed To Article: A Survey Of The Federal Convention's Note-Takers, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Oct 2014

Table Annexed To Article: A Survey Of The Federal Convention's Note-Takers, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Eleven of the fifty-five delegates that attended the Federal Convention took notes during the proceedings. These notes, along with Jackson’s official journal and available committee drafts, are assembled in Farrand’s Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. The best known are Major Wm. Jackson and James Madison, the convention’s official Secretary and its unofficial note-taker, respectively. The efforts of all twelve note-takers are surveyed by output.


Table Annexed To Article: Slave_Owner Attendance In Twenty-Five Votes On Article Ii, Section 1 Based On Updated Attendance Table, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Oct 2014

Table Annexed To Article: Slave_Owner Attendance In Twenty-Five Votes On Article Ii, Section 1 Based On Updated Attendance Table, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Our Constitutional Logic tables the attendance of Slave_Owner delegates in the twenty-five votes on Article II, Section 1 at the Philadelphia convention on August 24 and September 5 and 6, 1787; the information is drawn from Detailed Attendance Table Updating the Table Appearing in Farrand’s Records of the Federal Convention, May 25, 1787-September 17, 1787, 2 OCL 100, in which OCL updated the attendance data which was last surveyed in Farrand's Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, Vol. 3: 586-590.


Ages Of The Delegates At The Federal Convention: Early Birds And Worms?, Peter Aschenbrenner Sep 2014

Ages Of The Delegates At The Federal Convention: Early Birds And Worms?, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Of the fifty-five delegates who attended the federal convention at Philadelphia in 1787, the median in age was Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut, thirty-two years old. The delegate with the median remaining life span was Jacob Broom of Delaware (thirty-three years). The early arrivers were neither older nor younger than the others. Nor were they marked down for a shorter or longer remaining lifespan.


Secrecy Broken: Reports Of The Delegates Following The Federal Convention, Peter Aschenbrenner Nov 2013

Secrecy Broken: Reports Of The Delegates Following The Federal Convention, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Despite the measures taken to ensure the secrecy of the proceedings during the federal convention, many delegates made reports to their states and explained the choices underlying various clauses. However, no delegate had access to the official journal of the constitutional convention.


Table Annexed To Article: Secrecy Broken: Reports Of The Delegates Following The Federal Convention, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Oct 2013

Table Annexed To Article: Secrecy Broken: Reports Of The Delegates Following The Federal Convention, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Despite the measures taken to ensure the secrecy of the proceedings during the federal convention, many delegates made reports to their states and explained the choices behind various clauses. However, no delegate had access to the official journal of the constitutional convention.


Delegate Arrivals At Philadelphia Compared To Voting Records At The Ratification Conventions By State, Peter J. Aschenbrenner, David Kimball Sep 2013

Delegate Arrivals At Philadelphia Compared To Voting Records At The Ratification Conventions By State, Peter J. Aschenbrenner, David Kimball

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Fifty-five delegates were appointed by twelve states to attend the federal convention in May, 1787. Eleven states ratified the Constitution between December 7, 1787 and July 26, 1788. When delegate arrival dates are compared with the order in which their respective state ratification conventions completed their business, a significant number of delegates supporting the constitution are missing in action.


Table Annexed To Article: The Mathematical Logic Of Blocking Power: From Thirteen To Forty-Four States, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Apr 2013

Table Annexed To Article: The Mathematical Logic Of Blocking Power: From Thirteen To Forty-Four States, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

OCL explores the mathematical logic of blocking power, that is, the power to block organic change. In Constitution I (the Articles of Confederation) the formula was absurdly simple. Any state, no matter how geographically small, economically insignificant and revoltingly irrelevant could block organic change desired by all the other constituents. Hence, secession orchestrated (via Constitution II) so that the first nine states (willing to do so) could secede from Rhode Island.


The Mathematical Logic Of Blocking Power: From Thirteen To Forty-Four States, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Apr 2013

The Mathematical Logic Of Blocking Power: From Thirteen To Forty-Four States, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

OCL explores the mathematical logic of blocking power, that is, the power to block organic change. In Constitution I (the Articles of Confederation) the formula was absurdly simple. Any state, no matter how geographically small, economically insignificant and revoltingly irrelevant could block organic change desired by all the other constituents. Hence, secession orchestrated (via Constitution II) so that the first nine states (willing to do so) could secede from Rhode Island.


A Survey Of Note-Takers In Farrand, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Mar 2013

A Survey Of Note-Takers In Farrand, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Twelve writers took notes of proceedings at the federal convention beginning in May, 1787 at Philadelphia. The best known are Major Wm. Jackson and James Madison, the convention’s official Secretary and its unofficial note-taker, respectively. The efforts of all twelve note-takers are surveyed by output.


Staying The Propanganda Machine: How The Logic Of Secrecy Exposes Possibilities And Probabilities In The Ratification Process, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Feb 2013

Staying The Propanganda Machine: How The Logic Of Secrecy Exposes Possibilities And Probabilities In The Ratification Process, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The Standing Orders of the Philadelphia convention were modified on May 29, 1787 (what would have been their first day on the job) to drop the veil of secrecy over the work of the convention. Considered as a maneuver of preëemption against opponents of reform (outcome expected, given Congress’ resolution of February 21, 1787) the logic of secrecy exposes the possibility that it was a delaying device, staying the hand of reform supporters to launch their efforts until ‘signalled’ via publication of the final constitutional text.


What Happened On July 6, 1787 And Why It Matters, Peter Aschenbrenner Jun 2012

What Happened On July 6, 1787 And Why It Matters, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The first Standing Order of the Philadelphia convention provided for per stirpes voting, that is, voting by state, but set the quorum requirement at seven and the action requirement at four, that is, an arithmetic majority/majority. Divided states (delegates equal in number on each side of a question) were counted towards the quorum requirement. The significance of a disputed vote on July 6 is explained.


Table Annexed To Article: What Happened On July 6, 1787 And Why It Matters, Peter J. Aschenbrenner May 2012

Table Annexed To Article: What Happened On July 6, 1787 And Why It Matters, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The first Standing Order of the Philadelphia convention provided for per stirpes voting, that is, voting by state, but set the quorum requirement at seven and the action requirement at four, that is, an arithmetic majority/majority. Divided states (delegates equal in number on each side of a question) were counted towards the quorum requirement. The significance of a disputed vote on July 6 is explained.


Table Annexed To Article: Who Were The Superfounders? And Why Does It Matter?, Peter J. Aschenbrenner May 2012

Table Annexed To Article: Who Were The Superfounders? And Why Does It Matter?, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Thirty-two of the fifty-five delegates who attended the federal convention went on to attend a ratifying convention; twenty-five are Yes-Founders and one, Gov. Edmund Randolph, won his ‘SuperFounder’ status at the Virginia Ratifying Convention. Never before surveyed as a group, the table annexed names the SuperFounders and details their opposite numbers, the NoFounders.


Table Annexed To Article: Ages Of The Delegates At The Federal Convention, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Apr 2012

Table Annexed To Article: Ages Of The Delegates At The Federal Convention, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Of the fifty-five delegates who attended the federal convention at Philadelphia in 1787, the median in age was Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut, thirty-two years old. The delegate with the median remaining life span was Jacob Broom of Delaware (thirty-three years). The early arrivers were neither older nor younger than the others. Nor were they marked down for a shorter or longer remaining lifespan.


Table Annexed To Article: The Few, The Happy Few, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Mar 2012

Table Annexed To Article: The Few, The Happy Few, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The fifty-five credentialed delegates who attended (at least one or more) sessions of the Philadelphia convention supplied thirty-nine delegate signatories. But this figure is not the fewest number of delegates who could have organized the United States of America; that is, a new government which would substitute for (or secede from) the United States in Congress Assembled, the style of the (then existing) government under the Articles of Confederation.


The Few, The Happy Few: How Many Delegates Would Be Required To Organize The United States Of America?, Peter J. Aschenbrenner Mar 2012

The Few, The Happy Few: How Many Delegates Would Be Required To Organize The United States Of America?, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The fifty-five credentialed delegates who attended (at least one or more) sessions of the Philadelphia convention supplied thirty-nine delegate signatories. But this figure is not the fewest number of delegates who could have organized the United States of America; that is, a new government which would substitute for (or secede from) the United States in Congress Assembled, the style of the (then existing) government under the Articles of Confederation.


Chart Annexed To Article: Delegate Arrivals In Philadelphia Compared To Voting Records, Peter Aschenbrenner, David Kimball Mar 2012

Chart Annexed To Article: Delegate Arrivals In Philadelphia Compared To Voting Records, Peter Aschenbrenner, David Kimball

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Fifty-five delegates were appointed by twelve states to attend the federal convention in May, 1787. Eleven states ratified the Constitution between December 7, 1787 and July 26, 1788. When delegate arrival dates are compared with the order in which their respective state ratification conventions completed their business, a significant number of delegates supporting the constitution are missing in action.