In order to get the new US Constitution ratified, many compromises were required.  Because of this, although they supported the effort, several of the delegates did not place their signatures on the document.  Some chose to leave before the conclusion of the convention, but three notable men fought to the end but ultimately refused to accept the many compromises and endorse the document.  These PATRIOTS were George Mason and Edmund Randolph of Virginia and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. 

George Mason was an active participant in the creation of the new government but he had several concerns.  First and foremost, among these criticisms was that the new constitution had no Declaration of Rights for the people.  Mason also worried that the Judiciary Branch would override the state governments and make their laws pointless and that the President needed a Constitutional Council to ensure he is not “unsupported by proper information and advice and will generally be directed by minions and favorites.” 

Mason wrote a Declaration of Rights for Virginia, and he considered it to be the cornerstone of just government.  Most of the other States had used his Declaration as the basis of their own but his efforts to have one put in the Constitution were turned down.  In the end, however, Mason’s arguments for a Bill of Rights were so powerful that in his inauguration, George Washington promised that the first session of Congress would immediately address this omission. 

Elbridge Gerry was simply suspicious that a strong national government would annihilate state governments. Gerry, like Mason, pushed to include a Bill of Rights.  He was opposed to standing armies and national power to tax revenue.  At the Constitutional Convention, Gerry made clear his suspicion about democracy and putting too great of trust in the people themselves.  He opposed proportional representation—and thought the popular election of the House was unwise and unnecessary.  Is it any wonder that the number one constitutional crisis we face today has its roots in decisions made vey Elbridge Gerry — Gerrymandering.

Edmund Randolph was concerned that the three branches of government were not sufficiently balanced.  In Madison’s original 12 bills proposed for the Bill of Rights, he suggested a rigid and formal separation of powers (the legislature and executive could not adjudicate, the judiciary and the executive could not enforce or create laws).  Unfortunately, this is the only provision that Madison proposed that was not eventually adopted.  The country would have been stronger had we listened.

By supporting but still protesting Constitution, these men were able to continue the debate and ultimately refine the final form our government took.  They did not seek to prevent the Constitution from being ratified, in fact Edmund Randolph ACTIVELY sought to get Virginia’s support.  They are patriots to the cause and worked beyond the adjournment of the Constitutional Convention to ensure that the work was completed.

“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”

— Pirke Avot

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