Mr. Madison, in the Philadelphia Convention, had at first held views of
the sort of government which it was desirable to organize, similar to
those of Mr. Hamilton, though more moderate in extent. He, too, however,
cordially conformed to the modifications in them made by his colleagues,
and was no less zealous and eminent in defending and expounding the
Constitution as finally adopted. His interpretation of its fundamental
principles is so fully shown in the extracts which have already been
given from his contributions to the "Federalist" and speeches in the
Virginia Convention, that it would be superfluous to make any additional
citation from them.
The evidence of Hamilton and Madison--two of the most eminent of the
authors of the Constitution, and the two preeminent contemporary
expounders of its meaning--is the most valuable that could be offered
for its interpretation. That of all the other statesmen of the period
only tends to confirm the same conclusions. The illustrious Washington,
who presided over the Philadelphia Convention, in his correspondence,
repeatedly refers to the proposed Union as a "Confederacy" of States, or
a "confederated Government," and to the several States as "acceding," or
signifying their "accession," to it, in ratifying the Constitution. He
refers to the Constitution itself as "a compact or treaty," and
classifies it among compacts or treaties between "men, bodies of men, or
countries.
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