The Chairmen: A History of Pennsylvania Through its Leaders
Preface
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has faced many challenges over the years, more so since gaining independence, first from Great Britain and then finally total self-governance after the collapse of the short lived United States of America in the late 1700s. However, this great nation of the North American continent has endured the test of time, guided by the constitution, ratified in 1793, but also by the guidance of the great figures that have held the most prestigious office, that of Assembly Chairman.
Before embarking on a journey down the halls of history and examining the political figures and their various achievements in detail, one must first focus on the critical period before the Pennsylvanian constitution was drafted but after the United States had disintegrated. In this time period, sometimes referred to as "Pre-Constitutional Pennsylvania", a provisional government held temporary power while a more permanent system was decided upon. The government was headed up by George Clymer, a strong supporter of the concept of the United States who, like most others who had supported the idea, now found themselves being discredited as the union broke down. He was a lifelong statesman who was able to salvage enough of his reputation to keep his career, and to be entrusted to safeguard Pennsylvania during this trial of strength.
The interm government did very little. Its main purpose was to uphold the existing laws and maintain order. The constitutional convention would handle the major decisions, not the officials in temporary command. However, there was one issue that was pressing enough that it could not be ignored until the new government was in place. Nearly all of the new countries on the continent had competing claims on lands West of the Appalachian Mountains, tensions were rising between the major players. Pennsylvania's claims were to lands that were also claimed by New York and Virginia, mostly. The geographically smaller countries did not have access to these lands, though there were still some claims despite this. Some at the time also argued that New York was not in a position to contest the Western lands, a theory that would prove key for the Northern countries for the next few decades.
Clymer showed some initiative and sent a message to the leaders of New York, also in the process of organizing a new form of government, about the issue. At the time, the lands in question were not very well developed and did not have many settlers from coast. As such, Clymer was prepared to offer a generous settlement, though with a few conditions, in exchange for reducing tensions. The traditional theory was to extend the straight line along the latitude that was the existing, defined portion of the border. However, many in Pennsylvania wanted more access to the Great Lakes. Clymer decided to push for more land and a large shore on Lake Erie in return for recognizing New York's claims West of Lake Michigan and above the line that would be set by the treaty. While New York would only be able to access their lands via waterways, they would almost certainly never be granted another chance to cement such a large claim without a fight, and as such agreed to the conditions. The actual signing would take place later, under the first official administration, but Clymer still gets, rightfully so, most of the credit for this early Pennsylvanian foreign policy success.
As these events unfolded delegates met at Independence Hall for the Pennsylvanian Constitutional Convention. The event was similar to previous ones held at this historic landmark, but very different in a number of ways as well. Recently the last attempt to save the Unites States occurred inside, where men from around the former colonies debated the best way to strengthen the bonds between them and their countrymen. While many who had represented Pennsylvania were once more attending important proceedings, like Clymer, their ideas were now falling by the wayside and taking a backseat to an alternate theory on how to bind a modern democracy together. Instead of creating a stronger, more central government, the people now believed the opposite should be attempted, a reform in the spirit of the Articles of Confederation, the first governing document of the United States. All agreed that the highest level of government had been too weak and needed to be granted more powers, but many now believed that pushing it as far as the delegates had when attempting to save the colonial union would not work. A new concept arose, dubbed “Municipal Confederalization”, where municipalities would hold a great deal of power but a higher level of government would hold absolute power when it game to foreign affairs, national defense, and the conditional power to legislate over other issues as long as the resulting laws were not nullified by the lower governments. A second aspect of Municipal Confederalization was the subservience of the executive branch to the legislature.
The faction supporting this philosophy, called Confederalists by most, did not have a major leader or single figured responsible for it, unlike the plethora of famous statesmen who had seen their careers start a slow spiral downwards from events leading up to the Convention. Thus, while in the end the ideas of Municipal Confederalization won out, it was a very near thing. Many speculate that if Benjamin Franklin had not died three years earlier the outcome would have been very different. At the time of his death he still had enough clout to significantly sway the convention. However, the end result of the Convention was a unique, strange, but curiously effective system of governance.
At the heart of Pennsylvania's new government was the concept of the dominance of the legislature, the secondary tenant of Municipal Confederalization. Unlike the Articles of Confederation, however, there was an executive branch, but it was tied so closely to the National Assembly it was sometimes hard to differentiate the two. Infact, at first glance, the executive could seem to be but a quirk of the legislative process. While unicameral, the members of the Assembly were divided into an upper and lower class. Every ten years a survey would be held and temporary divisions drawn of 100,000 people, each electing ten lower members from further subdivisions and one upper member from the greater whole. The only difference, at first, was that only upper members were eligible for the position of Assembly Chairman, elected each term of six years by a vote of the entire chamber. In addition to having the powers of the executive, the Chairman would have the deciding vote in the event of a tie.
The central aspect of Municipal Confederalization was left open ended in the constitution. Local governments were given a wide latitude of ways to check the national government. The divisions, redrawn decennialy, played a major role in the majority of the processes, and thusly would have a rather large administrative role, but take no part in any decision making process. If three-fourths of the divisions, either by popular vote or by decision of three-fourths of municipalities within its boundries. However, the constitution did not place any limits on what the National Assembly had power over despite many pushing for them. While it was only political happenstance resulting from the various figures maneuvering and exercising their clout, many in modern times believe if the legislature had been limited the government of Pennsylvania would not have endured in this form for more then two centuries.
The consequences of this set up was a nation that was easy for a multitude of political parties to operate in at the mercy of popular opinion. Every single member of the National Assembly was up for reelection every six years, including the upper members. This combined with the fact that only two elections at most would be held under the same political boundaries meant that a political cycle lasted twelve years at most before fresh blood would have a chance to mingle with the old order, some of whom might find themselves vying for power with a former ally of the same party now in the same district.
Elections were scheduled for the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, a scheme borrowed from New York, with 1794 being the first election year. The Pennsylvanian people were focused around the new constitution for this first election, the supporters and detractors forming the first two political parties, the Confederalists and the Unionists. Some were dissatisfied with one issue taking the spotlight, but the only other major party to gain support before campaigning season were the Americanists, those who still supported the idea of a United States. Nevertheless, several figures decided to run without a party ticket, a few gaining a following. Moving into campaigning seasons, Pennsylvania was poised for many events to set the precedent for how all future elections would be handled.
Next Chapter: The Election of 1794
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