June 1, 1787: National Executive Debated

"America [has] certainly - upon this occasion - drawn forth her first characters; there are upon this convention many Gentlemen of the most respectable abilities; and, so far as I can discover, of the purest intentions."

--George Mason to his son, George Mason, Jr., June 1, 1787

Friday, June 1, 1787: The Convention Today

The Convention, meeting in the Committee of the Whole, agreed to give the executive branch the power to carry the national laws into effect. The delegates then debated the selection procedure and term of office for the national executive as well as its composition.

The proposals for term of office varied from three to seven years, with some men favoring re-election and others opposed to it. After much discussion, the term of seven years came to a vote. Five states voted for it, four against and one divided. The Committee of the Whole chairman Nathaniel Gorham decided that this constituted an affirmative vote and the motion for a seven year term carried. This precedent for an affirmative vote assumed great significance on July 16 when the same breakdown decided the critical issue of representation in Congress.

James Madison (VA) proposed a single executive aided by a council, but Edmund Randolph (VA) voiced his concerns over the possibility of an ambitious man abusing his authority. Georgia delegate William Pierce noted that James Wilson (PA) feared the power of many over one, saying "A plurality in the Executive of Government would probably produce a tyranny as bad as the thirty Tyrants of Athens."

The Convention postponed voting on both the method of selecting an executive and whether one individual or more would comprise the office.

Synopsis

• Agreed to a national executive with power to carry the national laws into effect, and to appoint officers not otherwise provided for
• Agreed (5 – 4 – 1) on a seven-year term for the national executive
• Postponed consideration of single or plural executive

Delegates Today

• Mr. William Houston (GA) took his seat.
• General Washington dined with John Penn, the last proprietary governor of Pennsylvania and "spent the evening at a superb entertainment at Bush-hill given by Mr. (William) Hamilton - at which were more than a hundred guests."
• New York delegate Robert Yates wrote his uncle, states rights extremist Abraham Yates, that convention debates were secret but that he was keeping notes of the debate.

Philadelphia Today

• Today was fair and warm.
• The six Philadelphia Street Commissioners met and ordered Joseph Tatem to fix the sidewalk in front of his house. Tatum, a tailor, lived in the "Slate Roof House" on Second Street, once the home of William Penn.

Part of a series of articles titled
The Constitutional Convention: A Day by Day Account for June 1787.

Next:
June 2, 1787: Debate Continues on the National Executive

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• Independence National Historical Park

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