Of this distinguished Virginian it may be truly said-
His life was gentle; and the elements
So mixed in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, “This is a man.”
When
Randolph took his seat in the
Convention of 1788 he was in the flower of his manhood, being thirty-seven years old. His figure was portly, his face handsome, his hair long.
He had already achieved distinction by his forensic efforts in the deliberations of the
Convention at
Philadelphia.
His acquaintance with the
English language was perfect; his voice finely modulated; his periods stately; his gestures graceful.
He was recognized as the most accomplished statesman of his age in the
Convention.
His father, during the Revolution,
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adhered to the standard of
England.
The son, undaunted by the conduct of his father, who is said to have disinherited him for refusing to follow his example, but impelled by patriotic motives, hastened to the
Continental army, then encamped on the heights of
Boston, and offered his services in her defence.
This manly course tendered to his advantage and he was looked upon with great favor and pride by the people.
He was elected from
Williamsburg to the
Convention of 1776.
He was successively elected
Attorney-General and to Congress, and in 1787 he was sent to the General Convention which framed the
Federal Constitution.
He was at this time (1788)
Governor of the
Commonwealth.
He was, at one time, opposed to the
Constitution, and as one of the delegates from
Virginia to the General Convention, refused to sign.
He was now an advocate for its adoption and was placed in a delicate and embarrassing position, which Henry at once seized on and twitted him with.
A spirited, and at times an acrimonious debate ensued, in which the
Governor lost his temper and Henry rather got the better of him.
Randolph was both argumentative and logical in his discourses.
To
Henry's inquiry, already adverted to, why, ‘We, the people?’
he replied: ‘I ask why not?
The government is for the people, and the misfortune was that the people had no agency in the government before * * * What harm is there in consulting the people on the construction of a government by which they are to be bound?
Is it fair?
Is it unjust?
If the government is to be binding upon the people are not the people the proper persons to examine its merits or defects?
I take this to be one of the least and most trival objections that will be made to the
Constitution.’
The bold and sarcastic tone in which he answered the inquiries of Henry told that he defied the attacks of the orator of the people.
The personalities indulged in came near culminating in a hostile meeting.
Randolph ended a long and brilliant debate in repy to
Henry's charge of his inconsistency in opposing the
Constitution at one time and advocating it at another.
In a touching valedictory in justification of his conduct, said he: ‘But although for every other act of my life I shall seek refuge in the mercy of God, for this I request justice only.
I went to the
Federal Convention with the strongest affection for the
Union; that I acted there in full conformity
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with this affection; that I refused to subscribe because I had, as I still have, objections to the
Constitution, and wished a free inquiry into its merits, and that the accession of eight States reduced our deliberations to the single question of Union or no Union.’
But though
Governor Randolph was in favor of the
Constitution, in referring to the proposed method of ratification, he said: ‘It is demonstrably clear to me that rights not given are retained.’
Edmund Randolph's memory is dear to the people of
Richmond, because for years he was identified with us as a citizen.
He was one of the twelve vestrymen of St. John's church, elected March 28, 1785.
At the following meeting of the vestry he was chosen church warden and his autograph as such appears in the vestry book of the old church.
He also represented St. John's church in the convention of the reorganized Diocese of
Virginia, held at
Richmond in June, 1785.
He was a prominent
Mason, having been Grand
Master of Masons in
Virginia in 1786.
Richmond Randolph Lodge, No. 19, was named in his honor, he having assisted in laying the cornerstone of
Mason's Hall in 1785.
