Ordering the Events of July 20th
Commentary
According to the Official Journal, events after the postponement of Elsworth's third clause unfolded thus: it was moved and seconded to refer Gerry's motion to a committee, which was rejected; it was moved (by Elsworth) to add one elector each to NH and GA, which was adopted 6-4; "the last motion having been misunderstood", it was put again, and rejected, 3-7. According to James Madison, however, the sequence of events was this: Elsworth moved to give NH and GA one more elector; it was moved to postpone Gerry's motion and let the Committee of Detail decide on the ratio of electors; the motion to postpone was rejected; Elsworth's motion was put to a vote, and rejected outright, 3-7.
The Quill editors suggest that Elsworth's motion did indeed come first, as Madison noted, and was followed by the motion to postpone Gerry's amendment and leave the ratio of electors to the Committee of Detail. Often enough the records show one or two delegates jumping in with relatively minor amendments, threatening an avalanche of nit-picking which could gridlock the Convention for a whole session; other delegates then attempt to move the discussion to a committee.
It also seems likely that, although Madison does not corroborate, there was indeed a misunderstood question which had to be re-read. While the Journal often omits the substance of the debate for the sake of a clean, readily comprehensible summary of events, Madison and others are more focused on the debate than on such details.
The Virginia Plan as amended in Committee [Resolutions] - Ninth Resolution (Working Version): Gerry Apportions Electors (Elsworth's Amendment) was proposed
on 20 July 1787
Ordering the Events of July 20th
Research Assistants' Commentary (1787 Constitutional Convention)
Cite as: Grace Mallon, ‘Ordering the Events of July 20th’ in Research Assistants' Commentary (1787 Constitutional Convention), Quill Project at Pembroke College (Oxford, 2016), item 25.