Gorham's Faith in the Future of the Union
Commentary
"Mr. Madison objected to 1 for every 40,000 inhabitants as a perpetual rule. The future increase of population if the Union shd. be permanent, will render the number of Representatives excessive.
"Mr. Ghorum. It is not to be supposed that the Govt will last so long as to produce this effect. Can it be supposed that this vast Country including the Western territory will 150 years hence remain one nation?"
This debate is significant as one of the few times at the Convention when slavery is named and discussed rather than merely tacitly acknowledged. It also provides a fascinating insight into what the Founding Fathers thought they were creating: how they understood their own blindness where the future concerned, and recognized the fragility of the project they were undertaking.
Report of the Committee of Detail [Resolutions] - Article IV: Section 4 was debated
on 08 August 1787
Gorham's Faith in the Future of the Union
Research Assistants' Commentary (1787 Constitutional Convention)
Cite as: Grace Mallon, ‘Gorham's Faith in the Future of the Union’ in Research Assistants' Commentary (1787 Constitutional Convention), Quill Project at Pembroke College (Oxford, 2016), item 38.