To Secure the Blessings of Liberty: Selected Writings of Gouverneur Morris

2 • Political Enquiries (1776)

5 Gouverneur Morris Papers, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University , item 796. Included with the manuscript of these essays is an outline as well as a page with the notation in Jared Sparks’s hand: “On Government. Date uncertain.” Below this, in a fainter hand (perhaps that of Anne Cary Morris) is “and addresses to the Legislators & People on various Subjects. Copies of articles. Minutes. Canal Reports .” At the bottom of the page, upside down, is the notation “Political Enquiries” in Morris’s handwriting. These essays have been referred to by various titles, but “Political Enquiries” seems to be the one favored by the author himself. I am grateful to Art Kaufman for allowing me to consult his transcription of these essays, which is appended to his dissertation (Arthur Paul Kaufman, “The Constitutional Views of Gouverneur Morris” [Ph.D. diss., Georgetown University, 1992; Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms, 2007]). This document, edited by Willi Paul Adams, was also previously published in Amerikastudien 21 (1976): 327–31. 1. The “Enquiries” are analyzed at length in Kaufman, “Constitutional Views,” 39–79. 2 • Political Enquiries (1776) The precise occasion for these “Political Enquiries” is unknown, but at the time of their composition these themes would have been very much on Morris’s mind. As events moved toward American independence, people’s thoughts naturally turned to questions of the purposes and origins of government. Morris had taken a leading part in the patriot cause from his election to the first New York provincial congress in 1775, although for many months he remained hopeful that there could be a reconciliation . By 1776, that caution had evaporated. These short pieces are clearly drafts, with many lines crossed out and as many more inserted. Probably they were meant for Morris’s private use, as he set about preparing himself for the problems of self-government that were ahead.1 6 chaPtEr 2 2. “The safety of the people should be the supreme law.” •• OF thE ObjEct oF GovErnMEnt Is it the legitimate Object of Government to accumulate royal Magnificence , to maintain aristocratic Pre-Eminence, or extend national Dominion ? The answer presents itself: Is it then the public Good? Let us reflect before we reply. Men may differ in their Ideas of public Good. Rulers therefore may be mistaken. In the sincere Desire to promote it just Men may be proscribed, unjust Wars declared, Property be invaded & violence patronized . Alas! How often has public Good been made the Pretext to Atrocity! How often has the Maxim Salus populi suprema Lex esto,2 been written in Blood! Suppose a man about to become the Citizen of another State and bargaining for the Terms. What would be his Motive? Surely the Encrease of his own felicity. Hence he would reject every Condition incompatible with that Object, and exact for its Security every Stipulation. Propose to him that when Government might think proper he should be immolated for the public Good: would he agree? To ascertain that Compact which in all Societies is implied, we must discover that which each Individual would express. The Object of Government then is to provide the Happiness of the People. But are Governments ordained of God? I dare not answer. If they are, they must have been intended for the Happiness of Mankind. Hence an important Lesson to those who are charged with the Rule of Men. OF HuMan HaPPinESS We need not enquire whether mortal Beings are capable of absolute felicity ; but it is important to know by what means they may obtain the greatest Portion which is compatible with their State of Existence. Three questions arise: What constitutes the Happiness of a Man, of a State, of the World? The same Answer applies to each. Virtue. Obedience to the moral Law. Of avoidable Evil, there would be less in the World if the Conduct of States towards each other was regulated by Justice; there would be less in Society if each Individual did to others what he would wish from them; and less would fall to every Man’s Lott if he were calm temperate and humane. To inculcate Obedience to the moral Law is therefore the best means of promoting human Happiness. Hence a maxim. No Government can law- Political Enquiries 7 fully command what is wrong. Hence also an important Reflection. If Government dispenses with the Rules of Justice, it impairs the Object for which it was ordained...