Liberty

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In deference to Benjamin Franklin’s failing health, the meeting was held on the first floor. Franklin knew it made more sense to have it in a basement or tucked away on an upper floor, but he could not have reached those places under his own power. The men who usually carried his sedan chair to the Constitutional Convention could know nothing of tonight’s meeting.

In truth, Franklin harbored his own doubts about the wisdom of the clandestine palaver. He wanted Randolph, Gerry and Mason to sign the final document, but was it worth putting the whole endeavor at risk just to make that happen? Forget the substance of the meeting, which was inflammatory enough. A back room deal before the ink was dry on the document was no way to launch a nation.

In the end, pushed by Madison and Randolph, he had acquiesced. Now here they sat, listening to William Jackson, the Secretary, outline the broad strokes. Alexander Hamilton, whom Franklin thought the most likely to queer the deal, interrupted.

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