CHAPTER 18
第18章
MAKING OF THE CONSTITUTION, 1787~1789
制定宪法（1787~1789年）
178. Necessity for a New Government.
178．成立新政府的必要性
At this very moment a convention was making a constitution to put an end to the Confederation itself. It was quite clear that something must be done or the states soon would be fighting one another. Attempt after attempt had been made to amend the Articles of Confederation so as to give Congress more power. But every attempt had failed because the consent of every state was required to amend the Articles. And one state or another had objected to every amendment that had been proposed. It was while affairs were in this condition that the Federal Convention met at Philadelphia in May, 1787. JAMES MADISON
在这个非常时刻举行了一个制宪大会以结束联邦自身。很显然，必须马上拿出行动，否则各个州会彼此打起仗来。为了给国会更多的权力，人们一次次地尝试修改《联邦条例》，但每一次尝试都以失败告终，因为修改宪章需要所有的州同意。每一次修改意见总有一个或多个州反对，正是在这种情况下，联邦大会1787年5月在费城召开。
179. James Madison.
179．詹姆斯·麦迪逊
Of all the members of the Convention, James Madison of Virginia best deserves the title of Father of the Constitution. He drew up the Virginia plan which was adopted as the basis of the new Constitution. He spoke convincingly for the plan in the Convention. He did more than any one else to secure the ratification of the Constitution by Virginia. He kept a careful set of Notes of the debates of the Convention which show us precisely how the Constitution was made. With Alexander Hamilton and John Jay he wrote a series of papers which is called the Federalist and is still the best guide to the Constitution.
在到会的成员中，弗吉尼亚人詹姆斯o麦迪逊最值得给予"宪法之父"的美名，他起草了弗吉尼亚规划，这个规划被选为新宪法的基础。麦迪逊在大会上雄辩地陈述这个规划。为了让弗吉尼亚批准宪法他做了最多的工作，麦迪逊保留了一个关于大会辩论的详细日记，这些日记让我们具体了解制定宪法的过程。麦迪逊和亚历山大·汉米尔顿及约翰·杰伊一起写下了一系列以"联邦拥护者"为题的文章。这些文章至今仍是解读《宪法》的最佳指南。