Ohio History Journal
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OHIO
Archaeological and Historical
PUBLICATIONS.
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE ADOPTION
OF OHIO'S FIRST CONSTITUTION.
The Centennial of the adoption of the
Constitution of Ohio,
was celebrated at Chillicothe Saturday,
November 29, 1902 by
the unveiling of a tablet, marking the
site of the first state house
of Ohio, which is the site of the
present court house.
The weather was very inclement, snow and
rain interfer-
ing with the ceremonies to the extent,
at least, that the audience
was small and the attendance from
outside the city was not as
large as the importance of the event
deserved.
PRESENTATION OF TABLET.
At 11 o'clock the people gathered
on the esplanade of the
court house, and after patriotic airs by
the Young Men's orches-
tra, Robert W. Manly, a great grandson
of the first Governor of
Ohio, presented the tablet in the
following fitting address.
Honorable Mayor of Chillicothe and
Fellow Citizens:
We are assembled this morning to
participate in the un-
veiling of a tablet, marking the site of
the building which was
used as Ohio's first statehouse.
The building was of great historic
interest. Within its walls
was held the last session of the
Legislature of the Northwest
territory; one hundred years ago to-day
within its walls Ohio's
first constitution was adopted by the
members of the constitu-
tional convention; for twelve years it
served as Ohio's state-
house; in it the political and economic
policies of our state
were formulated and put into execution,
the beneficial effects
of which policies still influence the
administration of our state
affairs.
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be made for the purpose of raising funds for the erection of a "stone court-house." In 1800 the court appointed a commission to advertise for bids for the erection of a court house and also appointed a com- mission to superintend the erection of the building. In 1801 the erection of the building was completed and the Territorial Legislature of 1801-2 was held in the new structure. In 1852 the building was torn down to take the place of our present court house. During the past year the ladies of our city, members of the Century club, inaugurated a movement to mark with a tablet the site of the old state house. The chapters of the Daughters of the Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution in this city, took up the movement, and these three organiza- tions with the assistance of many of our citizens, together with Mr. Henry H. Bennett, of this city, as designer, provided the tablet we are to unveil this morning. And now, sir, representing the members of the Century club, the Daughters of the Revolution and the Daughters of the Ameri- can Revolution, I present, on their behalf, to the public, through you, this tablet which marks the site of that building which was used as the first state house of Ohio. |
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THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE TABLET. Following the presentation address, Miss Effie Scott, great- granddaughter of Gov. McArthur, unveiled the tablet. |
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the world's history would have been forever lost. The great pyra- mids of Egypt, the wonder of all ages since their erection, still bear and for ages to come will bear mute testimony of the exist- ence of a great nation whose prowess long since vanished from the face of the earth, while the inscriptions upon the obelisks and temples erected during the flourishing period of that people, per- petuate much of the history. In our time the Federal government and many of our State governments have expended and are still expending large sums of money in the erection of monuments on the great battle fields of our several wars, and in converting them into national parks, so that we are not without precedent in assembling here for the purpose of formally dedicating this tablet in commemoration of an event of importance in the history of our city, county, state and nation. With the adoption of the constitution of the United States but little more than a cenury ago, there came into being a Republic whose form of government was an experiment on the part of |
4 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
those who formed it, and which was
looked upon with suspicion
and jealousy by the powers of Europe;
but after weathering
the storm which beset it during the
first few years of its exist-
ence, it entered upon a period of growth
and development truly
wonderful, until to-day the experiment
of 1787 has proven a
"world power" and an American
citizen is respected in foreign
countries as was the Roman citizen in
the palmy days of Rome.
Ohio was the fourth state to be added
to the original thirteen
and the first to be carved out of the
Northwest territory, and
as the inscription on the tablet just
unveiled recites, "On this
site stood the first state house of
Ohio, wherein was adopted
the original constitution of the
commonwealth, November 29th,
1802."
From the time Ohio became a state her
growth and progress
has been a factor in the growth and
development of the nation.
In times of war her people have shown
their patriotism by
their readiness to respond to the call
to arms; and among the
military heroes she is proud to number
among her sons such
national idols as Grant, Sherman,
Sheridan and Custer.
In times of peace she has contributed
her full quota to the
ranks of the nation's statesmen, and the
nation has honored
Ohio by elevating five of her sons to
the Presidency, Grant, Hayes,
Garfield, Harrison and McKinley.
Chillicothe claims many of Ohio's
distinguished sons, among
whom may be mentioned Massie, Tiffin,
Worthington, McArthur,
Allen and Thurman; she has furnished to
the commonwealth
four governors, and to the nation four
senators and nine repre-
sentatives in Congress, and the wife of
one of its chief execu-
tives.
We are fortunate in having with us
to-day in the person of
the eloquent gentleman who has presented
this tablet on behalf
of its donors, a lineal descendent of
our first governor, Edward
Tiffin; and in the person of the young
lady who unveiled it a
great-granddaughter of Governor McArthur
and a granddaugh-
ter of William Allen the last of Ross
county's citizens to occupy
the governor's chair.
I have the honor to represent the people
of this city and
county, and to accept for them, and in
their name, this tablet,
Centennial Celebration. 5
donated and erected by the Century Club,
the Daughters of the
Revolution, the Daughters of the
American Revolution and nu-
merous citizens, in commemoration of the
adoption of the first
constitution of the state of Ohio, and
on the one hundredth an-
niversary thereof.
May it remain in its place to relate its
historic story to all
who may pause to read so long as Ohio
remains a state and re-
tains her proud position in the union of
states.
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS.
After an invitation extended by Mr. H.
H. Bennett to the
people to attend the afternoon
ceremonials at Memorial hall, an
informal reception was held in the court
house. The strangers
were introduced to Col. Wm. N. King, of
Columbus, great grand-
son of Gov. Worthington, Mrs. Mary
Manly, Miss Diathea Cook,
Mrs. Frank Gilmore and Miss Eleanor
Cook, grandchildren of
Gov. Tiffin, Miss Eleanor Tower, of
Detroit, and the Misses Cook,
great granddaughters of Gov. Tiffin;
Col. Matthews and sister,
Mrs. Blackburn, of Cleveland, great
grandchildren of Gov. Hunt-
ington; Dr. Walter S. Scott, W. Allen
Scott, descendants of Gov.
McArthur and Gov. William Allen; Miss
Dorothy W. McArthur
and Mrs. Allen W. McArthur, relatives of
Gov. McArthur, and
Mr. C. E. Kirker, of Manchester, great
grandson and Mrs C. E.
Bedwell, of Columbus, great
granddaughter of Speaker Kirker of
the first Ohio House of Representatives,
and also governor of
of the state. Gen. J. Warren Keifer, of
Springfield, Speaker of
the United States House of
Representatives and Chairman of
the State centennial commissioners and
Historical Society Execu-
tive committee. Mr. S. S. Knabenshue,
editor of the Toledo
Blade, and a noted archaeologist; Judge
Rush R. Sloane, San-
dusky, President of the Fire Lands
Historical society. Mr. E.
O. Randall, Secretary of the Ohio State
Archaeological and His-
torical Society, Fred. J. Heer, State
Printer and Publisher of the
Ohio State Historical Society
publications.
MEMORIAL HALL EXERCISES.
The afternoon exercises at Memorial hall
were of a most in-
teresting character and the attendance
was large. Judge J. C.
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Douglas presided and after a patriotic chorus by the Euterpean club, Mr. William T. McClintick, of Chillicothe, was introduced and spoke as follows:
Fellow Countrymen: I bid you a hearty welcome on this, the day which marks the one hundredth year since the adoption of the First Constitution of the State of Ohio. |
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connecting link between the past and present, and so I am, for I have personally known all the Governors of the state from Edward Tiffin and Thomas Worthington down to our present Governor, George K. Nash, except Samuel Huntington, who died in 1817, before I was born; Return Jonathan Meigs, who died in 1825, when I was but six years old, and Ethan Allen Brown, who removed from the state at an early day. I had the honor of having a tooth pulled by Dr. Edward Tiffin, in my childhood, and my recollection of Governor Worth- ington riding down High Street on Sunday morning on a gray horse, with his little son, William Drake, behind him, hitching his horse to a post and then mounting the stile into my father's front yard and making his way, with his little son, to a rear room in my father's house to attend a Methodist class meeting, of which my father was the leader, is as fresh as if it had happened yes- terday. William Drake and myself were provided with small |
Centennial Celebration. 7
stools on which we sat while the meeting
progressed. I also fol-
lowed the procession which carried
Governor Worthington to
his grave, at Adena, in 1827.
Nathaniel Massie, the early Northwestern
surveyor and pio-
neer, and the founder of our town of
Chillicothe in 1796, died
before I was born, but I knew his widow
and all his children,
all his grandchildren and many of his
great grandchildren. One
of his grandsons, Hon. D. M. Massie is a
resident of our city,
and would gladly have participated with
us in this celebration,
did not his duties as a Commissioner in
Cuba forbid his presence
here.
I might name many other distinguished
men of that early
period with whom I have spoken and
shaken hands, such as Jacob
Burnet, that great lawyer and Judge, who
came to Ohio in 1796,
and remained here until his death in
1853; William Henry Har-
rison, the hero of Tippecanoe, whose
history is identified with the
Northwest territory, and the state of
Ohio, from 1795 or earlier,
until his death at the White House in
Washington City in April,
1841, while President of the United
States, Duncan McArthur,
whose services in peace and war are
known to us all, and who
died at his Fruit Hill home, near this
city, in 1840. Long will his
memory be honored and revered; William
Creighton, Jr., who
passed through Chillicothe on his way to
Kentucky in 1796, look-
ing for a location, and after returning
to Virginia, again came,
in 1798, to Chillicothe, where he made
his permanent home.
After the admission of Ohio into the
Union, he was our first
Secretary of State; afterward U. S.
Attorney for the District
of Ohio; then a member of the Ohio
Legislaure, and a member
of the United States Congress in which
office he served at inter-
vals, for many years. He was president
of the Branch bank of
the United States in Chillicothe during
its existence, and was ap-
pointed to the office of Unied States
District Judge in 1828, which
he held until March 4th, 1829. After his
retirement from Congress
in 1833 he was not again a candidate for
any public office.
He was, along with Col. Wm. Key Bond, my
preceptor in law
studies from 1837 to 1840, and
afterward my partner in practice.
I never knew a more genial and kindly
man, a more sincere lover
of the poor, or a stancher friend. He
died October 2, 1851.
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Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Did time permit, I might swell this list
to a very large
number of the eminent men of that early
period with whom I was
personally acquainted.
The change in the face of the country
which has taken place
in that part of the great West which
constitutes the state of
Ohio, since the adoption of the state
Constitution in 1802, and
the present time, might well challenge
comment, as most extra-
ordinary and wonderful--but we must
hasten to consider the
story of the old house memorable in the
history of the state, as
the first statehouse of Ohio.
My early recollection of the court house
square, bounded
east by Paint street, north by the alley
between Second and Main
streets, west by private property (now
the Presbyterian church),
and south by Main street, goes back to a
period when there
were but three houses on the lot. These
were the court house
proper, of stone, about sixty feet
square, curving outwardly on
the west side; another brick house of
two stories of about the
same size as the court house, which
stood about ten feet south
of it, fronting toward Main street, the
upper story of which was
connected with the upper story of the
court house by an en-
closed corridor, lighted by windows on
either side. The third
house was the jail, in the rear of the
court house, in which Wil-
liam Rutledge, the jailer, resided with
his family.
I was told in my childhood that the
brick house fronting
toward Main street had been a part of
the state house prior
to the removal of the capital from
Chillicothe to Columbus, the
lower story being occupied by the state
offices, and the upper
story by the Ohio Senate; while the
upper story of the court
house was occupied by the House of
Representatives, the en-
closed corridor being the means of
communication between the
two houses, through which a
sergeant-at-arms could pass, or
one body join the other when required to
meet in joint session.
The lower room of the court house proper
was used for the
sittings of the United States District
and Circuit courts, the Su--
preme Court of Ohio, and the Court of
Common Pleas of the
county.
I do not remember the tearing down and
removal of the
building which had its frontage toward
Main street. It was prob-
Centennial Celebration. 9
ably done after 1830, and
contemporaneously with the erection
of the two story brick edifice at the
Northwest corner of Main and
Paint streets, which latter had a
frontage of probably forty feet
on Paint street, and fifty feet on Main
street, the lower story be-
ing occupied on Paint street by the
office of the Clerk of Courts
and the County Auditor, and the frontage
on Main street by a
wide hall and stairway and the office of
the County Recorder.
The upper story was occupied by lawyers'
offices.
I was admitted to the bar of Ohio in
March, 1840. I remem-
ber the court room as it was then, and
doubtless had been from
the beginning. The Judge's bench was in
the curve at the west
side, about six or eight feet above the
floor, with space for the
Presiding Judge and his three associates
in the Common Pleas;
the Clerk's desk in front, about four
feet lower, with juror's seats
on either side, on the same level; the
Sheriff's box and the witness
stand on the south side, and the
lawyer's desks arranged in front,
the whole enclosed by a bar, so as to
shut it off from the crowd
of spectators who thronged the room on
the opening day of the
court or when causes of general interest
were being heard. Four
tall, fluted pillars were interspersed
at equal intervals for the
support of the upper floor.
The room was heated in winter by a wide
open fire-place, in-
side the bar, on the north side of the
house, and by an old-fash-
ioned tin plate stove in the center,
outside the bar.
The stairway started near a door on the
north side of the
house, and extended upward with the wall
on that side, about
half way, when it turned to the right
along the East side, to the
upper floor, which was occupied by a
large room for the use of
the grand and petit juries as occasion
required, with two smaller
rooms for witnesses and other purposes.
In this large upper
room were also held the meetings of
literary societies, with lec-
tures on literary subjects, and
otherwise by the citizens, when not
occupied for public pursposes.
Later a two-story building of limited
dimensions was erected
south of the court house, fronting
directly on Main street, the
lower story of which when I returned
from college in 1837, was
occupied by a volunteer fire company,
the "Citizen's" of which I
was a member, and the upper story for
the Mayor's office. This
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Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
building was not removed until 1853 or
1854, prior to the erection
of the present court house.
In 1840, the bench was occupied by the
Hon. John H. Keith
as Presiding Judge, with his three
associates, from the business
walks of life. Col. Wm. Key Bond had
removed to Cincinnati
and Gen. John L. Green had taken his
place as the partner of Mr.
Creighton. The firms Creighton &
Green and Allen & Thurman
had the largest practice. The other
lawyers were Thomas Scott
& Son, Henry Brush, Benjamin G.
Leonard, Frederick Grimke,
Richard Douglas, Joseph Sill, William S.
Murphy, Jonathan F.
Woodside, Henry Massie, John L. Taylor,
Robert Bethel, Gusta-
vus Scott, James Caldwell, Amos Holton,
and perhaps others, not
now recalled.
Mr. Theodore Sherer, who had read the
law with Messrs.
Allen & Thurman, and I, with
Creighton & Bond, were admitted
to the bar by the Supreme Court on the
circuit in Scioto
county, Ohio, in March, 1840. From that time
we continued
to fight our legal battles in the old
court house until the
spring of 1852, when one day in March of
that year, I was pass-
ing through the court house yard on the
way to my office up-
stairs in the building I have heretofore
described as on the corner
of Main and Paint streets, I heard
Charles Martin, then Sheriff,
of the county, crying off, under the
order of the County Commis-
sioners the court house for sale.
"Who bids?" said he. In jest,
I said "Seventy-five dollars,"
and passed on to my office, forgetful
of my jest, and was soon absorbed in the
study of some case.
What was my surprise, when some minutes
later the Sheriff ap-
peared to inform me that I was the
purchaser of the court house.
What was I to do with it? It ought to
have been allowed to
stand as a monument of the early days in
Ohio history, but the
Commissioners were inexorable, and the
terms of sale required it
to be taken down and removed without
delay. Unfortunately for
the city, but very fortunately for me,
"the great fire" occurred on
April 1st, 1852, and a demand for stone,
brick and lumber sprang
up for rebuilding, and so the old court
house vanished into cellar
walls, stables, etc., and became a thing
of the past save a few
relics which curiosity lovers preserved.
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Centennial Celebration. 11
The court house square was soon covered with stone and lum- ber for the present building, but the corner stone was not laid un- til July 12th, 1855, when the Hon. Thomas Scott and myself had the honor of delivering addresses on the occasion from a point where the northeast pillar of the portico now stands. Such was my personal connection with the building, on whose frontage we have this day placed a tablet commemorating 'The site on which stood the first state house of Ohio wherein was adopted the original constitution of the commonwealth."
THE FIRST CONSTITUTION. WHAT INFLUENCED ITS ADOPTION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON OHIO. Hon. Daniel J. Ryan was introduced by Judge J. C. Doug- las, and spoke as follows:
Fellow citizens of Ohio: In order to appreciate intelligently the event which we cele- brate here to-day it is necessary that we have a clear conception of the principal actors concerned therein, and of the times and sur- |
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out their consultation or consent, are all events that form a back- ground for a picture that has no parallel in American history. And all these scenes were enacted in a theatre of intellect; the |
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only weapons were tongues and pens, but
they were directed by
men who for brains and bravery are
worthy of every tribute of
admiration and respect that the people
of Ohio can to-day bestow
upon them.
Six years prior to 1802, there came into the Scioto Valley a
young Virginian named Nathaniel Massie.
He had served in the
Revolutionary War from his native State
at the age of seventeen,
and at nineteen started to Kentucky to
pursue his vocation of sur-
veying the public lands and placing
warrants for soldiers of the
Revolution. He founded Manchester in Adams county, and
in 1796 penetrated the Scioto Valley,
which was then a beau-
tiful but savagely wild territory. He
located in the region about
us to-day and laid out Chillicothe. It
is easy to understand how
he was attracted to this glorious land,
which, then, as now, bore
all the evidence of the richnes of
nature.
One of his companions in his tours of
surveying and explor--
ation was John McDonald, afterward of
Poplar Ridge in this
(Ross) county, and sixty-two years ago
he wrote a description
of the land about Chillicothe as he saw
it with Massie in 1796. His
little volume -"McDonald's Sketches"--is now exceedingly
rare and on that account I take the
liberty to repeat in his plain
style what he wrote. His description of
the surroundings of the
site selected by Massie for his town,
and the condition of the same
territory to-day shows a wondrous
transformation from a land of
savagery to the garden spot of a
commonwealth of the highest
civilization. Here is his picture of the
Scioto Valley in the spring
of 1796; "About four or five miles
above the mouth of Paint
Creek, the river (Scioto) suddenly makes
a bend, and runs a
short distance east, thence southeast to
the mouth of Paint Creek.
That stream, the largest tributary of
the Scioto, for four or five
miles above its mouth, runs almost
parallel with the Scioto. Be-
tween these two streams there is a large
and beautiful bottom,
four or five miles in length, and
varying from one to two miles in
breadth, and contains within the space
upwards of three thousand
acres. This bottom (as also the bottoms
of the Scioto and Paint
Creek generally), is very fertile; the
loam of alluvial formation
being from three to ten feet in depth.
These bottoms, when first
settled, were generally covered by a
heavy growth of timber, such
Centennial Celebration. 13
as black walnut, sugar tree, cherry,
buckeye, hackberry and other
trees which denote a rich soil. A
portion of them, however, were
found destitute of timber, and formed
beautiful prairies, clothed
with blue grass and blue sedgegrass,
which grew to the height of
from four to eight feet, and furnished a
bountiful supply of pas-
ture in summer and hay in winter, for
the live stock of the set-
tlers. The outer edges of these prairies
were beautifully fringed
around with the plum tree, the red and
black haw, the mulberry and
crab apple. In the month of May, when
those nurseries of nature's
God were in full bloom, the sight was
completely gratified, while
the fragrant and delicious perfume,
which filled the surrounding
atmosphere, was sufficient to fill and
lull the soul with ecstacies of
pleasure. The western boundary of this
valley, between the two
streams, is a hill two or three hundred
feet in height. Its base to
the south is closely washed by Paint
Creek, and where this stream
first enters the valley, it terminates
in an abrupt point, and then
extends up the valley of the Scioto, in
a northwest and north
course, for many miles, and forms the
western boundary of the
bottoms along that stream. From
the point where the hill
abruptly terminates at Paint Creek,
running north-northeast at
the distance of about one mile across
the valley, you reach the
bank of the Scioto, at the sudden bend
it makes to the east. The
valley between this bend of the Scioto
and Paint Creek, immedi-
ately below the point of the hill, was
selected as a site for the
town. This part of the valley was
chosen, as it consisted of
high and dry land not subject to the
floods of the river, which
frequently inundated the valley towards
the mouth of Paint
Creek."
It was amid these natural surroundings
that Massie selected
the site that was to be the standing
point, of a great, powerful,
wealthy and patriotic State.
The territory of the Scioto Valley had
for centuries been the
selected living place of divers races of
men. In the very dawn of
human knowledge it was populated by the
mysterious race of
mound-builders and was the seat of their
cities, camping places,
fortifications and altars. Attracted,
doubtless, by the magnificent
soil, beautiful scenery and natural
resources, both of the animal
and vegetable kingdom, they filled this
valley in great numbers
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Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
until driven away or destroyed by a
succeeding race. After them
came the Shawnees, famed for their
bravery and numbers, and
occupied for perhaps centuries the land
along the Scioto river
in their populous towns. They too, lived
in this elysium of nat-
ural bliss, receiving from bounteous
nature all that forest and
chase could give. The very beauty and
richness of the land made
them guard it with such jealous spirit,
that when Massie first
entered it, it was a great and expansive
territory of danger and
death to the white man.
Chillicothe, in the very heart of the
Virginian Military Dis-
trict, at once attracted immigration
from Virginia. It was in
the midst of a great domain reserved by
that State for the use
and settlement of her loyal sons that
served in the war for inde-
pendence. The influx of settlers
commenced as soon as the town
was laid out and even before the winter
of 1796 it had stores and
taverns and shops for mechanics. The
influence of civilized life
soon began to unfold and within a few
years a substantial town
was in full operation, with a population
of one thousand.
In the spring of 1798 there came to Chillicothe from Berkley
county, Virginia, one whose life and
actions influenced the history
of Ohio in a greater degree than any man
in its history. This
was Edward Tiffin. He played such an
important part in subse-
quent events, including the first
constitutional convention, that we
may well pause in our labors to-day to
view a full length portrait
of his remarkable career. It will help
us to understand his
power and the wonderful work he
accomplished. He appeared
upon the scene of action in the
Northwest Territory in its creative
period, when the work of moulding the
destinies of a future
commonwealth was committed to the care
of very few men. Head
and shoulders above them all stood
Edward Tiffin. His subse-
quent official life displayed a greater
general average of states-
manship than any of his contemporaries.
He met successfully
all the opportunities and
responsibilities of his life, which is the
best indication of ability. His work in
creating, advancing and
developing Ohio has not been equalled by
any man in its history.
His boyhood was spent in the city of
Carlisle, England, where
he was born June 19, 1766. He
emigrated to this country when
eighteen, and after an excellent medical
education obtained in
Centennial Celebration. 15
the University of Pennsylvania, settled
in Berkley county, Vir-
ginia. There amid the scenes and lives
of the early Virginians
he spent several years as a quiet and
successful physician. When
he came to Chillicothe he was still a
physician, practicing with
marked success financially and
professionally. In the sparsely
settled Scioto Valley his labors carried
him over many miles of
travel, and he formed, the friendships
that explains much of his
popularity in after years. He had
decided views on politics; the
principles of Jefferson were adopted by
him early in his Virginian
life, and his anti-Federal proclivities
were well-known in his new
home.
In 1799 the people of the Northwest
Territory assumed the
legislative form of government and under
the provisions of the
Ordinance of 1787, they elected a
legislature, there being at that
time five thousand male voters in the
territory. Dr. Tiffin was
sent as a representative from
Chillicothe and upon the assembling
of the first Territorial Legislature at
Cincinnati he was unani-
mously elected Speaker of the House of
Representatives, which
position he held until Ohio became a
State. He was a man of
strong religious and moral convictions.
In his early life he was
an Episcopalian; in 1790 he associated
himself with the Meth-
odist church and was consecrated by
Francis Asbury, the mis-
sionary bishop, as a local preacher.
Thus he brought into the
new territory beyond the Ohio, with his
professional skill, the
still greater influence of the spiritual
physician. In both capaci-
ties he firmly held the confidence of
his fellow citizens throughout
his life. Upon his entry into the church
he manumitted his
slaves, and his subsequent record shows
how sincere were his
convictions on this subject. As
President of the first Constitu-
tional Convention he won still greater
honors and established his
reputation as a man of unquestioned
ability; indeed so pro-
nounced and universal was this that he
was elected Governor of
the new State in January, 1803, without
opposition. He was re-
elected in 1805, without opposition, and
in 1807 declined a third
term which public sentiment was ready to
confer upon him. Dur-
ing his second term he summarily
arrested the participants in the
Aaron Burr expedition, which resulted in
the flight of Burr and
the breaking up of the conspiracy. His
vigorous and prompt
16
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
measures on this occasion called forth a
public letter of thanks
from President Jefferson. In 1807 he was elected
United States
Senator from Ohio. While in the Senate
he was the means of
securing much valuable legislation for
the new State. Appro-
priations for the Ohio river, and for
surveying the public lands
were obtained by him, and much of the
same kind of practical
work which characterized him as Governor
marked his Senatorial
term. He resigned in March 1809, owing
to the death of his
wife. It so affected him that he
determined to retire from public
life. Returning to his once happy home
in Chillicothe, it was
his intention to spend his remaining
days in peace, but notwith-
standing his desires his fellow-citizens
elected him to the Legis-
lature, where he was unanimously elected
Speaker of the House.
He was afterwards appointed Commissioner
of the Land Office,
being the first to hold that office, he
systematized the claims and
surveys of the public lands. He was in
Washington in 1814
when it was burned by the British.
President Madison, his
Cabinet and the heads of the departments
fled like cowards in
the panic and all the public records of
the American Republic
were destroyed except the records of the
Land Commissioner's
office. Edward Tiffin stayed and saved
the complete records of
his department. So complete, compact and
systematic were they
maintained, and so cool and level-headed
was their custodian that
they were removed to a place of
concealment in Loudan county,
Virginia, ten miles out of Washington.
All the other depart-
ments lost all their records; Edward
Tiffin saved all of his. He
closed his life as Surveyor General of
the West, which position
he held during the administration of
Madison, Monroe, John
Quincy Adams and into Jackson's. He died
here in Chillicothe
amidst the people who loved and honored
him for more than a
third of a century, after a remarkable
life of usefulness and dis-
tinction.
This was the Edward Tiffin that
confronted Arthur St. Clair
in the great contest for statehood which
resulted in the convention,
the century of which we celebrate
to-day. And Tiffin had a foe-
man worthy of his steel. Arthur St.
Clair, the first and only
Governor of the Northwest Territory, was
one of the most bril-
liant and distinguished military
characters of the Revolutionary
Centennial Celebration. 17
War. A contemporary writer calls him
"the great St. Clair,"
and while in the gubernatorial chair of
the Northwest, Judge
Burnet marked him as
"unquestionably a man of uprightness of
purpose, as well as suavity of
manners." Courtly, scholarly and
honest, he was a fitting representative
of the government in a
new land. St. Clair, as his name
indicates, was of French origin
although his ancestors had for centuries
lived in Scotland, where
he was born in 1734. He received his
education at Edinburgh
University, and was indentured as a
student of medicine. He
disliked this, and purchasing his time,
he entered the English
army in 1757. He was in the French and
Indian War, and served
under General Wolfe at Quebec, where his
conduct was gallant
and effective. He resigned from the
English army in 1762 and
settled down to civil life in
Pennsylvania, where he filled many
positions of trust, honor and
importance. When the colonies
rebelled against Great Britain, St.
Clair threw his entire fortune
and enthusiasm on the side of his
country. In 1775 he was
summoned to Philadelphia by a letter
from John Hancock,
president of the Continental Congress,
which was then in session.
His record from thence is a part of the
history of the Republic.
He was then assistant and confidant of
Washington; he was a
member of his military family and shared
the hardships of Valley
Forge, together with the victories of
many hard fought battles.
St. Clair, after the Revolution, retired
to civil life. His fortune
was gone in the whirligig of war. He
started into the Revolu-
tion a rich man; when peace was declared
the riches had flown.
In 1786 he was in Congress from
Pennsylvania, and as a hero of
two wars and a distinguished patriot he
was elected its president
in 1787. This Congress formulated and
passed the Ordinance
of 1787, under which St. Clair was
nominated to the governor-
ship of the Northwest Territory, which
occurred October 5th.
Governor St. Clair accepted his new
honor with misgivings. He
says in his letters that it was forced
upon him by his friends, who
expected that there was more pecuniary
compensation attached
to it than events proved. It was
supposed that the opportunities
for land speculation would be so great
that St. Clair would make
money out of his advantages of position.
But he was not so
inclined, nor did he expect such a
result. He was satisfied with
2 Vol. XII
18
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
and frankly stated, that he had the
"ambition of becoming the
father of a country and laying the
foundation for the happiness
of millions then unborn." His
unfortunate career as governor
showed that he thwarted in every way his
expressed ambitions.
When Edward Tiffin entered upon the
scene of action in the
Northwest Territory, Arthur St. Clair
was an old man, worn
with the campaigns of war and the
conflicts of politics. There
was little save its dignity to show that
the classic face was that
of the handsome Ensign St. Clair, who
used to wield the accom-
plishments of the drawing-room among the
Bowdoins and Bayards
of Boston thirty years before.
The entrance of the followers of Thomas
Jefferson into the
Northwest Territory was the commencement
of a political war
against Governor St. Clair that for
persistency and bitterness was
equal to the famous controversy of
Alexander Hamilton and
Aaron Burr. Edward Tiffin had as his
chief associates and lieu-
tenants, Nathaniel Massie, Thomas
Worthington, Jeremiah Mor-
row and Return J. Meigs, Jr., all men of
the highest character
and inspired by noble ambitions. They
believed in the people;
they were not only opposed to the
Federalistic principles of St.
Clair, but resented the arbitrary and
offensive methods of his
administration. The Scotch governor knew
of but two ways to
control or govern men; they were to pull
them or drive them.
The Virginians would stand for neither
method. So their oppo-
sition to St. Clair went not only to his
principles, but to his
methods. His exercise of the veto power
invited the strongest
opposition. He was an advocate of strong
government. He did
not believe in conferring on the citizen
the fullest powers and
responsibilities of American
citizenship. He favored property
qualification for electors. He got into
a controversy with the
Legislature over his own powers and
prerogatives. He claimed
and exercised the power of locating
county seats and erecting
new counties. This the Legislature
denied, and attempted to
enact laws on this subject which he
promptly vetoed. In his
contest with the Virginians he was
supported by other able Fed-
eralists in the persons of General
Putnam, Dr. Cutler and
Judge Jacob Burnett.
Centennial Celebration. 19
It is not essential to our purpose to go
into the details of
the controversy that waged in the
Territory from 1799 to 1802.
There were acts of Congress, of the
Territorial Legislature, and
of the Governor, that furnished food for
the bitterest contests.
The Virginians were playing for the
greatest stake in American
politics-a state of the Union. The
Federalists were making
their last stand, struggling for power
both in the East and the
West. It was almost pathetic to see the
noble compatriot of
Washington bending beneath the new storm
that was arising.
The reign of the people was abroad in
the Northwest. Whatever
virtue of Washington's, Hamilton's and
St. Clair's Federal views
as to concentrated power had in the then
populous East, they
were not respected by the yeoman of
Ohio. The settler who
fought his way into the heart of the
Great West believed that
he should have a full share in its
government. And this was
why the position of Tiffin was popular
with the voters of his
day. In the face of almost insuperable
impediments, Tiffin won
his fight for statehood.
The enabling act of Congress providing
for the erection of
the new state was approved April 30, 1802. It fixed the
bound-
aries and provided for holding the
constitutional convention on
the first Monday of the following
November. Edward Tiffin
was very naturally elected to that body,
and was as naturally
selected as its president. His belief in
the people is prevalent
upon nearly every page of the organic
law. The very first ques-
tion of criticism that always arises in
a consideration of this
convention and of the constitution which
it produced is that
relative to the fact that that
instrument was never submitted to
the people for adoption or inspection.
How did it develop that
these men who made such a magnificent
struggle for popular
rights failed to submit their work to
the people? A single refer-
ence to the enabling act will show the
reason for the apparent
dereliction. The fifth section provides
that the convention shall
first determine whether it is expedient
to form a state constitu-
tion and government. This it did on the
third day by a vote of
32 to 1. The only opposing vote
being Ephraim Cutler of
Washington county.
20 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Such a conclusion being arrived at, the
act specifically author-
ized the convention "to form a
constitution and state govern-
ment." It required no approval of
the people. There was no
legal machinery provided to secure such
expression. It was the
evident intent of the framers of the act
in question to commit
the whole and exclusive duty of forming
the first constitution
of Ohio to the convention. The theory on
which the convention
was formed was that under the act of
Congress it (the conven-
tion) was a strictly representative
body, acting for and in the
name of the sovereign people, and that
it possessed by actual
transfer all the inherent power of the
sovereign, limited only by
the constitution of the United States.
In other words, it was
a virtual assemblage of the people, of
whom, by reason of their
great numbers and remoteness from each
other, an actual con-
stitutional convention was impossible.
They met clothed with
all the power the sovereign would have
if gathered together.
The convention might say what Louis XIV
said: "We are the
State." The soundness of this
position is strengthened when
we search the records on the adoption of
the constitutions of
other states. The result shows that the
following submitted
their first constitution to the people
for expression: California,
Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Maine,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Min-
nesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada,
Oregon, Texas, West
Virginia and Wisconsin, fifteen in
number. The states which
did not submit their first constitution
to the people are as follows:
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia,
Maryland, New Jersey,
New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, Florida, Illi-
nois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Missouri, New Hampshire,
Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and
Vermont; in all twenty-
one states whose conventions, with that
of Ohio, regarded them-
selves as the sovereign source of power.
So far as this feature
of the first constitutional convention
is concerned, it may be
regarded as settled that it was neither
extraordinary, nor without
dignified and patriotic precedent.
The spirit of the contest which
culminated in statehood
seemed to run through the constitution.
The executive branch of
the state government was stripped of all
authority. It left the
name of "governor" to apply to
an office that had more honor
Centennial Celebration. 21
and dignity than power. The men who
controlled the convention
did not believe in dividing legislative
power, and therefore gave
to the general assembly sole power of
making laws. They did
not propose that the governor should
interfere by veto power
of the people. And it can be truthfully
said as a tribute to these
views of Tiffin and the men of 1802, that after a
hundred years
there has not developed a sufficiently
different public sentiment
to change the active veto principle of
their organic law. Next
year the people of Ohio vote on an
amendment to their constitu-
tion expressly granting the governor the
right of veto. I do
not believe there will be any change
from the original idea intro-
duced in the first constitution. The
total absence of property
qualifications for office is another
indication of the antagonism
of the convention to the views of St.
Clair. They seemed determ-
ined to outlaw every element of
aristocracy. This provision has
also stood test of two subsequent
constitutional conventions, and
stands firmer in our organic law than
ever.
In apportioning the sovereign power of
the people among
their official agents the convention
gave by far the greater power
to the Legislature. The right to make
all the laws without any
limitation but constitution itself has
been carried up to modern
times. The money of the state was
committed wholly to the
legislature and that is where it is
today.
The general provisions of the bill of
rights and the specific
powers of the state government have been
practically those under
which the people of Ohio have lived for
one hundred years. The
second constitution of Ohio adopted in
1851 by a vote of the
people followed throughout substantially
the government lines
laid down by the first constitutional
conventions. The changes
introduced were the result of the
advanced progress of the state
rather than a difference of
constitutional ideas.
When Thomas Jefferson expressed his
opinion to Jeremiah
Morrow in 1803 on the constitution he
approved it generally,
except the provision relating to the
erection of the judiciary,
which he thought was too restricted for
the future wants of the
state. He said, "They had
legislated too much." Whatever was
done by the men of the first convention
their descendants followed
22 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
them in 1851, for the same restrictions
are apparent in the
second constitution.
The satisfaction which the original
constitution gave the
people of the state is illustrated by
their refusal to change it for
fifty years. When Thomas Worthington was
governor in 1817,
he recommended the holding of a
convention to form a new
constitution. Afterwards, in 1818,
Governor Ethan Allen Brown
made a similar recommendation, and in
1819 the question of
a second constitutional convention was
submitted to the people
of Ohio, and in a total vote of 36,302
was rejected by a majority
of 22,328 votes.
The principal objection to the original
constitution was the
fact that the judiciary and state
officers were appointed by a
joint ballot of both houses of the
General Assembly. Jefferson
saw this would give trouble in the
future. Its operations as after-
wards developed, caused scandal,
contention and disgrace, and
hence the demand of Governors
Worthington and Brown for an
opportunity to change.
This conflict between the judiciary and
the legislature com-
menced in 1818 and lasted for several
years to the great dis-
turbance of the proper administration of
law. It appears that in
1805 the legislature gave justices of the peace
jurisdiction without
a jury to the amount of fifty dollars.
As the constitution of the
United States guaranteed trial by jury
to the suits in which over
twenty dollars was involved the Supreme Court
very properly
in a case before it, decided the law
void and unconstitutional,
for the Constitution of Ohio provided
that "the right of trial by
jury shall be inviolate." The
judicial decision was constructed
as an insult by the Legislature. As a
result resolutions of
impeachment ere preferred in the Sixth General Assembly
against Judges Huntington and Tod of the
Supreme Court, and
Judge Pease, presiding judge of the
Third Circuit. Nothing was
done at this session. While these
articles of impeachment were
pending Judge Huntington was elected
governor, and of course
resigned the judgeship. But the efforts
at impeachment went
on. Charges, however, were not made
against Governor Hun-
tington, but were preferred against
Judges Tod and Pease.
Centennial Celebration. 23
Their answer to the charges of
impeachment was the Con-
stitutions of the United States and the
State of Ohio. The result
was an acquittal in both cases. Another
incident growing out of
the legislative power conferred by the
first constitution was the
sweeping resolution passed in 1819. This
resolution passed in
January swept out of office every judge
of the Supreme Court,
and the Court of Common Pleas, the
secretary of state, the
auditor, the treasurer of state, and
also all the justices of the
peace throughout the state. This
resulted in interminable con-
flict and contusion, but it was the
exercise of the power of the
legislature.
If it were not for this single feature
which caused these vio-
lent party strifes there is every
probability that we would be living
under the constitution of 1802 today. Indeed,
a reference to the
political literature of the time
preceding the holding of the con-
vention of 1851, will show that the
election of the judiciary and
other state offices was the most potent
argument used in favoring
a new constitution.
This convention that laid the political
foundations of the state
of Ohio so heavy and deep that substantially,
they have never
been changed, was formed of strong men.
Out of the thirty-five
all but two of them were from Southern
and Southeastern Ohio.
The Western Reserve played little part
in this great work. She
opposed both the territorial government
and the state government.
It is to the men who came from Virginia,
Kentucky, Pennsylvania
and New York that the credit for the
founding of Ohio must be
given. They were the characters that
dominated the first con-
vention. It was their ideas of
government that were injected
into the first Constitution, and for the
first fifty and the last fifty
years of the state those ideas have
prevailed. And the one man
who conducted all, who influenced all,
who executed all, was the
minister, physician, parliamentarian,
governor, senator and honest
man -Edward Tiffin, of Chillicothe.
OHIO
Archaeological and Historical
PUBLICATIONS.
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE ADOPTION
OF OHIO'S FIRST CONSTITUTION.
The Centennial of the adoption of the
Constitution of Ohio,
was celebrated at Chillicothe Saturday,
November 29, 1902 by
the unveiling of a tablet, marking the
site of the first state house
of Ohio, which is the site of the
present court house.
The weather was very inclement, snow and
rain interfer-
ing with the ceremonies to the extent,
at least, that the audience
was small and the attendance from
outside the city was not as
large as the importance of the event
deserved.
PRESENTATION OF TABLET.
At 11 o'clock the people gathered
on the esplanade of the
court house, and after patriotic airs by
the Young Men's orches-
tra, Robert W. Manly, a great grandson
of the first Governor of
Ohio, presented the tablet in the
following fitting address.
Honorable Mayor of Chillicothe and
Fellow Citizens:
We are assembled this morning to
participate in the un-
veiling of a tablet, marking the site of
the building which was
used as Ohio's first statehouse.
The building was of great historic
interest. Within its walls
was held the last session of the
Legislature of the Northwest
territory; one hundred years ago to-day
within its walls Ohio's
first constitution was adopted by the
members of the constitu-
tional convention; for twelve years it
served as Ohio's state-
house; in it the political and economic
policies of our state
were formulated and put into execution,
the beneficial effects
of which policies still influence the
administration of our state
affairs.
1 Vol. XII-1
(614) 297-2300