11th Pillar Activity
"On the Erection of the Eleventh Pillar"
Massachusetts Centinel
Boston's Massachusetts Centinel had begun a series of illustrations showing "The Federal Pillars" rising to support a "Grand Republican Superstructure," a metaphor for the Constitution. As each state ratified the Constitution, an additional pillar was raised. On August 2, 1788, the Centinel published a cartoon showing the pillar representing New York as erected, followed by a poem, "The Federal Edifice," and a statement that the news of ratification, "an event so little expected," had arrived.
THE FEDERAL EDIFICE
§ ELEVEN STARS, in quick succession rise -
§ ELEVEN COLUMNS strike our wond’ring eyes,
§ Soon o’er the whole, shall swell the beauteous DOME ,
§ COLUMBIA’s boast – and FREEDOM’s hallow’d home.
§ Here shall the ARTS in glorious splendour shine!
§ And AGRICULTURE give her stores divine!
§ COMMERCE refin’d, dispense us more than gold,
§ And this new world, teach WISDOM to the old -
§ RELIGION here shall fix her blest abode,
§ Array’d in mildness, like its parent GOD!
§ JUSTICE and LAW, shall endless PEACE maintain,
§ And the “SATURNIAN AGE,” return again.
The story behind the cartoon
Five pillars were quickly erected during the fall of 1787. But this fast start came to a halt in New England in the winter. Five states were united, but what about the remaining eight states? Would the outcome be divided? If so, then divided we might well fall.
In January 1788, the fate of the Constitution depended on what happened in Massachusetts.
The Federal Pillars series was published in The Massachusetts Centinel over several months. The pillars represent the order that the states, moving from left to right in the illustrations, ratified the Constitution.
The adoption of the Constitution in Massachusetts–the sixth pillar–actually spurred The Centinel to continue the raising of the pillars story. Entitled "Redunt Saturnia Regena," the addition of the seventh and eighth pillars appeared in the June 11, 1788 issue of the newspaper.
And then came the long hot summer of 1788. The Centinel kept readers informed across the continent with their continued coverage of the fate of the pillars. What would happen in New Hampshire, Virginia, and New York? Which state would be the ninth to ratify? The Centinel actually thought that Virginia, and not New Hampshire, would be the ninth state to ratify.
They ran another edition on August 2, 1788 showing that New Hampshire was the ninth state and also depicting the potential adoption of the Constitution in Virginia and New York. It also looks promising in the future for North Carolina, but the depiction of a split pillar in Rhode Island is not optimistic. With eleven pillars in place, The Centinel terminates its coverage of the fate of the pillars.
To extend the pillar narrative, I have a concluding illustration showing how the eventual ratification of the Constitution by North Carolina and Rhode Island might have been depicted in The Centinel. The heading to this artistic rendition–United, We Stand-Divide, We Fall–is inspired by the very first rendition of the pillar story in The Centinel and thus completes the account of the Ratification.
Now here is your job: Think about what would have happened in the United States had the Constitution not been ratified at all? In addition, think about what would have happened had all 13 original states not eventually ratified the Constitution. I want you to write a short essay (2 pages or so) discussing what might have happened in either of those scenarios. I want you to also draw a picture of what you think would have happened in each case.