Free Henry Knox by Mark Puls

to give my own judgment, it would be in favor of the convention, and I sincerely hope it may be generally attended."
    Knox's "Plan for a General Government" resembled to a remarkable degree the eventual outline of the U.S. Constitution. Knox seemed almost prescient in his ability to anticipate the country's next step and offer sound suggestions that would closely reflect the eventual remedy. He already believed that the Articles of Confederation could not merely be altered to solve the nation's problems; the present form of government needed to be swept away and a completely new plan formulated. He told Washington that it was not premature to begin thinking of a new constitution even before the Philadelphia convention convened: "It would be prudent to form the plan of a new house before we pull down the old one."
    In laying out his solution, Knox acknowledged that an ideal American constitution should establish a democratic republican government but that the federal government needed the power to oversee the state governments and set the course for the entire country.
    His proposed a federal government that would consist of three branches: an executive, a legislative, and a judiciary. The legislature would be bicameral, with House members serving one- to three-year terms and senators serving five- to seven-year terms. The executive would be chosen to a seven-year term by the House and the Senate, and could be impeached by House membersand tried in the Senate. The judiciary would be chosen by the executive and serve for life during good behavior.
    Knox thought that the sovereignty of the United States should reside with the federal government: "The laws passed by the general government to be obeyed by the local [state] governments."
    He realized that his proposal for a powerful central government was a drastic step, but he believed the time for half-measures had long passed. To Washington, he stated: "To attempt to establish less will be to hazard the existence of republicanism, and to subject us either to a division of the European powers, or to a despotism arising from high-handed commotions.“ 20
    Knox was aware of Washington's desire to remain out of politics and continue a life of tranquil seclusion as a Mount Vernon planter. But Henry believed that the crisis caused by the weak national government had become too serious to ignore. "There may indeed arise some solemn occasions in which you may conceive it to be your duty again to exert your utmost talents to promote the happiness of your country," he admonished Washington.
    Shays's men closed in on the Springfield armory on Thursday, January 25. Shays appeared outside, shouting his demand for military stores and provisions for his men. The troops inside the armory threatened to fire, and Shays ordered his men to seize the arsenal. When the rebels came within 300 yards, a shot was fired over their heads. When they stepped within 100 yards of the arsenal, the soldiers lowered the sight of a cannon and fired a blast of grapeshot directly into the throng.
    Three men were killed and another lay wounded. The insurgents fled, retreating to Pelham.
    Knox returned to New York to await intelligence reports. He threw himself into the cause of promoting a new constitution and rounding up support for the Philadelphia convention, writing to prominent leaders urging the necessity of changes and exploring legal means for replacing the Articles of Confederation. To Massachusetts congressman Stephen Higginson, he wrote on Sunday, January 28, that the "poor, poor federal government is sick almost unto death." Some politicians questioned the legality of the upcoming convention and pointed out that it had no authority to change the Articles of Confederation. Only Congress had a public mandate from voters.
    Knox suggested to Higginson that the convention and new constitution could be established legally by following the steps that both Congress and the Articles had to become the law of the