Constitutional Convention (United States)

Constitutional Convention (United States)

The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. It was meant to change the Articles of Confederation, but instead created a new system of government. Delegates chose George Washington to lead the meeting. This event is very important in American history because it created the Constitution of the United States.

Many delegates did not plan to write a new constitution at first. But as they met, they agreed that a new government was needed. They talked about many ideas, like how the government should be organized and the role of the president. Some hard topics caused long discussions.

After months of talking and finding compromises, the delegates finished a draft of the Constitution. They voted on it, and 39 of 55 delegates signed it on September 17, 1787. The document was then shared with the public to become the nation’s founding law.

History

Further information: History of the United States (1776–1789)

During the American Revolution, the Thirteen Colonies changed their colonial governments by making new rules. They split power among leaders, lawmakers, and judges so no one group had too much control. But these rules gave most power to lawmakers, leaving state leaders and judges with less.

After the war, the states worked together under the Articles of Confederation. This was more like a treaty between independent countries than a strong national government. Each state had one vote, and big decisions needed nine out of thirteen states to agree. They couldn’t collect taxes or enforce laws, which caused many problems. States often did not pay money when asked, making it hard to pay soldiers or protect trade rights.

These problems made many leaders think a new plan was needed. In 1786, a meeting in Annapolis suggested a bigger convention to fix these issues. In February 1787, Congress agreed to hold a meeting in Philadelphia to change the Articles. But when delegates from several states met in May, they decided to create an entirely new system instead. Rhode Island did not send anyone to this meeting.

Operations and procedures

The Constitutional Convention was planned to start on May 14, but it had to wait because very few delegates came. Only people from Virginia and Pennsylvania were there that day. On May 25, enough delegates from seven states arrived, and the convention began at the Pennsylvania State House, later called Independence Hall, in Philadelphia. Delegates from New Hampshire joined later on July 23.

The delegates chose George Washington to lead the convention. They made rules for voting, with each state having one vote based on what most of its delegates thought. This helped smaller states have more say. If a state's delegates were split, the state couldn't vote. Delegates could come and go, and only about 30 to 40 were there most days. Different states had different rules about how many delegates needed to be there to vote.

The convention kept its discussions and votes secret until it ended, even nailing shut the windows. James Madison kept detailed notes, which were not shared until after he passed away in 1836.

Madison's blueprint

James Madison of Virginia came to Philadelphia early to help plan the meeting. He studied how governments work and wrote down his ideas before the convention began. His ideas were important for the talks.

Madison thought a stronger central government was needed. He believed the government should be able to collect taxes and control trade. He also wanted a way to make sure the national government could follow its rules. Madison was worried that one group, like rich or poor people, might take control. He wanted a government that could balance different groups to protect everyone's rights.

Early debates

While waiting for the convention to start, James Madison wrote down his first idea, called the Virginia Plan. This plan wanted a strong national government, which was very different from the Articles of Confederation. On May 29, Edmund Randolph, the governor of Virginia, shared this plan with the convention.

The same day, Charles Pinckney of South Carolina shared his own plan. He also wanted more power for the national government. But the Virginia Plan got more attention. Pinckney’s plan talked about a Congress with two parts and a president who could block laws.

On May 30, the Convention decided that the national government should have a strong Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary. This was the first step to making a new government instead of just changing the old one.

Congress

The Virginia Plan suggested changing the one-part Congress to a two-part, or bicameral, Congress. This new Congress would make laws and have the power to override state laws. People would elect the lower house directly, while state legislatures would choose members for the upper house.

Proportional representation

The delegates talked about how to decide how many representatives each state would have. Larger states like Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts wanted representation based on population, but smaller states were worried this would take away their power.

Bicameralism

The delegates agreed that Congress should have two parts, like the British Parliament, with an elected lower house and an upper house. They talked about who should elect the members of each house and how to balance power between them.

Three-Fifths ratio

To solve the problem of representation, they made a compromise. The number of representatives would be based on a state’s free population plus three-fifths of its enslaved population. This helped gain support from southern states.

Executive branch

The delegates talked about what kind of leader the country should have. Some wanted one president, while others suggested a group. Finally, they agreed on one executive, but they debated how to choose this leader and how long their term should be.

Unitary executive

James Wilson argued for one president, saying this would make the government stronger and more responsible. Most delegates agreed with him, especially because George Washington was likely to be the first president.

Election and removal

There was debate about how to choose the president. Some wanted the people to vote directly, while others suggested letting Congress or state legislatures decide. They finally agreed on a system where voters would choose electors who would then select the president.

Judiciary

The delegates agreed to create a national judiciary with a supreme court and lower courts. They debated who should choose the judges and how long they should serve.

Alternative plans

Smaller states were worried about the new plan, so they suggested changes to keep the Articles of Confederation. The New Jersey Plan kept Congress as one part with each state having one vote. Another plan by Alexander Hamilton suggested a system modeled after the British government, but it was very different from what most delegates wanted and wasn’t discussed much.

Apportionment

Connecticut Compromise

Main article: Connecticut Compromise

The Connecticut Compromise planned that the House would have representatives based on population, while the Senate would give each state equal voting power. This idea was first proposed by Roger Sherman. He thought the Senate should protect each state's rights.

The compromise was debated for many weeks. A special committee, called the Grand Committee, helped find a solution. They decided that the House would represent the people, while the Senate would represent the states equally. This was hard to agree on because large and small states did not trust each other.

Grand Committee

A group of delegates from each state formed the Grand Committee to decide how to divide representatives. The committee included leaders from both large and small states. They worked during a break for the Fourth of July holiday. They agreed that the House would be based on population, with each representative coming from a group of forty thousand people. Each state would have equal voting power in the Senate.

To get support from larger states, the committee suggested that the House would have special powers to start bills about money and salaries. This idea became part of the new government rules.

Revisiting the three-fifths ratio

The Grand Committee’s plan faced challenges. Delegates argued over how to count people for representation. After many debates, they decided that representation would be based on free inhabitants plus three-fifths of enslaved people. This rule would apply to current and future states. The first count would happen six years after the government started, and then every ten years.

Great Compromise adopted

On July 16, the convention voted to accept the Connecticut Compromise. They decided each state would have two senators, not three. They also allowed each senator to vote individually, rather than states deciding together. This way, the new government mixed ideas about national and state powers.

Other issues

On July 17, the delegates decided what powers Congress would have. They agreed that the national government should have more power than the states. This meant that laws passed by Congress would be more important than state laws.

The delegates also talked about how to choose and remove the president. They decided the president could serve more than one term but could be removed by Congress if they thought the president was not doing a good job. They also discussed how to choose judges and decided that the Senate would choose them.

The delegates knew that changing the rules in the past was very hard because every single state had to agree. They thought they needed a new way to change the rules, but they did not decide exactly how yet. They also talked about how the new rules would become official. They decided that special meetings in each state would decide if the new rules should be used.

First draft

The Convention stopped meeting from July 26 to August 6 while waiting for the Committee of Detail to make the first draft of the Constitution. John Rutledge led this group, which had Edmund Randolph, Oliver Ellsworth, James Wilson, and Nathaniel Gorham.

We know about what they did from some papers they left. The group used ideas from older plans, like the Virginia Plan and the Articles of Confederation, to make their draft. They worked to put only the most important rules in clear words.

The group added many details that the Convention had not talked about but thought would be fine. But John Rutledge wanted to make sure the national government did not have too much power over the states. He and others changed some of the Convention’s older choices to give more power to the states.

One big change was to limit the powers of Congress to a list of 18 special jobs. Another change added a rule letting Congress make any laws needed to do its jobs. The group also added rules to balance the powers between the national government and the states.

When they showed their draft, some parts led to big talks, especially about rules that would change Southern states and their interests. The group kept meeting until early September to finish their work.

Further modifications and concluding debate

After more talks, small changes were made to the first draft of the Constitution. One big change was that northern and southern states agreed that Congress could stop the trade of people starting in 1808. They also agreed to make it easier for certain laws to pass.

A new group of delegates worked on finishing the details. They decided that the president would be chosen by a group of electors instead of Congress. They also decided the president would serve four years and could be re-elected. They created the job of vice president, who would take over if the president could no longer serve and would help lead the Senate.

Some delegates, like Gerry, Randolph, and Mason, did not like some of the changes. They worried about certain rules, but most delegates wanted to finish and go home. They added a few small changes based on these concerns, but overall, they were ready to complete the Constitution. One important point they changed was how laws about money could be changed by the Senate.

Drafting and signing

Further information: Signing of the United States Constitution

The final version of the United States Constitution was made by a group called the Committee of Style and Arrangement. Important leaders like Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Gouverneur Morris helped make the document clear and easy to read.

On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was ready to be signed. Many leaders who helped create it signed the paper. Some were not happy with all the choices, but they thought it was the best they could make at that time. George Washington signed first, and then the others from each state signed. The Constitution was then sent to the states to be approved.

Slavery

Slavery was a hard issue for the people at the convention. Many leaders from some states owned slaves, and slavery was common in many places. Most slaves lived in the southern parts of the country.

The group had big disagreements about slavery. Some wanted to stop the trade of slaves from other countries, but others wanted to keep it. They agreed that the government could ban this trade, but not until the year 1808. They also made rules to balance powers between different parts of the country.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Main article: Three-Fifths Compromise

Another big question was whether slaves should be counted when deciding how many leaders each state would have. They agreed that only three-fifths of slaves would be counted. This helped states with more slaves get more leaders, but it was a tricky decision.

Framers of the Constitution

Fifty-five delegates met in Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention, and they are called the Framers of the Constitution. Seventy representatives were chosen, but not all could attend, so 55 worked together to create the important document. Only 39 of them signed the final version.

Many of these delegates had important jobs during the American Revolution. Almost all of them had worked in government before, and many had been leaders in the Continental Congress. Some were governors of their states. Two special delegates, Roger Sherman and Robert Morris, signed all three major early documents of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution.

The delegates came from many different backgrounds. Over half were lawyers, but others were merchants, farmers, doctors, and landowners. Some were very wealthy, like George Washington and Robert Morris.

Here are the delegates from each state:

• Connecticut
  • Oliver Ellsworth
  • William Samuel Johnson
  • Roger Sherman
• Delaware
  • Richard Bassett
  • Gunning Bedford Jr.
  • Jacob Broom
  • John Dickinson
  • George Read
• Georgia
  • Abraham Baldwin
  • William Few
  • William Houstoun
  • William Pierce
• Maryland
  • Daniel Carroll
  • Luther Martin
  • James McHenry
  • John Francis Mercer
  • Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
• Massachusetts
  • Elbridge Gerry
  • Nathaniel Gorham
  • Rufus King
  • Caleb Strong
• New Hampshire
  • Nicholas Gilman
  • John Langdon
• New Jersey
  • David Brearley
  • Jonathan Dayton
  • William Houston
  • William Livingston
  • William Paterson
• New York
  • Alexander Hamilton
  • John Lansing Jr.
  • Robert Yates
• North Carolina
  • William Blount
  • William Richardson Davie
  • Alexander Martin
  • Richard Dobbs Spaight
  • Hugh Williamson
• Pennsylvania
  • George Clymer
  • Thomas Fitzsimons
  • Benjamin Franklin
  • Jared Ingersoll
  • Thomas Mifflin
  • Gouverneur Morris
  • Robert Morris
  • James Wilson
• South Carolina
  • Pierce Butler
  • Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
  • Charles Pinckney
  • John Rutledge
• Virginia
  • John Blair
  • James Madison
  • George Mason
  • James McClurg
  • Edmund Randolph
  • George Washington
  • George Wythe
• Rhode Island
  • Rhode Island did not send delegates to the Convention.

Some important leaders did not join the Convention. Thomas Jefferson was in France, and John Adams was in Britain. Others, like Patrick Henry, chose not to participate.

In popular culture

The 1989 film A More Perfect Union shows the events and talks from the Constitutional Convention and was mostly filmed in Independence Hall.

In the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton’s idea for a plan during the Constitutional Convention is part of the song "Non-Stop" near the end of the first act.