Constitutional Convention National Museum Of American History

Many felt that the Continental Congress was too weak to resolve problems such as the mounting national debt and conflicts between the states. The Congress reluctantly called for a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention met at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pa. from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Every state except Rhode Island sent delegates--mostly well to do members of the states' political establishments. Fearing that the proceedings would spark public debate, the delegates stationed armed sentinels at the doors and held the sessions in secrecy.

In the end, they created a new form of government, with three branches and checks and balances among them. Only the vaguest notion of the American presidency emerged from these proceedings; those who followed would have to make this new institution work. The year was 1787. The place: the State House in Philadelphia, the same location where the Declaration of Independence had been signed 11 years earlier. For four months, 55 delegates from the several states met to frame a Constitution for a federal republic that would last into “remote futurity.” This is the story of the delegates to that convention... Use the links on this page to explore the various elements of the Convention.

An official website of the United States government Official websites use .govA .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( Lock Locked padlock icon ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. This look at the Constitutional Convention provides a glimpse into the debates that resulted in an enduring framework of government. Read day-by-day entries recording the proposals, conflicts and compromises as the men struggled to live up to the resolution that had called them to Philadelphia to "render the constitution of the Federal Government adequate...

The entries begin on May 13, 1787, with the arrival of George Washington in Philadelphia and conclude on September 17, 1787, with the signing of the United States Constitution. The synopsis of each day's debates coupled with the words of James Madison, George Mason, Benjamin Franklin and others, provide an understanding of the sense of urgency and necessity motivating the men through a... What were some of the major issues debated during the convention? And why is the Constitutional Convention considered a significant event in American history? In the article below, American historians at World History Edu provide an extensive overview of the history and major facts about this historic event. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was a pivotal moment in American history, leading to the creation of a robust and enduring framework for governance.

The Constitution that emerged from this gathering addressed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and established a federal system that balances power between the national and state governments. Image: Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, by Howard Chandler Christy (1940) In the years following the American Revolution, the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation. This document established a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, which was unable to effectively manage the country’s issues. The Articles granted limited powers to Congress, such as conducting foreign policy, declaring war, and managing western territories, but they lacked the authority to levy taxes or regulate commerce between states. This led to significant financial problems, interstate conflicts, and an inability to respond to internal and external threats.

Shays’ Rebellion (1786-1787), an armed uprising of Massachusetts farmers protesting economic injustices and high taxes, underscored the weaknesses of the Confederation government. This event, among others, highlighted the urgent need for a stronger central government that could maintain order and provide stability. Signing of the Constitution, Howard Chandler Christy, 1940. Image Source: Architect of the Capitol. The Constitutional Convention and Debates over Ratification is Topic 3.8 of the AP US History curriculum. This topic covers the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the major issues and compromises that led to the development of the United States Constitution.

By 1787, only four years after the official end of the American Revolutionary War, many Americans were convinced that the new nation could not survive under the weak central government established by the Articles... Following two previous attempts to address growing concerns about the state of the nation — the Mount Vernon Conference (1785) and the Annapolis Convention (1786) — delegates from 12 of the 13 states assembled... However, the delegates soon developed other ideas and instead undertook the task of drafting an entirely new document. Throughout a summer of heated debate and enlightened compromise between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, the delegates drafted a new Constitution that did far more than strengthen the authority of the central government. Just a few years after the Revolutionary War, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared their young country was on the brink of collapse. America’s first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn’t regulate commerce, or print money.

The states’ disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart. Alexander Hamilton helped convince Congress to organize a Grand Convention of state delegates to work on revising the Articles of Confederation. Oil on canvas by Junius Brutus Steams. Courtesy of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May of 1787. The delegates shuttered the windows of the State House and swore secrecy so they could speak freely.

Although they had gathered to revise the Articles of Confederation, by mid-June they had decided to completely redesign the government. There was little agreement about what form it would take. One of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation—should it be based on population or divided equally among the states? The framers compromised by giving each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate. They agreed to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person. Slavery itself was a thorny question that threatened to derail the Union.

It was temporarily resolved when the delegates agreed that the slave trade could continue until 1808. After three hot summer months of equally heated debate, the delegates appointed a Committee of Detail to put its decisions in writing. Near the end of the convention, a Committee of Style and Arrangement kneaded it into its final form, condensing 23 articles into seven in less than four days. Edmund S. Morgan, The Birth of the Republic, 1763-89 (1956) When we study the Constitutional Convention of 1787, we know its ultimate outcome—a new plan of government that was ratified, implemented, and amended twenty-seven times; that is honored as a model for democratic self-government...

But in May 1787, the fifty-five men who convened in Philadelphia to save the fledgling nation had no guarantee of success. "Most of them were convinced," continues historian Edmund Morgan, "that unless they came up with an acceptable, and at the same time workable, scheme of national government the union would dissolve."1 A fearsome prospect. As you study the delegates' deliberations—the Virginia Plan vs. the New York Plan, the Great Compromise, the three-fifths compromise—and their final plan of government, consider the "urgency of the task" that propelled them through the summer of 1787. On creating the U.S. Constitution: commentary by delegates and observers, 1787.

After meeting on ninety-seven days from May 25 to September 17, 1787, the convention submitted a new plan of government to the states for their approval or rejection. It had been an arduous and contentious process, sustained through debate and compromise—and the realization that failure to revise or replace the moribund Articles of Confederation could doom the new nation to "anarchy and... Because the delegates agreed to keep their deliberations secret, little was known of their progress and setbacks until after the convention adjourned. Collected here are statements from nine delegates and nine non-delegates that reveal the anxious yet exhilarating summer of 1787, and the first months of the ratification debates. What new perspective on the Constitutional Convention and its final document do you gain from reading the commentary? What do you learn about the Founding Fathers?

Which man would you most want to ask for amplication on his views and sentiments? (9 pp.) The United States Constitution, 1787. Five articles and 4,543 words, with some of the most familiar phrases in American history—We the People, a more perfect Union, the Blessings of Liberty, Advice and Consent, Full Faith and Credit, and supreme... Other phrases remind us that the document is over two hundred years old, such as Corruption of Blood, Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and the finally struck three fifths of all other persons. It takes about half an hour to read the U.S.

Constitution, and perhaps an hour to study a well-annotated text. What new perspective on the Constitution do you gain after reading the views of the convention delegates and other citizens in 1787? See Supplemental Sites below for other online annotated texts of the Constitution; the commentary provided on the U.S. Senate Virtual Reference Desk is especially useful but prints out to twenty-plus pages. (8 pp., printer-friendly version from the National Archives.)

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