Everything about Constitutional Convention United States totally explained
The
Philadelphia Convention (now also known as the
Constitutional Convention, the
Federal Convention, or the "
Grand Convention at Philadelphia") took place from
May 25 to
September 17,
1787, to address problems in
the United States of America following independence from
Great Britain. Although it was purportedly intended only to revise the
Articles of Confederation, the intention of many of the Convention's proponents, chief among them
James Madison and
Alexander Hamilton, was from the outset to create a new government rather than "fix" the existing one. The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the convention. The result of the Convention was the
United States Constitution. The Convention is one of the central events in the
history of the United States.
Historical Context
Before the Constitution was drafted, the thirteen colonies operated under the
Articles of Confederation, created by the
Second Continental Congress which eventually caused deep divides between the states that the national government couldn't resolve. On
January 21,
1786, the Virginia Legislature, following
James Madison's recommendation, invited all the states to discuss ways to reduce interstate conflicts in
Annapolis,
Maryland. Although William Jackson was elected as secretary, Madison's Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 remain the most complete record of the convention. For this reason, James Madison is sometimes called the Father of the Constitution. so the details are somewhat sketchy. It was a confederation, or treaty, among the 13 states. There was to be a bicameral legislature made up of a Senate and a House of Delegates. The House would have one member for every one thousand inhabitants. The House would elect Senators who would serve by rotation for four years and represent one of four regions. Congress would meet in a joint session to elect a President, and would also appoint members of the cabinet. Congress, in joint session, would serve as the court of appeal of
dernier resort in disputes between states. Pinckney did also provide for a supreme Federal Judicial Court. The Pinckney plan wasn't debated, but it may have been referred to by the Committee of Detail.
New Jersey Plan
After the Virginia Plan was introduced, New Jersey delegate William Paterson, asked for an adjournment to contemplate the Plan. Most of them lived in the Southern colonies, where slaves made up 40 percent of the population. Of the 39 who did sign, probably no one was completely satisfied. Their views were ably summed up by
Benjamin Franklin, who said,
"There are several parts of this Constitution which I don't at present approve, but I'm not sure I'll never approve them. ... I doubt to whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution. ... It therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it'll astonish our enemies..."
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