Historical Influences On The Constitution's Drafting

The drafting of the US Constitution was a milestone in US history. It was a response to the limitations of the Articles of Confederation, which had left the young country on the brink of collapse, with no enforcement powers, and an inability to regulate commerce or print money. The historical context of the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, with its states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, shaped the Constitution's drafting. The Federalists, who believed in a strong central government, faced opposition from Anti-Federalists who fought against the creation of a powerful central government. The Constitution was also shaped by the context of slavery, with the three-fifths clause giving the South extra representation and protecting slavery. The historical context of the time heavily influenced the drafting of the Constitution, with the aim of establishing a more unified and efficient government.

Explore related products

We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution

$31.99 $39.99

The Constitution of the United States of America: The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights

$9.99 $9.99

The Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence

$1.99 $14.95

The Words That Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840

$22.76 $40

The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison (Modern Library Classics)

$12.95 $22

The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates (Signet Classics)

$8.32 $8.95

The Articles of Confederation

The Articles provided for a blanket acceptance of the Province of Quebec (referred to as "Canada" in the Articles) into the United States if it chose to do so, though it did not. Ordinances to admit Frankland (later modified to Franklin), Kentucky, and Vermont to the Union were considered, but none were approved. The Articles also outlined a Congress with representation not based on population – each state would have one vote. Ratification by all 13 states was necessary to set the Confederation into motion.

The limitations of the Articles of Confederation became apparent, especially after the government's ineffectual response to Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts. Several prominent political thinkers began calling for changes to the Articles to strengthen the powers of the central government. In 1787, the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia to revise the Articles, ultimately resulting in the creation of a new constitution.

Federalists vs Anti-Federalists

The historical context of the time heavily influenced the drafting of the US Constitution. In the years following the Revolutionary War, the young nation faced the threat of collapse due to disputes among the states over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade. America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, had failed to address these issues as it lacked enforcement powers and the ability to regulate commerce or print money.

In this context, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists emerged with opposing views on how to shape the new nation. The Federalists, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, believed in the necessity of a strong central government to address the nation's challenges. They played a crucial role in drafting and ratifying the new US Constitution in 1787, which strengthened the national government.

On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the Constitution. They argued that it concentrated too much power in the central government at the expense of the states and the people. The Anti-Federalists failed to organize effectively across all thirteen states and had to fight ratification at each state convention. However, they succeeded in forcing the first Congress under the new Constitution to establish a bill of rights to protect the liberties they felt were violated.

The differences between Federalists and Anti-Federalists were complex and wide-ranging. Federalists could be described as nationalists, while Anti-Federalists were wary of centralized power and loyal to their individual states. The Federalists wanted a strong central government, but the Anti-Federalists were concerned that it resembled the government they had just overthrown in the Revolutionary War.

The ratification of the Constitution was a closely contested campaign, with only six out of thirteen states initially reporting a pro-Constitution majority. The debate over the role of the central government was intertwined with another explosive issue: slavery. While the word "slave" does not appear in the Constitution, it included provisions that protected and perpetuated slavery, such as the Three-Fifths Compromise and the prohibition on Congress's ability to outlaw the Atlantic slave trade for twenty years.

The Three-Fifths Compromise

The Southern slaveholding states wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives they could elect and send to Congress. On the other hand, the Free States wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, since those slaves had no voting rights. The Three-Fifths Compromise was a resolution that counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This effectively gave the Southern states more power in the House relative to the Northern states.

Explore related products

The U.S. Constitution and Other Writings (Leather-bound Classics)

$13.21 $24.99

Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840–1920

$36.96 $40

Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence: Senator Rand Paul, Delegates of The Constitutional Convention

$2.99 $2.99

The People's Guide to the United States Constitution

$13.39 $15.95

America's Constitution: A Biography

$4.99 $22

The Federalist Papers (Signet Classics)

$6.44 $8.95

The Revolutionary War

The Declaration embodied the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism, rejecting monarchy and aristocracy, and proclaiming that "all men are created equal". Each colony then began operating as independent and sovereign states, and the next step was to form a union. On November 5, 1777, the Congress approved the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, which served as America's first constitution.

However, the Articles of Confederation had several shortcomings. They gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it lacked enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. This led to disputes between the states over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, threatening to tear the young country apart.

As a result, a Constitutional Convention was convened in Philadelphia in May 1787 to address these issues and revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates to the convention, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, created a model of government with a series of checks and balances, dividing federal authority between the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches. They crafted a powerful central government, compromising between wildly different interests and views.

The U.S. Constitution, signed on September 17, 1787, established a federal government with more specific powers, including the ability to conduct foreign relations. It advanced the notion of equality and included "declarations of rights", such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to a trial by jury, and the right to bear arms. The Constitution came into effect in 1789 and has served as the basis of the United States Government ever since.

The ratification campaign

The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. However, only six out of thirteen states initially reported a pro-Constitution majority. The Federalists needed to convince at least three more states to secure ratification. The turning point came in Massachusetts, where the "vote now, amend later" compromise helped secure victory and eventually tipped the balance in the final holdout states.

The Federalists, including Hamilton and James Madison, played a crucial role in the ratification campaign. They produced "The Federalist Papers," a series of 85 essays explaining and defending the proposed new government. These essays were published in newspapers nationwide, influencing public opinion and shaping the debate. The campaign also involved coordinated efforts throughout the country to convince people that revising the Articles of Confederation was necessary to maintain the Union.

The ratification process was critical to the adoption of the Constitution. Previous attempts to amend the Articles of Confederation had failed due to the requirement of unanimous state legislature approval. The delegates at the Constitutional Convention recognized the need for an alternative method of ratification, bypassing state legislatures and calling for special ratifying conventions in each state. This politically astute approach ensured the successful ratification of the Constitution, which became the official framework of the US government on June 21, 1788.

Frequently asked questions