Founders Who Shaped The Constitution

The United States Constitution, the supreme law of the United States of America, was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 delegates, with an additional signature by George Reed on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total number of signatures to 39. The process of drafting and signing the Constitution involved many influential figures, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, John Jay, and James Wilson, who played significant roles in shaping the document and advocating for its ratification. The Constitution superseded the Articles of Confederation, addressing its weaknesses and establishing a stronger federal government. The creation of the Constitution was influenced by various political philosophies and Enlightenment ideals, with the aim of forming a more perfect union and securing individual liberties.

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The Constitution was signed by 39 delegates

The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. The Constitution was written and signed in 1787, and it continues to be the supreme law of the land.

The Constitution was the result of three hot summer months of heated debate among the delegates, who ultimately agreed to compromise and form a Committee of Detail to put their decisions in writing. The Committee of Detail included John Rutledge (South Carolina), Edmund Randolph (Virginia), Nathaniel Gorham (Massachusetts), Oliver Ellsworth (Connecticut), and James Wilson (Pennsylvania).

The delegates came up with a completely new form of government, with a federalist structure that divided power between the states and the federal government. The Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, dividing the federal government into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress (Article I); the executive, consisting of the president and subordinate officers (Article II); and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts (Article III).

The Constitution has been amended numerous times since its signing, with the addition of a Bill of Rights, the abolition of slavery, the promotion of freedom and equality, and the extension of voting rights to groups like African Americans and women.

The Philadelphia Convention

The convention was initially intended to revise the league of states and devise the first system of federal government under the Articles of Confederation. However, many of the delegates, including James Madison of Virginia and Alexander Hamilton of New York, sought to create a new frame of government rather than revise the existing one. They believed that the Articles of Confederation, which gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, lacked enforcement powers and the ability to regulate commerce or print money.

General George Washington, a proponent of a stronger national government, was unanimously elected president of the convention. The delegates debated various issues, including representation, the status of slavery, and the function of a revised legislative body. They also discussed the method of electing the executive, with proposals ranging from direct election by the people to selection by the national legislature. The result was the creation of the electoral college, where the large states got proportional strength in the number of delegates, and the House gained the right to choose the president if no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

The convention ultimately produced the United States Constitution, which established a federal government with more specific powers, including the authority to conduct relations with foreign governments. The Constitution was signed by 38 delegates on September 17, 1787, and came into effect in 1789 after the necessary number of state ratifications. It superseded the Articles of Confederation and has served as the basis of the United States Government ever since.

The Connecticut Compromise

The Compromise proposed a bicameral legislature, consisting of a lower house (the House of Representatives) and an upper house (the Senate). The Compromise suggested proportional representation in the lower house, based on a state's population, and equal representation for each state in the upper house, with each state having two members in the Senate. This dual system of representation aimed to balance the interests of small and large states.

The proposal for the Connecticut Compromise came from Connecticut delegates Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth. It built upon earlier proposals, such as the Virginia or Randolph Plan, which suggested a bicameral legislature with representation based on state population or wealth, and the New Jersey or small state plan, which proposed equal representation in Congress. The Connecticut Compromise, however, faced opposition from some delegates, including James Madison of Virginia, Rufus King of Massachusetts, and Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania, who argued that it resembled the Confederation Congress.

The Compromise was approved on July 16, 1787, after a vote of the states. It played a crucial role in shaping the legislative structure of the United States government, ensuring that both large and small states had a voice in the federal legislature. The Compromise also led to further agreements, such as the Three-Fifths Compromise, which addressed the issue of popular representation in the House of Representatives.

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The influence of political philosophers

The US Constitution was signed by 39 delegates, but many more people influenced the ideas underpinning the document. The political philosophies of the time, such as natural rights, republicanism, and constitutionalism, were key influences on the thinking of the Founding Fathers.

The English philosopher John Locke was a significant influence on the Constitution. Locke's ideas on personal liberty, political order, and the social contract were widely discussed by the Founding Fathers. He refuted the divine right of monarchy and argued that personal liberty could coexist with political order, with labour as the origin and justification for property. Locke's belief in the social contract held that government was a contract with limited powers and obligations to its creators, the people. The Founding Fathers were also influenced by Locke's ideas on natural rights, which held that people should be free and equal, and that the purpose of government was to protect individual rights and further the common welfare.

Another important influence was the Scottish philosopher David Hume, whom Benjamin Franklin greatly admired. Franklin and Hume embraced the idea that high-ranking public officials should receive no salary, and that the lower class was a better judge of character when choosing representatives.

The French philosopher Montesquieu also had a notable impact on the Constitution. He emphasised the need for balanced forces within government to prevent tyranny, reflecting the influence of Polybius's treatise on the checks and balances of the Roman Republic. Montesquieu maintained that the separation of state powers should be by its service to the people's liberty: legislative, executive, and judicial.

The Founding Fathers were also influenced by the English Bill of Rights (1689), which inspired the American Bill of Rights. The English Bill of Rights required jury trials, contained a right to keep and bear arms, prohibited excessive bail, and forbade "cruel and unusual punishments". Many of these liberties were later incorporated into the American Bill of Rights.

In addition to these specific philosophers, the Scottish Enlightenment and the European Enlightenment more broadly were influential in shaping the thinking of the Founding Fathers. The ideas of the Enlightenment, such as Enlightenment rationalism, shaped the advancement of personal liberties and the belief in natural rights.

The role of anti-Federalists

Anti-Federalists played a crucial role in shaping the adoption and interpretation of the US Constitution, despite their opposition to its ratification. Led by Patrick Henry of Virginia, they advocated for a more decentralised form of government, with greater protections for individual rights and stronger state representation. Anti-Federalists believed that the Constitution, as drafted, would lead to a loss of liberty, an erosion of state sovereignty, and the potential for tyranny. They were concerned that the national government would become too powerful and infringe upon the rights of states and individuals.

Anti-Federalists were particularly active in state legislatures across the country, including in Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York, where they made ratification of the Constitution contingent on the inclusion of a Bill of Rights. They criticised the document for its brevity and lack of explicit protections for individual liberties. Richard Henry Lee, for instance, lamented the absence of provisions to safeguard "those essential rights of mankind without which liberty cannot exist." James Wilson, on the other hand, argued that a bill of rights was unnecessary, as all power not expressly delegated to the new government was reserved for the people.

The Anti-Federalists' efforts were not without success. Although they failed to prevent the ratification of the Constitution, they played a pivotal role in securing the adoption of the Bill of Rights. James Madison, who initially opposed the idea, eventually conceded to drafting a list of rights to accommodate Anti-Federalist concerns. The Bill of Rights, comprising ten constitutional amendments, guarantees American citizens' fundamental rights and privileges, including free speech, the right to a speedy trial, due process, and protection from cruel and unusual punishments.

The differences between Federalists and Anti-Federalists were complex and profound. While Federalists could be characterised as nationalists who favoured a strong central government, Anti-Federalists sought to preserve state autonomy and local interests. They were more likely to be small farmers from rural areas, whereas Federalists tended to be lawyers and merchants from urban centres. Despite their eventual defeat in the ratification battle, Anti-Federalists left an enduring legacy by ensuring the inclusion of the Bill of Rights, which has become the most important part of the Constitution for many Americans.

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