Jonah Patel
The US Constitution, written in 1787, is the fundamental framework of America's system of government. It was composed during the Philadelphia Convention, now known as the Constitutional Convention, which convened from May to September 1787. The Constitutional Convention was conducted under an oath of secrecy, and the first public printing of the Constitution was published in a newspaper, The Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser, on September 19, 1787, two days after it was signed. The original signed, handwritten Constitution is at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
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What You'll Learn
The Constitutional Convention
The delegates to the convention, including James Madison of Virginia and Alexander Hamilton of New York, sought to create a new frame of government with a stronger central government rather than revise the existing one. They elected George Washington of Virginia, former commanding general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, to serve as President of the convention.
The convention debated and ratified the United States Constitution, establishing a federal government with more specific powers, including those related to conducting relations with foreign governments. The Constitution created a model of government that relied on a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the Legislative, the Judicial, and the Executive branches. The role of the executive was hotly debated, including issues such as whether executive power should be divided among three people or vested in a single chief executive, how a president would be elected, and the length of a presidential term.
Another contentious issue was slavery, with delegates debating the insertion of a fugitive slave clause, the potential abolition of the slave trade, and whether slaves would be counted in proportional representation. The delegates agreed to a compromise, allowing the slave trade to continue until 1808 and counting enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person. The convention ultimately created a blueprint for a federal government with three branches, which has served as the basis of the United States Government since the Constitution came into effect in 1789.
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The Articles of Confederation
The delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in May 1787 had gathered to revise the Articles of Confederation, but by mid-June, they had decided to completely redesign the government. They compromised by giving each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate. They also agreed to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person and allowed the slave trade to continue until 1808.
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Federalists vs Anti-Federalists
The US Constitution was written at a time when the young country was facing the threat of collapse. America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, had given the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it lacked enforcement powers and the ability to regulate commerce or print money. This led to disputes among the states over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, which threatened to tear the country apart.
In this context, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists had differing views on the role of the central government and the ratification of the US Constitution. The Federalists, with their nationalist beliefs, advocated for a strong central government, arguing that it was necessary to address the nation's challenges. They played a crucial role in shaping the new US Constitution in 1787, which strengthened the national government.
On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists vehemently opposed the ratification of the US Constitution. They believed that a powerful central government would infringe upon the rights of the states and the people. However, the Anti-Federalists lacked effective organisation across all thirteen states, and as a result, they had to contest ratification at each state convention. One of their significant achievements was forcing the first Congress under the new Constitution to establish a bill of rights to safeguard the liberties they felt were violated by the Constitution.
The Constitutional Convention, assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, highlighted the differences between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. The delegates, recognising the need for change, decided to redesign the government. A major point of contention was congressional representation and whether it should be based on population or divided equally among the states. The compromise eventually reached was to allocate representatives based on population, with each state receiving one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate.
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The ratification process
The delegates decided that nine states would be appropriate to implement the Constitution among the ratifying states. This was the same number of states necessary in the Confederation Congress to adopt important matters such as borrowing money, declaring war, ratifying treaties, and admitting new states into the Union. The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. Pennsylvania's convention Anti-Federalist minority published their "Dissent". Ratifying conventions were then held in Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and so on.
The ratification campaign was a close call. The tide turned in Massachusetts, where the “vote now, amend later” compromise helped secure victory in that state and eventually in the final holdouts. The Constitution was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document. The next day, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 were familiar with this decade-long constitutional heritage.
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The signing
The process of "the signing" began with the actual drafting of the Constitution. The Convention appointed a Committee of Detail to arrange and consolidate the resolutions and proposals that had been debated and agreed upon by the delegates. This committee, consisting of five members, including John Rutledge and James Wilson, worked to organize the articles and sections of the Constitution, ensuring consistency and clarity. They presented their report to the Convention in early August 1787, and the delegates spent the following weeks reviewing, amending, and debating the document.
Following this, a Committee of Style and Arrangement, chaired by Gouverneur Morris, was tasked with refining the language and style of the Constitution. This committee made some important changes, such as replacing the phrase "executive department" with "President of the United States." They also divided the document into its now-familiar seven articles and added a preamble. On September 12, the committee presented its final draft to the Convention, and the delegates spent the next few days making some last-minute adjustments and corrections.
Finally, on September 17, the Constitution was ready for signing. The delegates gathered in the Assembly Room of the State House, and the document was read aloud in its entirety. One by one, the delegates stepped forward to sign their names, affixing their signatures to the parchment. It is said that as Benjamin Franklin, the oldest delegate at 81, signed, he was asked if the sun painted on the back of George Washington's chair had risen or set. Franklin replied, "A rising sun," symbolizing the dawn of a new era for the nation. Not all delegates present signed the document, as some disagreed with certain parts of the final draft, but 39 brave men put quill to paper to endorse the Constitution.
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Frequently asked questions
The Constitution was written to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to the people and their posterity. It was also written to establish a democratic government, with the people in control.
The Constitution was written in 1787, during the Philadelphia Convention, now known as the Constitutional Convention. It was signed on September 17, 1787, and ratified on June 21, 1788.
The Constitutional Convention was conducted under an oath of secrecy. The delegates met in Philadelphia in May 1787 and initially intended to revise the Articles of Confederation. However, by mid-June, they had decided to completely redesign the government. The delegates debated various issues, including congressional representation, slavery, and the structure of the government. The final document was transcribed by Jacob Shallus, the assistant clerk for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, who was paid $30 for his work.
