Constitution Delegates: Their First Steps And Challenges

The delegates to the Constitution of the United States were tasked with revising the existing government, but instead, they created a powerful central government with a completely new system of federal government. The delegates first chose a presiding officer, unanimously electing George Washington to be the president of the convention. They also agreed to observe a strict rule of secrecy, with nothing spoken in the house to be printed or otherwise published or communicated.

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Delegates elected George Washington as President of the convention

The delegates to the Constitution first elected George Washington of Virginia as President of the convention. Washington was a former commanding general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and a proponent of a stronger national government. He was also one of a number of delegates who had either served in the Continental Congress or fought the British during the American Revolution.

The delegates agreed to observe a strict rule of secrecy, with “nothing spoken in the house to be printed or otherwise published or communicated”. This gave them the freedom to disagree, sometimes vehemently, on important issues, without the posturing and pandering to public opinion that so often marks political debate today. It also gave them the freedom to change their minds.

The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. It was initially intended to revise the league of states and devise the first system of federal government under the Articles of Confederation. However, leading proponents of the Convention, 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.

On September 17, 1787, 38 delegates signed the Constitution, with George Reed signing for John Dickinson of Delaware, who was absent, bringing the total number of signatures to 39.

They agreed to observe a strict rule of secrecy

The delegates to the Constitution first elected George Washington of Virginia, former commanding general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, to serve as President of the convention. They also agreed to observe a strict rule of secrecy, with "nothing spoken in the house to be printed or otherwise published or communicated". This rule of secrecy gave the delegates the freedom to disagree vehemently on important issues without the posturing and pandering to public opinion that so often marks political debate today. It also gave them the freedom to change their minds; after an evening of convivial entertainment, the delegates would often return the following morning or even the following week or month, and find ways to reach agreement on issues that had previously divided them.

The delegates to the Constitution were tasked with revising the existing government, but they came up with a completely new one. Representing wildly different interests and views, they crafted compromises. They bypassed the state legislatures, reasoning that their members would be reluctant to give up power to a national government.

The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. It was initially intended to revise the league of states and devise the first system of federal government under the Articles of Confederation. However, leading proponents of the Convention, 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 debated and revised the document

The delegates to the Constitution first debated and revised the document. They were tasked with revising the existing government, but instead came up with a completely new one. The delegates, representing wildly different interests and views, crafted compromises. They bypassed the state legislatures, reasoning that their members would be reluctant to give up power to a national government.

The delegates agreed to observe a strict rule of secrecy, with "nothing spoken in the house to be printed or otherwise published or communicated". This gave them the freedom to disagree vehemently on important issues, without the posturing and pandering to public opinion that so often marks political debate today. It also gave delegates the freedom to change their minds. After an evening of convivial entertainment, they would return the following day, week, or month, and find ways to reach agreement on issues that had previously divided them.

The delegates elected George Washington of Virginia, former commanding general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and a proponent of a stronger national government, to serve as President of the convention.

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They bypassed the state legislatures

The delegates to the Constitution first met in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. One of the first things they did was elect George Washington of Virginia as the president of the convention. Washington was a proponent of a stronger national government and had served as the former commanding general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War.

The delegates were tasked with revising the existing government, but they ended up creating a completely new one. They crafted a powerful central government while protecting the prerogatives of the states. To do this, they bypassed the state legislatures, reasoning that their members would be reluctant to give up power to a national government.

The delegates agreed to observe a strict rule of secrecy, preventing the "licentious publication of their proceedings." This allowed them to disagree vehemently on important issues without the posturing and pandering to public opinion that often marks political debate. It also gave them the freedom to change their minds and find ways to reach agreements on divisive issues.

After two months of intense debates and revisions, the delegates produced the document we now know as the Constitution. A total of 39 delegates signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787, with George Reed signing for the absent John Dickinson of Delaware.

They created a powerful central government

The delegates to the Constitution first created a powerful central government. Representing wildly different interests and views, they crafted compromises. They were tasked with revising the existing government, but instead came up with a completely new one. Wary about centralised power and loyal to their states, they created a powerful central government while protecting the prerogatives of the states.

The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The delegates elected George Washington of Virginia, former commanding general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and a proponent of a stronger national government, to serve as President of the convention. Importantly, to prevent the “licentious publication of their proceedings,” the delegates agreed to observe a strict rule of secrecy, with “nothing spoken in the house to be printed or otherwise published or communicated.” This rule of secrecy gave the delegates the freedom to disagree, sometimes vehemently, on important issues, and to do so without the posturing and pandering to public opinion that so often marks political debate today. It also gave delegates the freedom to change their minds; on many occasions, after an evening of convivial entertainment with one another, the delegates would return the following morning or even the following week or month, and find ways to reach agreement on issues that had previously divided them.

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