The Constitution's Historical Context: Events And Impacts

The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 delegates, with a 39th signature added later on behalf of absent John Dickinson of Delaware. The signing took place in Philadelphia, where the Constitutional Convention had assembled in May of that year. The Constitution was the result of fears that the young country was on the brink of collapse, with disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatening to tear it apart. The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, had given the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The new Constitution increased Congressional power to organise, arm, and discipline state militias, and to use them to enforce laws, suppress rebellions, and repel invasions. It also substantially increased Congress's power to tax, and to regulate interstate commerce.

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The Articles of Confederation

In the years following the Revolutionary War, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared that the young country was on the brink of collapse due to the Articles' shortcomings. The central government had insufficient power to resolve disputes between states over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade. The country faced economic disaster, with Congress attempting to function with a depleted treasury and paper money flooding the market, causing extraordinary inflation.

Efforts to revise the Articles of Confederation began in 1786, with the Annapolis Convention called to address issues related to trade. The delegates, including John Dickinson and Alexander Hamilton, resolved to reconvene in Philadelphia in May 1787 to revise the Articles. This convention, known as the Constitutional Convention, went beyond its mandate and created a new constitution, replacing the Articles of Confederation. The new Constitution established a stronger federal government and addressed the weaknesses of the Articles, including the financial and institutional shortcomings of Congress and the lack of centralised power.

Divisions among the states

Nationalists, led by James Madison, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Wilson, began working toward strengthening the federal government. They believed that a loose confederation of sovereign states with a weak central government was not sustainable. Madison, in particular, wanted a strong central government to provide order and stability.

One of the fiercest arguments during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 was over congressional representation. The framers 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, temporarily resolving the issue of slavery by allowing the slave trade to continue until 1808.

The ratification process for the new Constitution was also divisive. The Federalists, who supported a strong central government, needed to convince at least three states to ratify, as only six of the thirteen states had a pro-Constitution majority at the time. The Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution because it created a powerful central government and lacked a bill of rights. The compromise of "vote now, amend later" helped secure victory in Massachusetts and eventually in the final holdout states.

The Grand Convention

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, feared the country was on the brink of collapse. Hamilton helped convince Congress to organize a Grand Convention. The convention was initially suggested by Benjamin Franklin, who submitted a plan for a united colonial confederation or American republic to the Continental Congress on July 21, 1775.

General George Washington was unanimously elected president of the Philadelphia convention. Robert Morris of Pennsylvania opened the proceedings with a nomination. The convention was also attended by James Madison, who had been corresponding with Washington about ways to create a stronger national government. Madison and other members of the Virginia delegation drafted a proposed plan of government, known as the “Virginia Plan”.

The convention was not without its critics. Congregationalist minister and abolitionist Samuel Hopkins of Connecticut charged that the convention had sold out, and considered the Constitution a document fit for the flames. George Mason also despaired that the convention was rushing to saddle the country with an ill-advised, potentially ruinous central authority.

The delegates of the convention came up with a completely new form of government. Representing wildly different interests and views, they crafted compromises. The final constitution was signed by 38 delegates on September 17, 1787, with George Reed signing on behalf of the absent John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total to 39 signatures.

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The Federalists and Anti-Federalists

The Federalists

The Federalists were the nationalists who supported the creation of a stronger US federal government and were instrumental in shaping the new US Constitution. They believed in the necessity of a strong central government to face the nation's challenges and address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, which gave state governments more authority but lacked enforcement powers and could not regulate commerce or print money. The Federalists, led by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, wanted to strengthen the national government and increase the authority of the Confederation Congress. They viewed the man of "federal principles" as approving of "federal measures", which meant those that increased the weight and authority or extended the influence of the Confederation Congress.

The Anti-Federalists

The Anti-Federalists, led by Patrick Henry of Virginia, were a political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger US federal government and fought against the ratification of the Constitution. They believed that the Constitution, as drafted, would lead to a loss of individual liberties, an erosion of state sovereignty, and the potential rise of tyranny. They advocated for a more decentralized form of government with greater protections for individual rights and stronger representation for the states. The Anti-Federalists were concerned that the national government would become too powerful and unresponsive to the needs of localities, particularly small towns and rural areas. They also worried that the position of president might evolve into a monarchy. The Anti-Federalists never organized efficiently across all thirteen states and had to fight the ratification at every state convention. However, their influence helped lead to the enactment of the Bill of Rights, as they forced the first Congress under the new Constitution to establish protections for the liberties that they felt the Constitution violated.

The ratification campaign

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and George Washington, among others, led the call for a constitutional convention to reevaluate the nation's governing document. Representatives from all 13 states convened in Philadelphia in May 1787 for the Constitutional Convention. The convention addressed the weaknesses of the central government under the Articles of Confederation and proposed a new form of government with a federal structure and more specific powers, including those related to foreign affairs.

The delegates to the convention, including Madison and Washington, prepared a plan for a strong national government with proportional representation in a bicameral legislature and veto power over state laws. This became known as the Virginia Plan and served as the basis for debate. However, the convention saw diverging plans, strong egos, regional demands, and states' rights, making solutions difficult. The delegates eventually signed the new Constitution on September 17, 1787, establishing a federal republic with a strong central government but leaving most of the power with the state governments.

The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut by January 1788. The tide turned in Massachusetts, a large and powerful state, where the "vote now, amend later" compromise helped secure victory. This eventually led to ratification by the final holdouts, with New Hampshire becoming the ninth state to ratify on June 21, 1788, officially enacting the new government.

Even after the Constitution's ratification, amendments and the Bill of Rights were still being debated and ratified in the following years. The Constitution was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island approved the document, and the Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791.

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