Malcolm Rivera
The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, was sent to the Confederation Congress on November 15, 1777. It was ratified by Maryland on March 1, 1781, and was in force from 1781 to 1789 when the present-day Constitution went into effect. The Articles of Confederation established a weak central government that was unable to regulate commerce, tax, or print money, and it could not prevent states from conducting their own foreign diplomacy. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart, leading to calls for a stronger central government. The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787 and drafted a new Constitution, which was signed by 38 delegates on September 17, 1787.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date the Constitution was sent to the Confederation Congress | 17th September 1787 |
| Number of delegates who signed the Constitution | 38 |
| Date the Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress | 15th November 1777 |
| Date the Articles of Confederation came into force | 1st March 1781 |
| Date the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia | 25th May 1787 |
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What You'll Learn
The Articles of Confederation
In September 1786, some states met to address interstate protectionist trade barriers between them. As more states became interested in meeting to revise the Articles, a meeting was set in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787. This became the Constitutional Convention, where delegates quickly agreed that the defects of the frame of government could not be remedied by altering the Articles, and so they went beyond their mandate by authoring a new constitution.
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The Annapolis Convention
Twelve delegates from five U.S. states (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia) gathered to discuss and develop solutions to the protectionist trade barriers that each state had erected. At the time, under the Articles of Confederation, each state was largely independent of the others, and the national government had no authority to regulate trade between and among the states. The delegates stood as a highly competent group, comprised of a future president (James Madison), a future secretary of the treasury (Alexander Hamilton), and a future secretary of state (Edmund Randolph). Chaired by John Dickinson, the former governor of Delaware, the convention's members reasoned that questions of trade regulation were of "such a comprehensive extent" that they could not be addressed by the existing government.
The direct result of the Annapolis Convention's report and the ensuing events was the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, when the United States Constitution was drafted. The Annapolis commissioners called for a convention to meet in Philadelphia the following May, with the aim to "render the constitution of the federal government adequate to the exigencies of the union". The delegates recommended a convention be held in Philadelphia the following year, which subsequently took place from May to September 1787.
The Constitutional Convention was assembled to revise the Articles of Confederation, which had served as the United States' first constitution from March 1, 1781, until 1789, when the present-day Constitution went into effect. The Articles of Confederation had been adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, and established a league of friendship for the 13 sovereign and independent states. However, it gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, print money, or raise taxes. As a result, disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.
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The Constitutional 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, 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. Madison, who had studied republics and confederacies throughout history, believed that a strong central government was necessary to prevent the young country from collapsing.
Delegates from 12 states (Rhode Island did not send delegates) 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 delegates agreed on a federal government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
The role of the executive was hotly debated, including issues such as whether executive power should be divided or vested in a single chief executive, how a president would be elected, the length and number of allowable terms, what offences should be impeachable, and whether judges should be chosen by the legislature or the executive. Slavery was also a contentious issue, with delegates debating the insertion of a fugitive slave clause, whether to allow the abolition of the slave trade, and whether slaves should be counted in proportional representation.
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Ratification by the states
The ratification of the US Constitution by the states was a long and arduous process. The final document was sent to the states for ratification, with at least nine of the 13 existing states needing to ratify for it to become law. The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. However, there was strong opposition to the Constitution from Anti-Federalists, who argued that it created a powerful central government and lacked a bill of rights. Despite these objections, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution on June 21, 1788, officially ending government under the Articles of Confederation.
The journey to ratification was filled with intense debates and compromises. One of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation, with delegates compromising by agreeing to give each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate. Another major objection was the lack of protection for rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and press. To address this, the Massachusetts Compromise stipulated that amendments would be proposed, leading to the inclusion of the Bill of Rights.
The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, played a crucial role in lobbying for votes in favor of ratification. They produced "The Federalist Papers," a series of 85 essays published in newspapers nationwide, explaining and defending the proposed new government. Their efforts were instrumental in swaying public opinion and securing the necessary votes for ratification.
The ratification of the Constitution by the remaining states took several more years. It wasn't until May 29, 1790, that the last state, Rhode Island, finally ratified the document. The Constitution was not fully ratified by all states until this point, and the Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791. The process of ratification by the states was a complex and challenging journey, but it ultimately led to the establishment of the United States of America's official framework of government.
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The Federalists and Anti-Federalists
The Anti-Federalists, on the other hand, vehemently opposed the creation of a powerful central government, arguing that it resembled the one they had just overthrown during the Revolutionary War. They believed that the US Constitution, as drafted by the Federalists, strengthened the national government at the expense of the states and the people. The Anti-Federalists were against the ratification of the Constitution and fought hard to prevent it, but they struggled to organize effectively across all thirteen states.
The Federalists played a crucial role in shaping the new US Constitution in 1787, which replaced the Articles of Confederation as the country's governing framework. The Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1777, served as the United States' first constitution and established a "league of friendship" among the thirteen sovereign and independent states. However, it had limited power and could not effectively resolve disputes between states or support a war effort.
The Constitutional Convention, which assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, was convened to address the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation and resulted in the drafting of the new US Constitution. The Federalists and Anti-Federalists had opposing views on congressional representation, with the former compromising by agreeing to representation based on population in the House of Representatives and equal representation for each state in the Senate. The Federalists also agreed to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person, temporarily resolving the contentious issue of slavery.
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Frequently asked questions
The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787. The delegates decided to go beyond their mandate to revise the Articles of Confederation and instead authored a new constitution. On September 17, 1787, 38 delegates signed the Constitution.
The Constitutional Convention was a meeting of state delegates to work on revising the Articles of Confederation, which was America's first constitution.
The Articles of Confederation gave 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 delegates at the Constitutional Convention decided to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new constitution, which was signed on September 17, 1787.
The Annapolis Convention was called in September 1786 to address changes regarding trade. The Constitutional Convention then met in Philadelphia in May 1787 and produced a new constitution, which was signed on September 17, 1787. The new constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation, which had been in force since March 1, 1781.
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