Jonah Patel
The United States Constitution, the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution, was written at the 1787 Philadelphia Convention. The document, which has served as the supreme law of the United States since 1789, was drafted by delegates from twelve of the thirteen states and has been amended twenty-seven times since.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Location | Pennsylvania State House, Philadelphia |
| Date | May 25, 1787 |
| Author | Jacob Shallus |
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What You'll Learn
The 1787 Philadelphia Convention
The convention was attended by delegates from various states, including James Madison of Virginia, Alexander Hamilton of New York, and George Washington of Virginia, who was elected as the president of the convention. The delegates debated and redrafted the articles of the new Constitution in closed sessions throughout the summer. Some of the main points of contention included how much power to grant the central government, the number of representatives in Congress for each state, and the method of electing these representatives.
Another contentious issue was slavery, with delegates debating the inclusion of a fugitive slave clause, the potential abolition of the slave trade, and whether slaves should be counted in proportional representation. The Connecticut Compromise in mid-July helped resolve many lingering arguments, and a draft by the Committee of Detail gained acceptance. Over the following weeks, further modifications and compromises were made, and the Committee of Style produced the final version in early September.
The final version of the Constitution was voted on by the delegates, inscribed on parchment, and signed by 39 of 55 delegates on September 17, 1787. This four-page document established the federal government of the United States, outlining the separation of powers into three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial. The Constitution came into effect in 1789 after ratification by the necessary number of states and has served as the basis of the United States government ever since.
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The Virginia Plan
The delegates at the Convention debated and shaped the Virginia Plan into a document that would be accepted by states of all sizes, leading to the Great Compromise, or the Connecticut Compromise. This final document incorporated elements of the New Jersey Plan, including the three-fifths rule and its equal apportionment of representatives for the upper house of the legislature. The Virginia Plan eventually became the foundation of the Constitution of the United States, which was signed on September 17, 1787, establishing the government of the United States.
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Amendments
The US Constitution was written and signed in 1787, in Philadelphia, in the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall. This was the same location and year that the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Constitution was drafted in secret by delegates to the Constitutional Convention, also known as the Philadelphia Convention, during the summer of 1787.
The US Constitution has 27 amendments, beginning with the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments, which were ratified on December 15, 1791. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments are collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments. There have been approximately 11,848 proposals to amend the Constitution introduced in Congress since 1789, with members of the House and Senate proposing around 200 amendments during each two-year term of Congress.
The two-step amendment process requires that proposals to amend the Constitution must be properly adopted and ratified before they can be added to the Constitution. The first step involves two methods for adopting the language of a proposed amendment: either by a two-thirds majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, or by a national convention (which occurs when two-thirds of state legislatures call for one). The second step involves two methods for ratifying the proposed amendment, requiring the approval of three-fourths of the states (38 of 50): by consent of the state legislatures, or by consent of state ratifying conventions. The Twenty-first Amendment, in 1933, is the only amendment that has been ratified by the latter method.
The Archivist of the United States is responsible for administering the ratification process, and once an amendment is properly ratified, the archivist issues a certificate proclaiming it as an operative part of the Constitution. The original, signed Constitution is kept at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
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The Federalist Papers
The essays explain specific provisions of the Constitution in detail and are considered an essential read for understanding the principles and intentions of those who drafted the Constitution. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay published the essays at a rapid pace, with three to four new essays appearing in the papers in a single week. This fast pace of production overwhelmed any potential responses and contributed to the influence of The Federalist Papers on American political institutions.
The high demand for the essays led to their publication in a more permanent form. On January 1, 1788, the New York publishing firm J. & A. McLean announced that they would publish the first 36 essays as a bound volume. This volume was released on March 22, 1788, and was titled "The Federalist Volume 1". New essays continued to be published in newspapers, with Federalist No. 77 being the last to appear first in that form on April 2, 1788. A second bound volume was released on May 28, 1788, containing Federalist Nos. 37–77 and the previously unpublished Nos. 78–85.
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Opposition
The United States Constitution, written in 1787, has not been without its critics. Opposition to the Constitution has existed since its inception, with some arguing that it was a document fit for the flames. Congregationalist minister and abolitionist Samuel Hopkins of Connecticut was one such critic, charging that the convention that produced it had sold out. He believed that the states, which had been fighting for liberty, could not agree on a political constitution unless it allowed them to enslave their fellow men.
Another critic was George Mason, who bitterly exclaimed that he "would sooner chop off his right hand than put it to the Constitution as it now stands." Mason despaired that the convention was rushing to impose an ill-advised and potentially ruinous central authority on the country. The anti-Federalists, as they became known, attacked the lack of a bill of rights, discrimination against southern states in navigation legislation, direct taxation, and the loss of state sovereignty. They believed that the Constitution was the work of aristocratic politicians seeking to protect their own class interests.
The anti-Federalists' arguments were not without merit, and they found support in some quarters. Thomas Jefferson, for example, admired the Federalist Papers but acknowledged that the opposition in most states was disorganized and inert. The anti-Federalists' lack of unity and coherent plan may have hindered their ability to mount an effective challenge to the Constitution. Nevertheless, their concerns about the concentration of power and the potential for oppression of the working classes were prescient.
Newspaper articles at the time, likely written by anti-Federalists, predicted horrors under the new Constitution, including the possibility of pagans and deists controlling the government or the use of Inquisition-like torture as punishment for federal crimes. One particularly fanciful claim suggested that even the Pope could be elected president under the new Constitution. While these predictions may seem far-fetched, they reflect the genuine fears and concerns of those opposed to the concentration of power in a central authority.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution was written in the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, in Philadelphia.
The US Constitution was written by Jacob Shallus and signed by G. Washington, president, and deputy from Virginia.
The US Constitution was written on September 17, 1787.
