Simone Lawson
The Indian Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was formed of 299 delegates from different castes, regions, religions, and genders. The Assembly met for the first time on 9 December 1946, and the constitution was finally adopted on 26 November 1949. The Assembly was not elected based on universal adult suffrage, and Muslims and Sikhs received special representation as minorities. The drafting committee was chaired by B.R. Ambedkar, who is regarded as the chief architect of the Constitution. However, some sources attribute a large share of the credit to S.N. Mukherjee, the Chief Draftsman of the Constitution, and to B.N. Rau, the constitutional advisor who prepared the original draft of the constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of authors | 55 |
| Main authors | James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay |
| Father of the Constitution | James Madison |
| Committee of Detail members | Nathaniel Gorham, Oliver Ellsworth, James Wilson, Edmund Randolph, John Rutledge |
| Committee of Style member | Gouverneur Morris |
| Other key figures | Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Roger Sherman |
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What You'll Learn
The Committee of Detail
The committee's work was informed by studying the Convention's resolutions, state constitutions, the Articles of Confederation, and other applicable reports and documents. They decided mostly on issues that hadn't been deliberated but weren't likely to be contested. Much of what was included in this first draft consisted of details, such as powers given to Congress, that hadn't been debated or included in any other plan before the convention. Most of these were uncontroversial and unchallenged, and as such, much of what Rutledge's committee included in this first draft made it into the final version of the constitution without debate.
The committee also left an imprint of their individual and collective judgments on the document. For example, they added the phrase "giving them aid and comfort" to the section on treason to narrow the definition from more ambiguous phrases that had been proposed in the convention. Additionally, the committee introduced provisions that hadn't been formally discussed at the convention, such as a clause that prevented states from interfering with private contracts.
After the Committee of Detail presented its draft, the Constitutional Convention appointed a committee of style led by Gouverneur Morris to prepare a final version. Morris streamlined the Committee of Detail's 23 articles into a concise list of seven over the course of about four days. He also wrote the celebrated preamble to the Constitution: "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union...". Morris' draft underwent further discussion and minimal changes before being voted on by the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787.
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The Committee of Style
The drafting of the US Constitution was a complex and lengthy process, with many individuals contributing to its creation. The Committee of Detail was tasked with transcribing the first draft of the Constitution. The committee consisted of Nathaniel Gorham, Oliver Ellsworth, James Wilson, Edmund Randolph, and John Rutledge. They worked off the Virginia Plan, which was largely authored by Madison, along with other sources, to produce the first draft.
Following this, a Committee of Style was appointed to prepare the final version of the text. On 8 September 1787, William Samuel Johnson, Alexander Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, James Madison, and Rufus King were chosen "to revise the style and arrange the articles which had been agreed to by the House". Morris, later known as the "penman of the Constitution", did most of the work. He streamlined the Committee of Detail's 23 articles into a concise list of seven, while also writing the celebrated preamble.
The final draft was completed on 12 September 1787 and underwent minimal changes before being presented to the rest of the delegates. The official job of physically writing out the Constitution was undertaken by Jacob Shallus, the assistant clerk of the Pennsylvania Assembly. On 17 September 1787, the Constitutional Convention voted in favour of the Constitution, and the states were left to accept or reject the new plan of government.
While no single person can be credited with drafting the Constitution, several individuals played key roles in its creation. James Madison, often referred to as the "father of the Constitution", was a driving force behind the convention and contributed significantly to its content. Other notable contributors include Roger Sherman, who proposed the "Connecticut Compromise", and George Mason, who advocated for a Bill of Rights.
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James Madison
Madison was born into a prominent slave-owning planter family in Virginia. In 1774, strongly opposed to British taxation, Madison joined the Patriots. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and the Continental Congress during and after the American Revolutionary War. Dissatisfied with the weak national government established by the Articles of Confederation, he helped organize the Constitutional Convention, which produced a new constitution designed to strengthen republican government against democratic assembly.
Madison played a central role in convincing the delegates to create a new government with more authority and centralized power rather than simply revising the Articles of Confederation. After the delegates completed the Constitution, they submitted it to the states for ratification. As the state legislatures deliberated, Madison worked with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to author a series of letters defending the Constitution. These letters, known as the Federalist Papers, were published in newspapers throughout the country.
Madison was one of the Constitution's most fervent advocates and believed that the success or failure of the American Constitution "would decide forever the fate of republican government." He was also a key contributor to the Constitution by writing the first ten amendments that were adopted by the first Congress, known as the Bill of Rights.
In addition to his role in drafting the Constitution, Madison had a notable political career. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1789, where he served four terms and fought to secure the passage of the Bill of Rights. He later served as Secretary of State under President Thomas Jefferson, supporting the expansion of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase. In 1808, Madison was elected as the fourth President of the United States, bringing several enslaved individuals to the White House and hiring out additional enslaved people to work in the presidential household.
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Edmund Randolph
In 1786, Randolph was elected Governor of Virginia, but he resigned in 1788, opting to serve in the Virginia House of Delegates where he could shape the state's legal code. The following year, as a delegate from Virginia to the Constitutional Convention, he introduced the Virginia Plan, which outlined a new national government with a three-branch federal government and a bicameral legislature. The Virginia Plan also proposed a system that heavily concentrated power in the legislature and gave the national government expanded powers.
Randolph was a member of the Committee of Detail, tasked with converting the Virginia Plan's 15 resolutions into a first draft of the Constitution. He provided an initial outline, which was then revised by James Wilson, and the committee discussed and reviewed it before sending it to printers in Philadelphia. The Committee of Detail also considered a separate draft by Charles Pinckney of South Carolina, as well as portions of the Articles of Confederation and various state constitutions.
After five weeks of debate over the Committee of Detail's draft, the Constitutional Convention appointed a committee of style, led by Gouverneur Morris, to prepare a final version. Morris streamlined the 23 articles into a concise list of seven and wrote the celebrated preamble to the Constitution. The final draft was presented to the delegates on September 12, 1787, and underwent minimal changes before being voted on favorably on September 17, 1787.
Despite his crucial role in the process, Randolph ultimately refused to sign the final document, believing it lacked sufficient checks and balances. He published an account of his objections in October 1787, expressing concerns about the federal judiciary threatening state courts and the broad powers given to Congress and the Senate.
Following his work on the Constitution, Randolph continued his political career, succeeding Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State in 1794. He faced challenges in maintaining neutrality in the war between Great Britain and Revolutionary France and resigned in 1795 due to accusations of corruption and political intrigue. He returned to Virginia to practice law and notably defended Aaron Burr during his 1807 trial for treason. Randolph passed away on September 12, 1813, at the age of sixty.
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Gouverneur Morris
Morris was born into a wealthy landowning family in what is now New York City. A gifted scholar, he enrolled at King's College (now Columbia University) at the age of 12 and graduated in 1768, receiving a master's degree in 1771. He studied law under Judge William Smith and was admitted to the bar in 1775. On May 8, 1775, he was elected to represent his family household in the New York Provincial Congress, where he concentrated on turning the colony into an independent state. Morris advocated for independence, which brought him into conflict with his family and mentor, William Smith, who had abandoned the Patriot cause.
In 1778, Morris was appointed as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he worked closely with George Washington to enact substantial reforms in the training, methods, and financing of the Continental Army. He was also the youngest signer of the Articles of Confederation in the same year. During the Conway Cabal, Morris cast the decisive vote in favour of retaining Washington as the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Morris served in the Continental Congress again from 1778 to 1779 and was a strong advocate for religious tolerance, successfully including a provision for it in the first state constitution.
Morris played a significant role in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where he was a vocal supporter of a strong central government, proposing life tenure for the president and presidential appointment of senators. As a member of the Committee of Style, he was responsible for the final wording and streamlining of the Constitution. He wrote the celebrated preamble, "We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union...", and advanced the concept of a unified citizenship, moving beyond individual state identities. Morris's draft, presented on September 12, 1787, underwent minimal changes, and the final Constitution was voted on and adopted on September 17, 1787.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution was written by 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the summer of 1787. The drafting of the Constitution was a group effort.
Some of the key figures in drafting the US Constitution included James Madison, Gouverneur Morris, George Washington, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.
James Madison, often referred to as the "Father of the Constitution," was a driving force behind the convention and the drafting of the Constitution. He came well-prepared for all arguments against the creation of a new government and laid much of the groundwork for the document's structure and content.
Gouverneur Morris is often credited with writing the Constitution's final draft. He streamlined the Committee of Detail's 23 articles into a concise list of seven and wrote the celebrated preamble to the Constitution.
Roger Sherman proposed the "Connecticut Compromise" or the "Great Compromise," which resolved the issue of representation in the legislature by creating a bicameral legislature, with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate granting equal representation to all states.
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