Omar Bennett
The U.S. Constitution was written and signed by 38 delegates in 1787, with an additional signature from George Reed on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total number of signatures to 39. The delegates assembled in Philadelphia, intending to revise the Articles of Confederation, but ultimately decided to redesign the government. The Constitution was influenced by the study of the Magna Carta, the common law, and the political theories of the eighteenth century, including those of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. The Founding generation also created a formal amendment process to allow future generations to revise the nation's charter. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington are considered key figures in the creation of the Constitution, with Madison referred to as its chief architect.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | 17 September 1787 |
| Location | Independence Hall, Philadelphia |
| Signatories | 39 delegates, including George Reed, who signed for John Dickinson of Delaware |
| Authors/Founders | James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and others |
| Influences | Magna Carta, Iroquois Confederacy political concepts, Enlightenment philosophers (e.g., Montesquieu, John Locke, Edward Coke, William Blackstone), Scottish Enlightenment |
| Purpose | To replace the Articles of Confederation, which lacked enforcement powers and couldn't regulate commerce or print money |
| Key Features | Separation of powers, bill of rights, compromise on congressional representation, continuation of the slave trade until 1808 |
| Amendments | Over 11,000 amendments have been proposed, with 27 successfully added as of 2018 |
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What You'll Learn
- James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared collapse without a new constitution
- The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787
- The Federalists and Anti-Federalists disagreed on the need for a strong central government
- The constitution was influenced by the study of Magna Carta and other federations
- The Founding generation created a formal amendment process for future generations
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared collapse without a new constitution
A few years after the Revolutionary War, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared that their young country was on the brink of collapse. America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, gave the Confederation Congress the authority to make rules and request funds from the states, but it lacked enforcement powers, the ability to regulate commerce, or print money. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the fledgling nation apart.
Madison, Hamilton, and Washington recognised that the Articles of Confederation, which served as the nation's first constitution, were insufficient to sustain the country's stability and prosperity. They understood that a strong central government was necessary to address the nation's pressing challenges. Thus, they played pivotal roles in convening the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, marking a pivotal moment in the nation's history.
Alexander Hamilton was instrumental in persuading Congress to organise a Grand Convention of state delegates to undertake the crucial task of revising the Articles of Confederation. The delegates assembled in Philadelphia, shuttering the windows of the State House to ensure privacy and enable free discussion. The convention, which included delegates with diverse interests and views, witnessed fierce arguments over congressional representation.
The delegates ultimately decided to abandon the Articles of Confederation and create an entirely new government structure. This decision reflected their wariness of centralised power and loyalty to their respective states. They crafted compromises, such as the famous "three-fifths compromise" regarding slavery, to accommodate differing perspectives. The delegates' collaboration resulted in the creation of a powerful central government, as enshrined in the new constitution.
James Madison, often regarded as the "Father of the Constitution," played a pivotal role in this process. He collaborated closely with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to write a series of essays aimed at garnering public support for the new constitution. These essays, collectively known as "The Federalist," were widely reprinted in newspapers and pamphlets, shaping public opinion and contributing to the enduring impact of the Constitution.
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The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787
The United States Constitution was drafted during the Constitutional Convention, which assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787. The convention was held to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared that the young country was on the brink of collapse due to disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade.
The convention was attended by delegates from the states, who created a model of government that relied on a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. The delegates, representing wildly different interests and views, crafted compromises to resolve their differences. One such compromise was the Three-Fifths Compromise, which settled the matter of counting slaves in the population for representation by agreeing that three-fifths of the slaves would be counted as part of the population for apportioning representation and also as property for assessing taxes.
Another compromise was reached between delegates from South Carolina and Georgia, who wanted to protect the slave trade, and delegates from the New England states. The southern delegates agreed to a clause that required only a simple majority vote on navigation laws, in exchange for the support of the New England delegates for continuing the slave trade for 20 years. This bargain was a blow to those working to abolish slavery. The convention also had to address the issue of whether to amend the Articles of Confederation or create a new scheme of government.
The delegates to the convention ultimately created a powerful central government, establishing a federal government with more specific powers, including those related to conducting foreign relations. The Constitution was signed by 38 delegates on September 17, 1787, and came into effect in 1789 after being ratified by the necessary number of states. It has served as the basis of the United States Government ever since and is one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.
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The Federalists and Anti-Federalists disagreed on the need for a strong central government
The US Constitution, the supreme law of the United States, superseded the Articles of Confederation in 1789. It was signed by 38 delegates on September 17, 1787, and has since been amended 27 times. The Federalists and Anti-Federalists disagreed on the need for a strong central government, with Federalists believing that a strong central government was necessary to unite the states and provide leadership. They felt that a system of checks and balances would prevent it from becoming too powerful or tyrannical. On the other hand, Anti-Federalists believed that a strong central government could oppress citizens, similar to what had happened under British rule. They wanted to preserve states' rights and ensure that individual liberties were protected.
The Federalists' view was shaped by the political theories of the late eighteenth century, including those of Blackstone, Locke, and Montesquieu. Locke, for example, advanced the principle of the consent of the governed, arguing that the government's duty under a social contract was to serve and protect the rights of the people, which he defined as life, liberty, and property. The Federalists believed that the federal government's policies and laws should take precedence over state laws. They also thought that the country needed a strong executive in the form of a president, along with checks and balances on each of the branches to prevent any one entity from becoming too powerful.
The Anti-Federalists, on the other hand, were concerned about the potential for tyranny and the loss of individual liberties under a strong central government. They wanted to ensure that states had more power than the central government to preserve rights. The Anti-Federalists included small farmers, landowners, shopkeepers, and laborers. They favored strong state governments, a weak central government, the direct election of government officials, short term limits for officeholders, and accountability by officeholders to popular majorities.
The debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists were fierce and centred on the role of the federal government and its relationship with the states. The Federalists wanted a strong central government, while the Anti-Federalists wanted states to have greater authority. These debates came to a head during the Constitutional Convention, with disagreements over the Supremacy Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, the Commerce Clause, and the absence of a Bill of Rights. The Anti-Federalists published their arguments against the Constitution in the Brutus Papers, while the Federalists responded with their arguments in support of the Constitution in the Federalist Papers.
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The constitution was influenced by the study of Magna Carta and other federations
The U.S. Constitution was a federal one and was influenced by the study of the Magna Carta and other federations, both ancient and modern. The Due Process Clause of the Constitution was partly based on common law and on the Magna Carta (1215), which became a foundation of English liberty against arbitrary power. The Magna Carta was widely interpreted as the people's reassertion of rights against oppressive rulers, a legacy that captured American distrust of concentrated political power. This influenced most state constitutions, which included declarations of rights intended to guarantee individual citizens a list of protections and immunities from state governments. The rights protected by the Magna Carta included freedom from unlawful searches and seizures, the right to a speedy trial, the right to a jury trial in both criminal and civil cases, and protection from loss of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
The idea of the separation of powers in the Constitution was largely inspired by eighteenth-century Enlightenment philosophers, such as Montesquieu, Locke, Edward Coke, and William Blackstone. These political philosophers were among the most frequently referred to during the framing and signing of the Constitution. Montesquieu's influence is evident in Madison's Federalist No. 47 and Hamilton's Federalist No. 78. Thomas Jefferson, Adams, and Mason were also known to read Montesquieu. John Locke, a British political philosopher, was a major influence, expanding on the contract theory of government advanced by his contemporary, Thomas Hobbes. Locke advanced the principle of consent of the governed in his "Two Treatises of Government", where he asserted that the government's duty under a social contract among the sovereign people was to serve the people by protecting their rights, including the basic rights of life, liberty, and property.
The Constitution was also influenced by the Scottish Enlightenment, which historian Herbert W. Schneider claimed was "probably the most potent single tradition in the American Enlightenment". The advancement of personal liberties was also influenced by the Iroquois Confederacy, according to American Indian history scholars Donald Grinde and Bruce Johansen, who argue that there is "overwhelming evidence" of this influence. However, the extent of this influence has been questioned and criticised by various historians and anthropologists, who claim that the evidence is largely coincidental and circumstantial.
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The Founding generation created a formal amendment process for future generations
The Founding Fathers of the United States Constitution were concerned about the Articles of Confederation a few years after the Revolutionary War. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared their young nation was on the brink of collapse. 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 states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart.
Alexander Hamilton helped convince Congress to organize a Grand Convention of state delegates to work on revising the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787. The delegates came from all the original states except Rhode Island, and they shuttered the windows of the State House and swore secrecy so they could speak freely. Although they had gathered to revise the Articles of Confederation, by mid-June they had decided to completely redesign the government.
The delegates, or Founding Fathers, came up with a powerful central government. Representing wildly different interests and views, they crafted compromises. It stands today as one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world. The founders set the terms for ratifying the Constitution. They bypassed the state legislatures, reasoning that their members would be reluctant to give up power to a national government. Instead, they called for special ratifying conventions in each state. Ratification by nine of the thirteen states enacted the new government.
The Founding Fathers created a formal amendment process for future generations. The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Once an amendment is proposed, it is forwarded to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for processing and publication. The Director of the Federal Register adds legislative history notes and publishes the amendment in slip law format, as well as assembling an information package for the states. When three-quarters of the states (38 out of 50) have ratified the proposed amendment, it becomes part of the Constitution. The Archivist of the United States then certifies that the amendment is valid and publishes this certification in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large, serving as official notice to Congress and the Nation that the amendment process has been completed.
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Frequently asked questions
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington were the key figures behind the creation of the US Constitution. They were concerned that the Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, gave the Confederation Congress too much power and wanted to replace it with a strong central government. The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, and 39 delegates, including George Reed, signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787.
The US Constitution was influenced by several factors, including the study of the Magna Carta and other ancient and extant federations. The Due Process Clause of the Constitution was based on common law and the Magna Carta. The idea of the Separation of Powers in the Constitution was inspired by Enlightenment philosophers such as Montesquieu, John Locke, Edward Coke, and William Blackstone. Additionally, some scholars argue that Iroquois Confederacy political concepts and ideas influenced the US Constitution.
The US Constitution was "found" or discovered by the people of the United States as a foundational document outlining the country's laws and government structure. It was created through a collaborative effort involving key figures like James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, along with delegates from various states, to address the concerns with the Articles of Confederation.
