Simone Lawson
In 1787, the United States needed a new constitution to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation, which gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it lacked enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, with delegates from 12 states, and they decided to create a new form of government with a powerful central government and a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. The first draft of the Constitution was accepted on August 6, 1787, and it was signed by 38 delegates on September 17, 1787, marking an extraordinary achievement and a new beginning for the young nation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of the Constitutional Convention | May to September 1787 |
| Location of the Convention | Philadelphia |
| Purpose of the Convention | To revise the Articles of Confederation |
| Outcome of the Convention | A completely new form of government |
| Type of government | Federal government with more specific powers |
| Basis of the new government | Separation of powers and checks and balances |
| Branches of government | Legislative, Executive, and Judicial |
| Powers of the federal government | Conducting foreign relations, regulating commerce, etc. |
| Ratification process | Ratification by 9 of the 13 states |
| Effective date | 1789 |
| Amendments | The Bill of Rights, passed by the first Congress in 1789 |
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What You'll Learn
The Articles of Confederation were inadequate
Secondly, the Articles established a weak central government that faced challenges in conducting foreign policy. The inability to pass or enforce laws that individual states were bound to follow made it difficult for the federal government to effectively manage foreign affairs. This weakness in the Articles of Confederation prompted the delegates of the Constitutional Convention to create a model of government with a stronger central government and a system of checks and balances.
Thirdly, the Articles did not adequately address the issues arising from the payment of debts from the Revolutionary War and other domestic issues. The lack of a clear mechanism to deal with these financial obligations further highlighted the inadequacies of the Articles and the need for a more comprehensive constitution.
Finally, the Articles did not provide a framework for resolving disputes between the states or with European and Native American powers. The weak central government established by the Articles was unable to settle conflicts within or between states, leading to concerns about the stability and unity of the nation.
In conclusion, the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation, including its lack of enforcement powers, inability to regulate commerce and conduct effective foreign policy, and its failure to address domestic issues, led to the need for a new constitution by 1787. The Constitutional Convention of that year resulted in the creation of a new form of government with a stronger central government and a framework for managing the complex issues facing the young nation.
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A weak central government
The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, and addressed the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. 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 young country apart. The Articles of Confederation also faced many challenges in conducting foreign policy, largely due to their inability to pass or enforce laws that individual states were bound to follow.
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, among others, feared that their young country was on the brink of collapse. Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and the convention's main purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation. However, by mid-June, the delegates had decided to completely redesign the government. The convention was assembled in Philadelphia, and the delegates shuttered the windows of the State House and swore secrecy so they could speak freely. The convention was not meant for new laws or piecemeal alterations, but for the "sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation".
The delegates to the convention created a model of government that relied upon a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the Legislative, the Judicial, and the Executive branches of government. The framers of the Constitution had originally imagined a weak presidency and a strong legislature divided into a House of Representatives and the Senate. Under the Articles of Confederation, considerable minor paperwork had bogged down important business enough that legislators decided to establish an executive branch to deal with routine paperwork. When writing the Constitution, the framers expected the Senate to handle important issues, particularly the ratification of treaties, while the Executive would attend to matters of lesser consequence.
The delegates to the convention agreed to shift power to the central government and provided that federal government officials be elected, either directly or indirectly, so as to represent the people as a whole. The Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, in which the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress (Article I); the executive, consisting of the president and subordinate officers (Article II); and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts (Article III).
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Disputes between states
The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 delegates, with George Reed signing on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total number of signatures to 39. The delegates assembled in Philadelphia to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, 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 young country apart. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, aimed to resolve these issues and create a stable central government. They crafted a model of government that divided federal authority between the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, with checks and balances to ensure no single branch held too much power.
The delegates had to navigate complex compromises between populous and small states, slave-holding and free states, and states with conflicting claims to western lands. They also had to consider the views of the common people to ensure ratification and acceptance of the Constitution. One of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation, with the framers ultimately compromising by giving each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate.
The Constitution established a federal government with more specific powers, including the authority to conduct foreign relations. It provided for the election of federal government officials, either directly or indirectly, to ensure representation of the people as a whole. The first three articles of the Constitution embody the separation of powers, with the legislative branch consisting of the bicameral Congress, the executive branch consisting of the President and subordinate officers, and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
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The need for a stable government
The United States Constitution was drafted in 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, 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 young country apart.
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, who presided over the Constitutional Convention, feared their young country was on the brink of collapse. They advocated for a stable, central government to "secure the blessings of liberty" to Americans. The delegates to the convention agreed to shift power to the central government, establishing a federal government with more specific powers, including those related to conducting relations with foreign governments.
The Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, dividing federal authority between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. The legislative branch consists of a bicameral Congress, with the House of Representatives and the Senate. The executive branch consists of the president and subordinate officers, while the judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention had to make several compromises to win ratification by the states and acceptance from the people. One of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation—whether it should be based on population or divided equally among the states. They agreed to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person and temporarily resolved the issue of slavery by agreeing that the slave trade could continue until 1808.
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The US Constitution as a framework
The US Constitution of 1787 was the product of a young country that feared it was on the brink of collapse. America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, 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 states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to divide the country.
The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787 to address these issues. The convention was not meant for new laws or piecemeal alterations, but for the "sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation". The delegates, however, decided to completely redesign the government. They created a model of government that relied upon a series of checks and balances by dividing federal authority between the Legislative, the Judicial, and the Executive branches.
The first three articles of the Constitution embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, with the federal government divided into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative branch consisted of a bicameral Congress, the executive branch consisted of the president and subordinate officers, and the judicial branch consisted of the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
The US Constitution is a framework for the United States government. It has been amended several times, but the focus of each Article remains the same as when it was adopted in 1787. The Constitution came into effect in 1789 and has served as the basis of the United States Government ever since. It is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force in the world.
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Frequently asked questions
The US needed a new Constitution in 1787 because the existing system of government, the Articles of Confederation, was considered inadequate. The Articles 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. This led to disputes between the states over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade, threatening to tear the young country apart.
The new Constitution established a federal government with more specific powers, including the ability to conduct foreign relations. It divided federal authority between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, creating a system of checks and balances. The legislative branch consisted of a bicameral Congress, with the House of Representatives and the Senate. The executive branch consisted of the President and subordinate officers, while the judicial branch consisted of the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
The new Constitution was signed by 38 delegates on September 17, 1787, and submitted to the Congress of the Confederation. The document was then forwarded to the 13 states for their ratification. Ratification by 9 of the 13 states was required to enact the new government, and this was achieved through special ratifying conventions in each state, bypassing the state legislatures.
