Founding Fathers: Constitution's Relevance And Timely Creation

The US Constitution was written in 1787, a few years after the American Revolutionary War ended in 1783. The war had led to America gaining independence from Great Britain. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, regarded as the first US Constitution, proved ineffective as the central government lacked basic functions such as the ability to raise an army, impose taxes, and regulate commerce. This weakness prompted the Confederation Congress to call a convention of state delegates to propose a new plan of government, which became the US Constitution. The Constitution was written during the Philadelphia Convention, also known as the Constitutional Convention, which was conducted under an oath of secrecy. The document was signed on September 17, 1787, and it became law when it was ratified by nine of the 13 American states.

Explore related products

We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution

$31.99 $39.99

The Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence

$1.99 $14.95

The Constitution of the United States of America: The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights

$9.99 $9.99

The Words That Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840

$22.76 $40

The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison (Modern Library Classics)

$12.95 $22

The U.S. Constitution and Other Writings (Leather-bound Classics)

$13.21 $24.99

The Articles of Confederation were ineffective

The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, was formed around the idea of a confederacy, which placed sovereign power in the hands of the states. This meant that Congress had limited power to regulate trade and commerce, and it could not raise funds or conduct foreign policy without the voluntary agreement and compliance of the states.

Congress lacked the authority to regulate commerce, making it unable to protect or standardize trade between foreign nations and the various states. For instance, Congress could not negotiate trade agreements with foreign countries, and states could make and enforce any trade restriction they saw fit. This led to very little economic coordination among the states, with each state having its own agenda and import and export policies differing greatly from state to state.

The Articles of Confederation also had a set of rules that made legislating inefficient. Each state had one vote in Congress, meaning there was no proportionality in voting matters. For instance, in 1780, Virginia had over ten times the number of citizens as Delaware, yet each state received only one vote in Congress. This made it very difficult to pass legislation, as it required the consent of nine out of thirteen states.

The Articles were also practically impossible to amend, as they required unanimous consent from all thirteen states. Given the rivalries between the states, this made the Articles impossible to adapt after the war with Britain ended in 1783.

The Confederation government also lacked the power to tax, collect taxes, or print money, and it could not help settle Revolutionary War-era debts. This meant that the central government could not maintain an effective military or back its own currency, and the United States was in an economic mess by 1787.

The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation became apparent over time, and it was recognised that there was a need to improve the government.

The country was on the brink of collapse

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, and the delegates shared a farewell dinner in September of that year. The drafting of the Constitution, often referred to as its framing, was completed at this convention.

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). Article IV, Article V, and Article VI embody concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments, the states in relationship to the federal government, and the shared process of constitutional amendment.

The proposal was debated, criticized, and expounded upon clause by clause. Two factions soon emerged, one supporting the Constitution, the Federalists, and the other opposing it, the so-called Anti-Federalists. The Federalists believed that a strong central government was necessary to face the nation’s challenges, while the Anti-Federalists fought hard against the Constitution because it created a powerful central government that reminded them of the one they had just overthrown, and it lacked a bill of rights.

The Federalists wanted a strong central government

The Federalists were aware that the problems of the country in the 1780s stemmed from the weaknesses of the central government created by 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.

Leading Federalists, such as James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, feared that their young country was on the brink of collapse. 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, and the Federalists published a series of commentaries, now known as The Federalist Papers, in support of ratification.

The Federalist Papers, a collection of the writings of Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, lay out the ideology of the Federalists during the creation of the U.S. Constitution. The Federalists wanted to constrain democracy in favor of a stronger central government, and they believed that a written constitution was necessary to preserve a limited constitution. They argued that the Constitution was a "republican remedy for the diseases most incident to republican government."

Explore related products

The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates (Signet Classics)

$8.32 $8.95

Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840–1920

$36.96 $40

Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence: Senator Rand Paul, Delegates of The Constitutional Convention

$2.99 $2.99

The People's Guide to the United States Constitution

$13.39 $15.95

America's Constitution: A Biography

$4.99 $22

The Federalist Papers (Signet Classics)

$6.44 $8.95

The Anti-Federalists opposed a powerful central government

The Anti-Federalists, a late-18th-century political movement, opposed a powerful central government. They were afraid that a strong national government would threaten the sovereignty and prestige of the states, localities, or individuals. They believed that the states should be significantly autonomous and independent in their authority, with the right to self-administration in all significant internal matters without the unwanted interjections of the federal government. The Anti-Federalists wanted almost all the executive power to be left to the country's authorities, while the Federalists wanted centralized national governments.

The Anti-Federalists were composed of diverse elements, including those who saw the proposed government as a new centralized and "monarchic" power in disguise that would replicate the cast-off governance of Great Britain. They feared that the position of president, then a novelty, might evolve into a monarchy. They also believed that a large central government would not serve the interests of small towns and rural areas, as opposed to the urban interests that most Federalist delegates aligned with. The Anti-Federalists included small farmers and landowners, shopkeepers, and laborers.

The Anti-Federalists' opposition to ratifying the Constitution was a powerful force in the origin of the Bill of Rights to protect Americans' civil liberties. They believed that the new national government would be too powerful and thus threaten individual liberties, given the absence of a bill of rights. Their opposition led to the adoption of the First Amendment and the other nine amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. The Anti-Federalists were strong in the key states of Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia, and in two states—North Carolina and Rhode Island—they prevented ratification of the Constitution until after the new government had been established.

The Anti-Federalists were a loose political coalition of popular politicians, such as Patrick Henry, who unsuccessfully opposed the strong central government envisioned in the U.S. Constitution of 1787. Their agitations led to the addition of a Bill of Rights. The Anti-Federalists were the first in the long line of states' rights advocates, and they feared the authority of a single national government, upper-class dominance, inadequate separation of powers, and loss of immediate control over local affairs.

The delegates wanted to form a new government

The delegates, led by George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, sought to create a stronger central government that could effectively address the nation's challenges. They bypassed the state legislatures, recognizing that their members would be reluctant to relinquish power to a national government. Instead, they called for special ratifying conventions in each state, and ratification by 9 of the 13 states established the new government. The Federalists, who advocated for a robust central government, faced opposition from the Anti-Federalists, who saw the Constitution as creating a powerful central government reminiscent of the one they had overthrown and lacking a bill of rights.

The drafting of the Constitution, known as its "framing," took place at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, also known as the Philadelphia Convention, from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The delegates worked tirelessly to create a framework for the United States government, dividing it into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the President and subordinate officers; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. The Constitution embodied the doctrine of separation of powers and established the rights and responsibilities of state governments in relation to the federal government.

The delegates' desire to form a new government was driven by their commitment to establishing a more perfect union, ensuring justice, domestic tranquility, common defence, and the promotion of general welfare and freedom for the people of the United States. The Constitution, with its vision of freedom, has not only been an inspiration for the nation but has also changed the course of world history, setting a precedent for democratic governance.

Frequently asked questions