Malcolm Rivera
The United States Constitution, written in 1787, is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force in the world. The delegates to the convention were chosen by the state legislatures of 12 of the 13 original states, with Rhode Island refusing to send delegates. The delegates swore secrecy so they could speak freely, and they shuttered the windows of the State House in Philadelphia. The delegates had gathered to revise the Articles of Confederation, but by mid-June, they had decided to completely redesign the government. The Constitution was an extraordinary achievement, creating a powerful central government that balanced wildly different interests and views.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date written and signed | 1787 |
| Location written and signed | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Building written and signed | Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House |
| Date ratified | September 17, 1787 |
| Number of delegates who signed | 38 |
| Total number of signatures | 39 |
| Number of states that ratified the Constitution | 9 out of 13 |
| Number of essays in the Federalist Papers | 85 |
| Number of authors of the Federalist Papers | 4 |
| Authors of the Federalist Papers | Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Madison, James Madison |
| Number of states that did not send delegates | 1 |
| State that did not send delegates | Rhode Island |
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What You'll Learn
The Articles of Confederation were ineffective
The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, was formed around the idea of a confederation of states with a limited central government. However, this very limited central government proved to be ineffective at governing the growing American states.
One of the main issues was the lack of a strong central government, which led to a series of limitations. 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, and couldn't print money. Congress had no power to tax and was unable to raise funds, regulate trade, or conduct foreign policy without the voluntary agreement of the states. The central government couldn't collect taxes to fund its operations and had to rely on the states to send tax money voluntarily. As a result, the government lacked the funds to maintain an effective military or back its own currency.
The Articles also proved ineffective due to a set of rules that made legislating under this framework inefficient. Each state had one vote in Congress, regardless of its population size. This meant that small and large states had the same voting weight, which led to dissatisfaction among states with larger populations. For example, in 1780, Virginia had over ten times the population of Delaware, but both states had only one vote in Congress. It took the consent of nine out of thirteen states to approve legislation, making it challenging to pass laws.
The document was also practically impossible to amend. Any amendment required unanimous consent from all 13 states, which was difficult to achieve given the rivalries between the states. Additionally, the states were able to conduct their own foreign policies and had their own money systems, further fragmenting the country.
The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation became apparent over time, and it was recognised that improvements were needed. However, the problems persisted, and the Articles ultimately proved ineffective at governing the growing and diverse nation. As a result, the delegates at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 decided to create a new form of government, leading to the writing of the United States Constitution.
The Constitution's Formative Months: Summer of 1787
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Delegates wanted to protect their own interests
The delegates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 were tasked with revising the existing Articles of Confederation, which served as the first constitution of the United States. However, they soon began considering a complete redesign of the government, leading to the creation of a powerful central government.
The delegates, representing diverse interests and views, had their own reasons for participating in the convention. Some, like James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, feared that the young country was on the brink of collapse due to the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. They believed that a stronger national government was necessary to address issues such as territorial disputes, war pensions, taxation, and trade.
However, others, known as Anti-Federalists, had different concerns. They argued that the Constitution represented the work of aristocratic politicians seeking to protect their class interests. They believed that the central government being formed would infringe on individual liberties and state sovereignty. One of the delegates, George Mason, expressed his dissatisfaction, stating that he would not support the Constitution without a bill of rights to ensure individual freedoms.
The delegates' decision to swear secrecy allowed them to speak freely and negotiate compromises without external influence or pressure. By bypassing the state legislatures and calling for special ratifying conventions in each state, they also avoided asking legislators to approve a document that would reduce their power.
The delegates' interests and motivations varied, but they all played a role in shaping the final document. The Constitution, with its three branches of government and protections for individual liberties, stands as one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.
Critical Period: Constitution's Birth
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The delegates wanted to speak freely
The delegates to the convention were chosen by the state legislatures of 12 of the 13 original states; Rhode Island refused to send delegates. The convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, with General George Washington unanimously elected as its president. The delegates wanted to speak freely, so they shuttered the windows of the State House and swore secrecy. They had gathered to revise the Articles of Confederation, but by mid-June, they had decided to completely redesign the government.
The delegates were tasked with revising the existing government, but they ended up creating a powerful central government. This new government represented wildly different interests and views, and the delegates crafted compromises to accommodate these differences. 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 a compromise that gave each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate.
Slavery was another contentious issue that threatened to derail the Union. The delegates agreed that the slave trade could continue until 1808, and they decided that enslaved Africans would be counted as three-fifths of a person. These compromises allowed the delegates to move forward with their goal of forming a more perfect union and establishing a government that would protect the freedoms of its citizens.
The delegates were aware that the state legislatures would be reluctant to give up power to a national government. To address this, they bypassed the state legislatures and called for special ratifying conventions in each state. They knew that their discussions and decisions would be controversial, and by speaking freely under the cloak of secrecy, they were able to navigate these complex issues and lay the foundation for what would become one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.
The Unwritten Constitution: Friend or Foe?
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The delegates wanted to avoid state legislatures
The delegates of the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787. They had gathered to revise the Articles of Confederation, but by mid-June, they had decided to completely redesign the government. The delegates were wary about centralised power and loyal to their states, so they created a powerful central government. They represented wildly differing interests and views, and crafted compromises to accommodate them.
The delegates debated the role of the executive, including key issues such as whether executive power should be divided among three people or vested in a single chief executive, how a president would be elected, the length of a presidential term, the number of allowable terms, what offences should be impeachable, and whether judges should be chosen by the legislature or the executive.
Another contentious issue was slavery, with delegates debating the insertion of a fugitive slave clause, whether to allow the abolition of the slave trade, and whether slaves should be counted in proportional representation. The delegates agreed to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person, and decided that the slave trade could continue until 1808.
The delegates also disagreed on how federal judges should be chosen. The Virginia Plan called for the national legislature to appoint judges, while James Wilson wanted the president to appoint judges to increase the power of that office. They also disagreed on the method of selecting the Senate, with members concerned with preserving state power wanting state legislatures to select senators, while Wilson proposed direct election by the people.
A Written Constitution: Necessary or Not?
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The convention was closed to the public
The writing of the US Constitution was a highly significant moment in world history, as it was the first time that a country's citizens could select their own form of government. The document was drafted at the Constitutional Convention, which assembled in Philadelphia's Independence Hall in May 1787. The convention was closed to the public, with delegates swearing secrecy and even shuttering the windows of the State House so they could speak freely.
The convention was tasked with revising the Articles of Confederation, which had been America's first constitution. However, the Articles had no enforcement powers, could not regulate commerce, and could not print money, leading to disputes between the states that threatened to tear the country apart. Despite the convention's initial mandate being limited to amending the Articles, the delegates quickly began considering measures to replace them.
The delegates to the convention were chosen by the state legislatures of 12 of the 13 original states, with Rhode Island refusing to send delegates. The convention was led by General George Washington, who was unanimously elected as its president. The delegates were wary of centralised power and loyal to their states, so they created a powerful central government that represented a compromise between wildly different interests and views.
One of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation—whether it should be based on population or divided equally among the states. The framers compromised by giving each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate. They also agreed to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person, temporarily resolving the issue of slavery by allowing the slave trade to continue until 1808.
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Frequently asked questions
The delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 swore secrecy so they could speak freely about revising the Articles of Confederation. They wanted to protect themselves from outside influence and ensure that their discussions were not derailed by special interests or regional and local loyalties.
The new constitution aimed to address the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation, which had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, and couldn't print money. The delegates wanted to create a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for the people of the United States.
The new constitution established a federal government with three branches: the legislative, consisting of a bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the president and subordinate officers; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. It also outlined the rights and responsibilities of state governments and the process of constitutional amendment.
The new constitution was met with both support and opposition. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison published a series of essays known as the Federalist Papers, which probed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and argued for a strong national government. On the other hand, Anti-Federalists criticized the lack of a bill of rights, discrimination against southern states, direct taxation, and the loss of state sovereignty. They also charged that the Constitution represented the interests of aristocratic politicians.
