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The Constitutional Convention
A 1940 painting hanging in the U.S. Capitol portrays George Washington presiding over the 1787 signing of the Constitution in Philadelphia. Courtesy of the Architect of the U.S. Capitol
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gainst a backdrop of geo- graphic and political fac- tionalism, unpaid troops and a weak economy only begin- ning to recover from years of war and trade embargoes, devising a new form of government is a con- siderable challenge. That was the situation facing the United States in 1787, four years after achieving independence from Great Britain.
“Anarchy and Confusion”
The United States’ 1781 Articles of Confederation left most power, including the ability to tax and regulate commerce, to 13 states that functioned almost as inde pendent countries, even to the point of engaging in trade wars among themselves. When the American Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the national government had no president and consisted of a unicameral
Congress, which coordinated common concerns such as secu- rity. The system proved inad equate because Congress could neither collect taxes nor enforce laws. To fund the national treasury and a standing military, Congress depended on unreliable pay- ments by the 13 states. Without funds to adequately support a military force, the national legis lature was powerless to deal with
situations such as land encroachments by Great Britain and Spain, whose territories bordered the United States. On September 11, 1786, a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, convened to dis cuss interstate commerce, called instead for an enlarged gathering of state delegates in Philadelphia in 1787 “to devise such further provisions as shall appear to them necessary to render the constitution of the Federal Government adequate to the exi gencies of the Union.” The seriousness of the situation was high lighted in January 1787 by Shay’s Rebellion, in which 2,000 Revolutionary War veter ans took up arms and seized an arsenal in Massachusetts to protest high taxes and the loss of their farms due to debt. The revolt, which underscored the weak ness of the central government and its lack of a standing army, alarmed many American leaders, including former revo lutionary commander George Washington, who wrote, “Unless a remedy is soon applied, anarchy and confusion will inevi tably ensue.” (^) The first page of the Constitution credits “We the People of the United States” as the source of all national political power. Courtesy of National Archives
Meeting in Philadelphia
On May 25, 1787, delegates convened in Philadelphia and nominated Washington as chair of the consti- tutional convention. Washington’s presence, as a beloved national hero, enhanced the convention’s legitimacy, a key consideration because the delegates decided to keep their discussions secret so they could speak frankly as they devised a new document to replace the Articles of Confederation. No women, free blacks or men without property were allowed to take part in the convention; the state of Rhode Island chose not to send delegates. Most of the delegates were lawyers, farmers or merchants, with differing political philosophies and agendas. Dispute and compromise characterized the constitu tional process, which lasted nearly four months. At one point, with debate at an impasse, Washington wrote, “I almost despair of seeing a favorable issue to
the proceedings of the Convention, and do therefore repent having had any agency in the business.” In the discussions, large states favored legislative rep- resentation based upon population size while smaller states advocated assigning each state an equal num ber of delegates. In June 1787, when the convention debated a proposal by Virginia’s James Madison that called for a bicam- eral (two-chambered) legislature with representatives in both chambers determined by population, smaller states threatened to dissolve not only the convention but the union itself. One month later, Connecticut’s Roger Sherman offered a compromise under which each state would have one vote in a Senate, while population would determine the number of representatives in a House
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs 2
The National Archives’ Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in Washington is the permanent home of the Constitution as well as the Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. Courtesy of National Archives
On December 7, 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution, but rioting against the document broke out in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, only days later and, in March 1788, Rhode Island rejected ratification. Eventually, despite heated debates throughout 1788 by U.S. patri ots on both sides of the issue, the Constitution’s proponents pre vailed in most state legislatures and the new form of government took effect March 4, 1789.
A Dynamic Document
The U.S. Constitution, since its inception, has been a dynamic document, amended to serve the country’s changing needs while
preserving fundamental prin ciples. Beginning with the 1789 Bill of Rights, comprising the first 10 amendments, the U.S. Constitution has been changed 27 times, with amendments rang ing from the prohibition of slavery to granting 18-year-old men and women the right to vote. Middlekauff writes that the con stitutional debate during the sum mer of 1787 “solved the problem of power” in post-revolutionary America. Although the national government was strengthened, the states, including the smaller ones, believed that they would have a hand in the exercise of power. Also, the convention and its resulting Constitution “confined
power,” which was seen as a threat to both virtue and liberty. “It aimed to thwart majoritarian tyranny, but it did not deny that sovereignty resided in the people,” Middlekauff says. In the end, he said, the new con stitution established a govern ment “which seemed capable of restraining some of the worst impulses of man, especially his instinct to dominate others.”
June 2013
U N I T E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F S T A T E B U R E A U O F I N T E R N A T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N P R O G R A M S
