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George Washington's Ideas At The Constitutional Convention In 1787

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In the early government of the states, under the Articles of the Confederation, there was a unicameral system in place. The articles provided for an annual appointment of delegates to the congress. After much research, James Madison wanted to make a change to this system. He believed that a good government was only possible under a strong central government. He planned to sell his ideas at the annual convention in 1787. He rallied his supporters and made many attempts at getting George Washington to the meeting, after being told by George Mason that his plan was only to succeed with Washington’s help. The constitutional convention was held in the summer of 1787. It lasted 4 months from May 25th to September 17th. George Washington was persuaded …show more content…

The smaller states refused to lose votes while the bigger states got more votes. James Wilson of Pennsylvania, who was the most democratic minded at the convention, argued for direct election by the people in all forms of the government. An agreement finally decided that the senators would be decided by the state legislators. Wilson found this to be a defeat. Madison met with Wilson, he told him that some of the delegation thought that he had too much confidence in the people. Wilson then responded “Do you want this nation to remain secure in it’s liberty? Leave it in the hands of the people” Paterson Plan, or the New Jersey Plan was talked about after delegates refused to come to an agreement on representation. It was a unicameral legislature with one state, one vote basis. The Paterson plan was defeated as most just saw it as a way of government that they already had in The Articles. New York delegation, with the largest population, then walks away from the convention. The Great Compromise finally came when Roger Sherman from Connecticut proposed a bicameral structure with the higher senate getting one vote per state and the lower legislation represented by population. Washington urges Madison to compromise for harmony on the senate

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