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Constitutional convention of 1787
Constitutional convention in philadelphia apush
Constitutional convention in philadelphia apush
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For this purpose, a special convention was held in Philadelphia for delegates to “overhaul” the Articles of Confederation and “render the constitution of the Federal government adequate to the exigencies of the union” (161). During what came to be known as the Constitutional Convention, many issues were debated and
Many Americans grew upset with the Confederation government. So Alexander Hamilton a lawyer and General’s Aid to George Washington decided to change the Articles of the Confederation. He called on the National Convention to overhaul the document. He requested that Congress call upon all of the states to attend a gathering in Philadelphia. George Washington was the first to arrive in Philadelphia giving the large amounts of creditability for the meeting bringing 55 men from all of the states.
In May of 1787, fifty-five delegates from eleven of the thirteen American states came together in Philadelphia. The goal that they had was to fix and improve the current government created by the Articles of Confederation, which had been occurring since the year of 1781. The Articles created a weak alliance among the states. There was nothing that the national government could do about the taxes or regulate commerce. The delegates whom attended the Philadelphia convention had came to agreement that there were issues in the Articles of Confederation that needed to be fixed.
The state representatives often failed to see the big picture, and think with the nation’s best interests first and foremost. Fortunately compromise was found and Roger Sherman brought together the Connecticut Compromise, which focused on settling the large and small state dispute. Only after three fifths and trade compromises could be agreed upon over the major arguments was the constitution made a viable option, and then
George Mason and Patrick Henry had valid arguments and provided multiple points to support their rejection of the U.S. Constitution. George Mason and Patrick Henry were Anti-Federalist, a political party at the time which argued against the formation of a strong central government. Both Mason and Henry opposed the Constitution because they felt the Constitution would be similar to the British monarchy which had a powerful leader which would enforce unfair laws as well as taxes amongst the state governments and the people in them. George Mason main argument against the Constitution was the creation of a National government which would be strong enough to destroy state governments which represented the people and their interest.
On September 5th, 1774 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the first Continental Congress meeting was held in Carpenters Hall. Fifty-Six delegates from all of the colonies attended that meeting except for Georgia. Some of the Fifty-Six delegates were Patrick Henry, George Washington, John Jay Adams, and John Jay. They discussed the Declaration of Independance and taxation without representation from the British. After the meeting they had little to no actions for a while until the second meeting, where they signed the declaration of independance and America was born.
Due to the pathetic turnout of only 6 representatives it became clear that the limitations of the Articles of Confederation were crippling the development of the new country. In 1787 delegates gathered in Philadelphia in hopes to revise the Articles of Confederation. What ended up happening were not minor revisions or tweaks, a completely new charter of the government was drafted, now known as the Constitution. These changes brought fear to some, such as Rawlin Lowndes. He debated the adoption of the federal constitution, suggesting “Would it not be better to add strength to the old Confederation, instead of hastily adopting another” (Doc H).
It was May, 1787, when representatives from all over the country came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. George Washington was chosen to run these meetings, as they all believed he was trustworthy, he could have an unbiased opinion, and also that he could keep their secret. Their secret being the meetings and the discussions that took place here. They kept it unknown by the media and people so that they could say as they please without unwanted pressure. They created these meetings with the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation, on account of much needed to be done.
After a fiercely fought revolution, the newly independent American nation struggled to establish a concrete government amidst an influx of opposing ideologies. Loosely tied together by the Articles of Confederation, the thirteen sovereign states were far from united. As growing schisms in American society became apparent, an array of esteemed, prominent American men united in 1787 to form the basis of the United States government: the Constitution. Among the most eminent members of this convention were Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. These men, held to an almost godly stature, defined the future of the nation; but were their intentions as honest as they seemed?
In May 1787 55 delegates met in Philadelphia to amend the Articles Of Confederation. They debated about the New Jersey plan and Virginia plan. The states also ratified on how they need the bill of rights. Then they argued about slavery. Many things helped shape the Articles Of Confederation such as how they talked about representation, The states ratification, and slavery.
A meeting in Philadelphia by Nathan Barker, Philadelphia, September 17, 1787 As of right know in Philadelphia there is a meeting going on in the east room in the State house where delegates from all the states have came beside about 10 and are discussing about a new document that shall be signed by a majority of them. They are calling this meeting the Confederation Convection. Off of what some of these men are saying we should have a stronger government and out the faith in the states and not the people. James Madison is the delegate that thinks it should go to the people but with him being the more quiet one he may not be able to get them on his side.
If anyone was to do even a little research about the United States in 1787, one would find that the states were not very unified and life was not easy. Men like, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and George Washington had one thing in mind, to reunite the United States. The book, A Brilliant Solution by Carol Berkin, very clearly depicts the obstacles and adversity that the men attending the constitutional convention had to overcome. Due to a plethora of factors, the men attending the constitutional convention encountered many complications during the convention, ranging from travel issues to a lack of power to even do anything necessary to change the “United” States. The book shows this by describing the story of the men as a “story of anxious
This new document, known today as the Constitution of the United States, provided a framework for our government that we still follow to this day (Congress for Kids 5). On May 25, 1787 until September 17, 1787, delegates from twelve of the thirteen states met in the State House in Philadelphia (Blum 120). This gathering, called the
The debated decision would take more than a few favored votes in signing a written document. The Articles of Confederation, being used to unite the new born country after the war, were deemed unfortunately insufficient by the representatives of the thirteen colonies. During this time, the young government was composed of one house that served as the Congress, containing no leader and no court system. This new government had miniscule power over the states, who governed themselves. (3) Consequently, this led the representatives of the 13 states to make a journey to Philadelphia, the capital, where they began to scrutinize possible options, and this meeting would become known as the Constitutional Convention.
The Constitutional convention that met in Philadelphia started off as a goal to amend the articles of confederation it rapidly turned into constitutional convention. The convention would let each member to speak his mind without fear of political retribution. One of the main agreements completed in the convention was that George Washington should be president of the convention, Washington’s reputation protected the convention from accusations. The division that had the most importance in the convention were the northern states versus southern, and merchants versus farmers. The major accomplishment of the Convention began four days later when Governor Edmund Randolph of Virginia presented and defended a plan for new structure of government called
