The Constitutional Convention

One recommendation issuing from that meeting was to convene a group of delegates from the states to discuss alterations of the Articles. Only five states sent representatives to Annapolis in the fall of 1786, but Alexander Hamilton’s recommendation to convene another reform meeting in Philadelphia in the spring of 1787, was forwarded to the Continental Congress.

Two ground rules would govern the proceedings of the Convention. First, all deliberations were to be kept secret. (Detailed word about the debates remained guarded until the publication of Madison’s notes in 1840.) Second, no issue was to be regarded as closed and could be revisited for debate at any time.

The Convention convened on May 25, 1787, at the State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. It opened several days later than planned because of the slow arrival of some delegates. All of the states were represented except for Rhode Island, which declined to attend.

Washington, noted for his patience and fairness, was selected as the presiding officer. In all, 55 delegates attended during the course of the meetings. Though often regarded as great sages by later generations, the delegates were largely lawyers, merchants, and planters who represented their personal and regional interests.

What was remarkable, however, was the degree to which the delegates managed to subordinate those interests at crucial times in order to reach a series of compromises. Many were experienced in colonial and state government and others had records of service in the army and in the courts. Eight had signed the Declaration of Independence and 17 were slave owners.

The stated goal of the Convention — the revision of the Articles of Confederation — was quickly discarded and attention given to more sweeping changes. Discussion turned instead to two competing concepts of how a new government should be formed, the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan.

Although the New Jersey Plan was quickly voted down, the debate raged through the spring and into the summer of 1787. Two issues appeared to be the sticking points:

The finished Constitution has been referred to as a “bundle of compromises.” It was only through give-and-take that a successful conclusion was achieved. The Framers of the Constitution had gone far beyond revising the Articles of Confederation.

By conferring extensive new powers, the Convention gave the federal government full power to levy taxes, borrow money, establish uniform duties and excise taxes, coin money, fix weights and measures, grant patents and copyrights, set up post offices, and build post roads.

The national government also had the power to raise and maintain an army and navy, and to regulate interstate commerce. It was given the management of Indian affairs, foreign policy and war. It could pass laws for naturalizing foreigners and controlling public lands, and it could admit new states on a basis of absolute equality with the old.

The power to pass all necessary and proper laws for executing these clearly defined powers, rendered the federal government able to meet the needs of later generations and of a greatly expanded body politic. At the end of three and a half months, 38 of the 55 delegates signed the document and adjourned to the City Tavern for libations and a final dinner. The Constitution was conveyed to the Congress, which, in turn, decided to pass the matter along to the states for ratification.

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The Constitutional Convention
... to the Constitutional Convention by Gordon Lloyd --> To clarify the events of the Constitutional Convention, Gordon Lloyd has organized the convention into four parts—a four part drama—and also provided a day-by-dathe Constitutional Convention by Gordon Lloyd --> To clarify the events of the Constitutional Convention, Gordon Lloyd has organized the convention into four parts—a four part drama—and also provided a day-by-dathe Constitutional Convention, Gordon Lloyd has organized the convention into four parts—a four part drama—and also provided a day-by-day summary of the Convention.
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The Constitutional Convention is Called
John Henry Smith, one of four LDS General Authorities elected to the constitutional convention, and who was to preside over it, reflected Utah's general satisfaction with the politics of statehood when he confided to his the constitutional convention, and who was to preside over it, reflected Utah's general satisfaction with the politics of statehood when he confided to his diary on November 6, 1894 ...
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SparkNotes: Building the State (1781-1797): The Constitutional Convention
... American : Building the State (1781-1797) : The Constitutional Convention The Constitutional Convention Summary On May 25, 1787, 55 delegates, representing every state but Rhode Island, met at the Pennsylvania StThe Constitutional Convention The Constitutional Convention Summary On May 25, 1787, 55 delegates, representing every state but Rhode Island, met at the Pennsylvania StThe Constitutional Convention Summary On May 25, 1787, 55 delegates, representing every state but Rhode Island, met at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia ...
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Federal GovernmentThe Constitutional ConventionMay to September 1787

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The Constitutional Convention
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