The call to philadelphia
The Constitutional Convention, called for by the mostly ineffective Annapolis Convention several months earlier, had its first session in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787, a few months after the suppression of Shays’s Rebellion. (1)Twelve out of the thirteen states sent representatives to the conference, Rhode Island being the only state to abstain. A total of 55 delegates gathered to discuss the modification of the Articles of Confederation, with General George Washington presiding over the convention.
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Topics of debate
One of the most pressing issues argued at the convention was a national executive. Along with the two other major problems, the matters of state representation and slavery, this issue was argued extensively by the delegates of the conference. Some believed a strong leader should be in place to make quick decisions in times of crisis, like Shays’s Rebellion, while others argued against it as tyranny. Many, because of Shays’s Rebellion, were inclined toward this executive branch because of the fear of chaos the rebellion had planted in the population.
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A Dilemma
Aggravation about Shays’s Rebellion also caused many of those in attendance to wonder how to allow the government the power to wage war whilst ensuring the government would never turn on its own citizens. This and other concerns raised a major question: Could the problems be fixed by changing the Articles of Confederation, or would a brand new system of government be necessary? James Madison and Edmund Randolph soon proposed the Virginia Plan, answering this question. It seemed a new plan for government was in order.
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Compromise
After the introduction of the Virginia Plan, another plan, called the New Jersey Plan, was presented by William Paterson, suggesting a single chamber legislature where each state has equal representation (6). This set off a great debate between the smaller and larger states, the smaller states favoring the New Jersey Plan and the larger states favoring the Virginia Plan. Then Roger Sherman, a delegate from Connecticut, came up with the Great Compromise. It proposed a bicameral legislature, one where a state’s representatives were determined by population (the House of Representatives) and another with equal representation for each state (Senate). (7) This and the other major compromise, The Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted each slave as ⅗ of a person population-wise, allowed the delegates to finally agree on the terms that were then laid out for the Constitution. Signed on September 17, 1787, the Constitution paved the way for a new era of American government. (8)
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(1) Richard Haesly, ed., The Constitutional Convention (San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 2002), 25.
(2) Constitutional Convention, image, accessed April 29, 2014, http://www.historyteacher.net/AHAP/WebQuests/WQ-ConstitutionalConvention/ConstituitonalConventionPtg.jpg.
(3)Constitutional Convention, image, accessed April 29, 2014, http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/graphics/theconvention1.jpg.
(4)The Virginia Plan, image, accessed April 29, 2014, http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/files/virginia-plan.jpg.
(5) Portrait of Edmund Randolph, image, accessed April 29, 2014, http://www.usdiplomacy.org/exhibit/images/secretaries/Randolph,%20Edmund.jpg.
(6)Richard Haesly, ed., The Constitutional Convention (San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 2002), 26.
(7) ibid, 27.
(8) Richard Haesly, ed., The Constitutional Convention (San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 2002), 229.
(9) U.S. Constitution, photograph, accessed April 29, 2014, https://fleischmann.house.gov/sites/fleischmann.house.gov/files/styles/detail_main_image/public/constitution.jpg?itok=lO5kJfNr.
(2) Constitutional Convention, image, accessed April 29, 2014, http://www.historyteacher.net/AHAP/WebQuests/WQ-ConstitutionalConvention/ConstituitonalConventionPtg.jpg.
(3)Constitutional Convention, image, accessed April 29, 2014, http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/graphics/theconvention1.jpg.
(4)The Virginia Plan, image, accessed April 29, 2014, http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/files/virginia-plan.jpg.
(5) Portrait of Edmund Randolph, image, accessed April 29, 2014, http://www.usdiplomacy.org/exhibit/images/secretaries/Randolph,%20Edmund.jpg.
(6)Richard Haesly, ed., The Constitutional Convention (San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 2002), 26.
(7) ibid, 27.
(8) Richard Haesly, ed., The Constitutional Convention (San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 2002), 229.
(9) U.S. Constitution, photograph, accessed April 29, 2014, https://fleischmann.house.gov/sites/fleischmann.house.gov/files/styles/detail_main_image/public/constitution.jpg?itok=lO5kJfNr.