The Constitutional Convention

Below, read about how our states started the initial journey to the Constitutional Convention. Later, there will be a short activity and quiz to allow you to show what you have learned.

There is an option for you to listen along as you read where is says link to audio if you so choose. Once you click the link, it will open another page where you will need to download the recording.

To Philadelphia - (link to audio) While at the Annapolis Convention, the realization was made that a bigger meeting needed to take place. On May 14, 1787 the state delegates began to arrive, but only eight showed up on the first day. Not until May 25th, 1787, a quorum of seven state delegates arrived in order for the meeting to begin. In the end though, fifty-five delegates from twelve states would participate. Rhode Island was the only state to not send a delegate.Over the next three months history was made and the course of our government, changed forever.

The Constitution of the United States is the law that rules the nation. During the summer of 1787 it was hot in Pennsylvania. Still, the fifty-five men sat in Independence Hall with the windows nailed shut. They did this so that no one could listen to what they were saying. These men came from all the states to talk about the future. They were trying to figure out what kind of government the country should have. This meeting was called the Constitutional Convention.

The Convention included many powerful men. George Washington was there. So was Benjamin Franklin and James Madison. All fifty-five men came to the meeting wanting different things for their country. It took ten weeks for them to write the first draft of the Constitution. It was an important task because these men were deciding the laws that would govern the United States.

The Constitution became official in 1788. Each state had to approve the Constitution. The states fought a lot amongst each other. The delegates had different perspectives, ideas and opinions on many topics discussed.They fought because some people were afraid of a powerful national government. They were afraid they would lose their rights as states. This problem was solved when the Bill of Rights was added in 1791. The Bill of Rights promises freedoms for each person. These freedoms cannot be taken away by the government. The Constitution of the United States still guides the nation today.

Source Citation: "The Constitution." Kids InfoBits. Thomson Gale, 2005. Reproduced in Kids InfoBits. Detroit: Gale, 2013. http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.elm4you.org/servlet/KidsInfoBits

A New Look For the Government - (link to audio)As the delegates gathered, their plans were to revise the Articles of Confederation in an attempt to fix some of the new countries problems. Delegates conversations and discussions were kept secret in order to allow everyone to speak freely. During this time, many issues were debated, current problems of the time were discussed and various plans to solve these problems were formulated.

The Virginia Plan (link to audio) Right away, James Madison and fellow Virginia delegate, Edmund Randolph, proposed the first big plan. The Virginia (or Large-State) Plan suggested getting rid of the Articles of Confederation completely and proposed a new government with three branches (legislative, executive and judicial). This plan also took in the idea of a population vote to determine decision making. In other words, the more people that lived in your state, the more votes that state would get, and the fewer people that lived in your state, the less votes that state would get.

The New Jersey Plan This plan was created in response to the Virginia Plan. The New Jersey (or Small-State) Plan feared that the Virginia Plan would enable the larger states to dominate the new government. This plan suggested a one-house Congress in which each state would have one vote and gave Congress more powers.

The Connecticut Compromise After much debate around both The Virginia Plan and The New Jersey Plan, a compromise between the two ideas was formed. The compromise defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the Constitution. From the New Jersey Plan, the compromise took the idea that today is know as our Senate,and from the the Virginia Plan, the compromise took the idea that today is knows as the House of Representatives. These two ideas allow for checks and balances so that one part of government does not have too much power.

Courtesy of Independence National Historical Park Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, www.archives.or

Issues of Slavery (link to audio) Slavery was a highly debated item during the Constitutional Convention. At the time many of the delegates at the Convention owned slaves themselves. Some the delegates from slave states wanted their slaves counted as persons for purposes of Congressional representation, but delegates from states that opposed slavery, did not want slaves to be counted for Congressional representation. Another agreement made was the Three-Fifths Compromise, in which the Convention agreed to count three-fifths of state’s slaves in both representation and taxation.

Several delegates felt that slavery should be banned or that a tax be collected on those that owned slaves. Luther Martin, a delegate from Maryland, was against slavery. He felt strongly that it was against many of the guiding principles of the American Revolution. However, the decision was made to postpone a ban on importing slaves and that runaway slaves, if found, would be treated like criminals and returned to their owners. Not until 1808, when the ban on importing slaves would be put into place, would the stand against slavery truly begin.

Signing the Constitution (link to audio) On September 12th, 1787 the Convention’s Committee on Style reviewed the draft of the Constitution. This is when the famous start, known as the Preamble,“We the People of the United States,” was added rather than listing the separate states. Over the next few days other revisions were made and on September 17th the final version of the Constitution was read aloud. Fifty-five delegates had debated the constitution, but some had already left for home and three that were still there refused to sign. However, thirty-nine delegates in all signed the document. The final steps to making the Constitution law was for it to be ratified, or approved, by each of the thirteen states. The ratification process allowed states to discuss the new Constitution to make sure that the central government did not have too much power. By having each state discuss and then ratify the new document, all voices were heard.

CREDIT: Stone, William J., printer "Declaration of Independence – detail," 1823. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.