The U.S. Constitution is the document written in 1787 that established
the frame of government for the United States of America. It was written by a group of delegates at the Constitutional Convention in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their goal was to create a stronger federal
government than the Articles of Confederation had provided.
Calling for a convention
When America’s original thirteen colonies declared independence in
1776, they wrote the Articles of Confederation to create a central government for the new United States of America. The nation functioned
informally under the articles until they were adopted officially in 1781.
The articles created a government run by Congress without a separate
president or judicial system.
By 1786, government under the Articles of Confederation was proving to be insufficient to some Americans. Congress’s inability to enforce
taxes, regulate commerce between states, and compel state cooperation
was causing many problems. Efforts to amend the articles seemed
doomed to failure because approval of all states was required for amendments. As criticism grew, it became evident to many that the desired
changes might best be accomplished by writing an entirely new constitution.
The call for a Constitutional Convention grew out of two other
meetings, the Alexandria and Annapolis Conventions. In November
1785, delegates from Virginia and Maryland met in Alexandria,
Virginia, to reconcile some boundary and commercial disputes along the
Potomac River. The success of their meeting motivated Virginia to call
for another meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, the following year. Nine
states were invited to discuss additional common problems, but only five sent delegates. The delegates in Annapolis made plans for another convention to assemble in Philadelphia in May 1787. All states were requested to send
delegates so that problems with the government under the articles could
be addressed.
Opposing forces
The Constitutional Convention first met in Philadelphia on May 25. Of
the seventy-four men who had been appointed as delegates by their
states, fifty-five attended at one time or another, and thirty-nine signed
the final document. Many political leaders of the time attended, including Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), Alexander Hamilton
(1755–1804), and James Madison (1751–1836). George Washington
(1732–1799) was the presiding officer. Each of the original thirteen
states except Rhode Island sent delegates.
From the beginning, there were two political focuses at the convention. One group of delegates was intent on creating an entirely new constitution to set up a new government. Their aim was to create a national
government with powers adequate to promote the security, financial stability, commercial prosperity, and general well-being of all of the states.
Another small, but significant, group of delegates sought to preserve
states’ rights and were firmly opposed to creating a strong national government. They recognized the need for constitutional reform but believed that government under the articles could be improved simply by
granting Congress additional powers.
There were no women at the convention, and nobody represented
the interests of African Americans, Native Americans, and people without property who lacked voting rights.
When debates between delegates began, two plans gathered most attention. One was a series of resolutions put forth by the Virginia delegation. The Virginia Plan called for a wholly new constitution that would
establish a strong national government. In opposition, a proposal called
the New Jersey Plan called for a continuation of the Confederation
Congress (the governing body of the United States, with representatives
from each of the thirteen colonies, that was in place from 1781 until the
ratification of the U.S. Constitution). Eventually the proposal to pursue
a whole new constitution gained more support, and the delegates began
the long debates to write the details of it. Designing and writing the Constitution
The decision to write a new constitution required the delegates to design
a new government. It was the first time in history that people set their
minds to crafting a permanent government on the principles of democracy without a monarchical (a government with a ruling king or queen)
component. The articles had created just a loose confederation of the
states in 1776, when the permanence of independence from Great
Britain was far from decided. In 1787, the United States had been independent for eleven years, so it needed a durable constitution.
Among those who wanted a strong central government, there was
general agreement that it should contain three parts: a legislative branch
for making the laws, an executive branch for enforcing the laws, and a
judicial branch for deciding cases under the laws. Dispute and debate
centered on the construction and powers of each branch and how they
would interact.
Some delegates, primarily from the larger states, wanted the legislative branch to be filled with members based on a state’s population.
Delegates from smaller states wanted each state to have an equal vote in
the legislature. The Congress they designed included both aspects: a
House of Representatives with membership based on population, and a
Senate with equal membership of two senators per state.
One of the most infamous parts of the Constitution is the “ThreeFifths Clause.” The delegates had to decide how slaves would count toward determining how many members a state was allowed to have in the
House of Representatives. Delegates from slavery states wanted slaves to
count fully, and delegates from free states wanted slaves not to count at
all. The compromise they reached to induce both northern and southern
support for the Constitution was to count each slave as just three-fifths
of a person in determining population for calculating House membership. Native Americans, called Indians, who did not pay taxes were not
to count at all. Also to ensure southern support, the delegates wrote a
clause to prevent Congress from outlawing the migration of slaves before
1808.
The delegates also disagreed on construction of the executive
branch. Some, including Alexander Hamilton, wanted a president to
serve for life upon election. Others wanted to limit presidential terms.
There also was disagreement over how much power the president should
have to veto, or reject, laws passed by Congress. The presidency the convention created allowed a president to be elected to an unlimited number of four-year terms. (In practice, two terms was generally regarded as
the norm. Franklin D. Roosevelt [1882–1945; served 1933–45] is the
only president to serve more than two terms. The Twenty-second
Amendment, ratified in 1951, stated that a person could be elected to no
more than two terms and could also serve not more than two additional
years if that person is finishing out a predecessor’s term.) The president
may veto laws passed by Congress, but Congress may override a veto if
two-thirds of each chamber vote to do so.
Constructing the judicial branch was the least controversial job the
delegates faced. They wrote the Constitution to allow the judiciary to decide cases and controversies under the laws. A Supreme Court would sit
on top of the federal judicial system. The Constitution left it up to
Congress whether to create other federal courts.
Ratification
In mid-September 1787, the convention put its various decisions into a
finished draft and submitted the Constitution to the states for approval.
In a bold change, the provision for ratification was altered from the
unanimous vote demanded by the Articles of Confederation. Instead, a
majority of nine states was needed for approval.
State conventions were held, and over the next ten months all but
two states, Rhode Island and North Carolina, ratified the Constitution.
The new government as defined by the Constitution of the United States
convened for the first time in April 1789. The last two of the original
thirteen states ratified the Constitution after the new government had
begun: North Carolina in November 1789, and Rhode Island in May
1790.