The Constitutional Convention

How many people attended the Constitutional Convention?

55 from 12 states - all elites who could afford to be there

Which state did not send delegates?

Rhode Island

How many delegates helped draft their state constitution?

20

How many delegates had fought in the War for Independence?

30

What was the average age of the delegates?

42

How many were state governors?

3 present + 4 former state governors

How many were slave owners?

19

How many had served in either the Continental Congress or Confederation Congress?

42

How did Jefferson describe the Convention?

"an assembly of demi-gods"
intervening at a crucial moment to save the union/revolution?

Where was the Convention held?

Philadelphia, PA

Who were the key men at the Convention?

- Washington (unanimously chosen to preside over the proceedings - lent the Convention authority + prestige)
- Madison (spoke 161 times)
- Gouverneur Morris
- Franklin
- Hamilton
- George Mason
- William Patterson
- Charles Pinckney
- Edmund Randolph
- Roger Sherman
- James Wilson
(a lot of new leaders)

Which key people were NOT there?

John Adams (in Britain)
Sam Adams
Thomas Jefferson
Patrick Henry (asked by Virginia, but refused to go)

What did Patrick Henry say about the Convention?

'I smell a rat'

Principles of the Founding Fathers

- no great ideological rift (virtually all agreed on need for stronger, central + balanced govt BUT few wanted to diminish state govt. altogether)
- no one branch of govt should be able to monopolise power
- general distrust of democracy BUT all agreed the people must have a voice in the govt
BUT NO UNANIMITY ON DETAILS

Main Debates at the Convention

- Representation
- Democracy
- Power of the States
- Slavery
- the Executive

What was the intention of the Convention?

officially, the agreed purpose of the Convention was to 'revise' the Articles of Confederation

The Virginia Plan

29 May 1787
- draft constitution (Madison's masterpiece)
- set out bicameral legislature, representation proportional to the population (1st house: directly elected, 2nd house: elected by members of 1st house)
- legislature would have wide powers: elects Executive + Judiciary, + have power to veto acts of state legislatures
- first proposal to the Convention so set the agenda (delegates debated and amended it from there - significant changes were made but it remained at the centre of the Convention's deliberations)

The New Jersey Plan

- VI plan bitterly opposed by smaller states + delegates who objected the amount of power Congress would have
- William Patterson presented the NJ Plan on 15 June 1787
- single legislature chamber where each state would have 1 vote
- NJ Plan = amendments to Articles NOT new constitution (e.g. Congress gains ability to tax + state sovt. retained)
- REJECTED 19 June 7-3 (issue of representation)

Grand Committee

2 July
appointed to work out a compromise on representation (1 delegate from each state)

The Great Compromise

- (Great Committee's Report) all states would have equal representation in the Senate and the House would have promotional representation according to regular censuses
- ACCEPTED 16 July

North vs South

- division caused by slavery (the South wanted slaves included representation figures BUT not in liability to taxation, the North did not want slaves included in representation figures, but included for tax purposes)
- 3/5s compromise ACCEPTED for both representation and direct taxation

Committee of Detail

- 5-member committee assigned to drafting a constitution which formalised the changes made to the VI plan.
- Debate on the report lasted for 5 weeks where the issue of slavery re-emerged (resolution: Congress would not have authority to abolish the slave trade in 1808)

8th September 1787

Committee of Style appointed to finalise the final details of the agreed Constitution

17th September 1787

39 of the remaining 42 delegates signed the new US Constitution

Franklin on signing the Constitution

"I was not able to tell whether it was rising or setting, now I know that is the rising sun" - about the symbol of the sun on the presiding officer's chair

The federal executive

- authority executed by one man - the president
- commander-in-chief of the army and navy
- make appointments with Senate approval
- conclude treaties with the Senate
- sign Congress acts into law
- able to veto acts of Congress (could be overridden with a 2/3s majority in both houses)
- could be removed from office on impeachment and conviction of 'high crimes and misdemeanours'
- elected every 4 years with the EC (states send same number of delegates as it had Congressmen)

The federal legislature

- made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate
- House: elected directly by voters for a 2-yr term
- Senate: 2 from each state, elected by state legislatures, to serve 6-year terms, 1/3 elected every 2 years
- had the power to raise money, make laws, declare war, ratify treaties, impeach and to override the president's veto

The federal judiciary

- much left vague but it agreed there should be:
- an independent national judiciary
- a SC - appointed by the president with Senate approval

Amending the constitution

Requires 2/3 support in both houses of congress and 3/4 of states to support.

The powers of the federal and state governments

- federal govt authorised to maintain an army and navy, mint and borrow money, make treaties with foreign powers, to levy taxes and to regulate commerce
- Congress was authorised to 'make all laws which shall be necessary and proper' for executing its powers
- Constitution (and all laws and treaties made under it) were the supreme law of the land, superior to state law
- States could NOT wage war, engage in diplomacy, coin money, make treaties or lay duties on imports
- BUT retained power over the issue of slavery, its own suffrage, regulation of their own intrastate or internal commerce, and held jurisdiction in many important areas of civil and criminal law

Criticisms of the constitution

- a conservative backlash, trying to curb democracy?
(EC would stand between the people and the president, Senators not directly elected, 6-year terms would give Senators considerable immunity from popular pressure, House would represent constituencies as large as 30,000 - half the pop of DE, 2-year terms was twice as long as the terms of most state assemblymen)
- defence of slavery
- ineffective provisions (EC, need for 2/3s approval for treaties, system of checks and balances = gridlock?)
- generally vague and unclear

George Washington on the Constitution

"I am fully persuaded it is the best that can be obtained at the present moment under such diversity of ideas"

Franklin on the constitution

"I confess that there are several parts of the Constitution which I do not at present approve but I am not sure I shall never approve them ... I consent, Sir, to the Constitution because I expect no better and because I am not sure it is not the best."

Praise for the constitution

- accepted that the sole fount of legitimate political authority was the people 'We the People of the United States'
- Strong national govt still made as weak and as divided as could safely be managed
- system of checks and balances (between 3 branches, 2 Houses, popular election vs indirect election and federal govt vs the state govt)
- reconciled debates
- vagueness was a strength - living document able to be reinterpreted