Topic 3.8: The Constitutional Convention and Debates Over Ratification

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key figures, preliminary conventions, and context surrounding the Constitutional Convention in Topic 3.8.

Benjamin Franklin

The oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia who encouraged fellow delegates in 1787 to overcome skepticism and support the new Constitution.

Mount Vernon Conference (1785)

A 1785 meeting hosted by George Washington at his Virginia home, where representatives from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania met to discuss critical problems facing the country.

Annapolis Convention

A 1786 meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, attended by delegates from only five states, held to discuss commercial relations among the states.

James Madison

A key delegate who, along with Alexander Hamilton at the Annapolis Convention, persuaded participants to hold a convention in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Alexander Hamilton

A delegate who, alongside James Madison, convinced delegates at the Annapolis Convention that another convention should be held in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Constitutional Convention

The meeting held in Philadelphia in 1787 where delegates wrote a new plan of government, after Congress approved it for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.

Rhode Island

The only state out of the 13 that refused to send delegates to the Philadelphia convention because it did not trust the other states.