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Main Issues and Disputes in the Constitution of 1787

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed. It formally proclaimed America’s freedom from Great Britain and formally sparked the American Revolution. Great Britain’s former colonists in the thirteen colonies immediately were faced with having to create a new government to replace the British monarchy that they were trying to overthrow. After much debate, the Americans chose the Articles of Confederation. This was a very weak federal government because it gave the highest power to the states. It consisted of one branch: a one-house legislature known as the Confederation Congress. The Congress only had the power to declare war, sign treaties, settle disputes between the states, and borrow or print money. A strong, centralized government inspired so much fear in Americans that they refused to give their new government the power to tax. This government remained in effect since it was ratified by the states in 1781 until the birth of the Constitution in 1788.

The Confederation Congress became so unpopular and ineffectual by the late 1780s. Many Americans believed it was unable to deal with economic problems, and powerless in the face of the rebellions. Some of the wealthiest and most powerful groups in the population began to clamor for a strong national government. The most resourceful advocate of a strong national government was Alexander Hamilton, an illegitimate son of a Scottish merchant in the West Indies. He came to New York by the age of 18 and had become a successful lawyer. Hamilton called for a national convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. He found an important ally from Virginia, James Madison, a 36 year old student of history and government who participated in the framing of the Virginia Constitution in 1776. Only five states out of the thirteen sent delegates to the first convention held in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1787. The absence of so many states and the differing instructions given to the delegates prevented the meeting from accomplishing its stated purpose. Instead, they decided to use the opportunity to express their views in a report to the individual state legislatures and Congress. They also approved to hold a Constitutional Convention next year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

At first there seemed little reason to believe the Philadelphia convention would attract any more delegates than had the Annapolis meeting. But by the early 1787 as thousands of Americans flooded into the area, Native Americans rebelled to stop them. Without being able to pay for an army, the federal government could not protect its citizens. This alarmed many of the opposing leaders to the importance of a national government; a strong central authority was needed to counterbalance the state governments

On the 25th of May 1787, fifty five white men, representing all the states except Rhode Island, attended the convention sat in the Philadelphia State House, the same location where the Declaration of Independence had been signed 11 years earlier. These “Founding Father’s”, as they became known later, were relatively young men; the average age was forty four. They were all highly educated by the standards of their time and wealthy property owners. They all had strong nationalism and sense of duty that helped them survive the debates. The convention unanimously chose George Washington to preside over its sessions. William Jackson, another immigrant at the Convention, was elected Secretary of the Convention and he recorded the propositions and amendments as well as the vote tabulation. The convention ruled that each state delegation would have a single vote and that major decisions would not require unanimity but majority. Almost all the delegates agreed that the United States needed a strong central government.

Virginia, the largest state in population, sent a well-prepared delegation to Philadelphia led by James Madison, who devised in some detail a plan for a new “national” government. Edmund Randolph of Virginia opened the debate by proposing that “a national government out to be established, consisting of a supreme Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary”. This brief introduction outlined a government very different from the Confederation but the delegates were looking for a fundamental reform that they agreed to the resolution after short debate. Madison's Virginia Plan became the blueprint for the Constitution that finally emerged, later earning him the title "Father of the Constitution." Having fathered the document, Madison worked hard to ensure its ratification.

James Madison’s Virginia plan called for a national legislature of two houses: An upper house and a lower house which later became known as Senate and House of Representatives. In the lower house, states would be represented in proportion to their population. Members of upper house would be elected by representatives of the lower house; thus some of the smaller states might at times have no members at all in the upper house. This plan was immediately opposed by delegates from smaller states. William Paterson a lawyer of New Jersey, a small state, then proposed an alternative. He called for a one-house legislature in which all states had equal representation with disregards to the population, but which would have given Congress extended power to tax and to regulate commerce. The convention rejected Paterson’s proposal and decided to go with Madison’s. The supporters of the Virginia Plan now realized they must make concessions to the small states. Hence, they proposed to permit members of the upper house to be elected by the state legislatures instead of the lower house representatives.

Many question remained unsolved. Among the most important was slavery. Slaves accounted for about one-fifth of the population in the American colonies. Most of them lived in the Southern colonies, where slaves made up 40 percent of the population. Whether slavery was to be permitted and continued under the new Constitution was a matter of conflict between the North and South, with several Southern states refusing to join the Union if slavery were disallowed. So there was no serious discussion of abolishing slavery. However, the main issue was: Would slaves be counted as part of the population in determining representation in Congress? Or would they be considered property not entitles to representation? Delegates from states with large population of slaves argued that slaves should be considered persons in determining representation but as property if the new government was to levy taxes on the states on basis of population. States where slavery disappeared or almost disappeared, their delegates argues that slaves should be included in taxation but not representation.

Delegates debated and fought for long weeks. Finally on July 2, the convention formed a “grand committee” lead by Benjamin Franklin, the oldest in the convention, and one delegate from each state. Together they produced what became the basis of the “Great Compromise”, or “Connecticut Compromise”, was named in honor of its architects, Connecticut delegates Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth. It called for a two-house legislature. Ellsworth explained that equal state representation was imperative in a Union “partly national, partly federal.” Sherman proposed a specific agreement for a dual system of representation. In the lower house, each state would be assigned a number of seats based on its population; each slave would count for three fifths of a free person in determining the basis for both representation and taxes. In the upper house, all states would have the same number of seats, two representatives apiece. On July 16, 1787, the convention adopted the Connecticut Compromise by a heart-stopping margin of one vote. Without that vote, there likely would have been no Constitution.

Following the Connecticut Compromise, another controversy erupted: What should be done about the slave trade, the importing of new slaves into the United States? Ten states had already outlawed it. Many delegates heatedly denounced it. But the three states, Georgia and the two Carolinas, that allowed it threatened to leave the convention if the trade were banned. A special committee worked out another compromise: Congress would have the power to ban the slave trade, but not until 1808.

One of the questions that concerned the fathers of the constitution was the question of limiting power. Since Madison had devised the Virginia Plan and did most of the drafting of the Constitution, he helped in resolving this question. So he came up with the idea of many centers of power “checking on each other” and preventing any single authority from emerging, this was called “checks and balances”. In a system of government with competing sovereigns (such as a multi-branch government or a federal system), "checks" refers to the ability, right, and responsibility of each power to monitor the activities of the other(s); "balances" refers to the ability of each entity to use its authority to limit the powers of the others, whether in general scope or in particular cases.

Some significant issues remained unaddressed. Most important was the absence of a list of individual rights, which would retain the powers of national government. Some argued the importance of Bill of Rights. George Mason’s primary concerns about government were aimed at preserving the rights and liberties of individuals above all else. While he wanted a strong nation, he feared giving the government too much power. This concern was later resolved later in April 30, 1789, when President George Washington delivered the first inaugural address, and within his initial term the first ten amendments—known as the Bill of Rights—were adopted, establishing the fundamental rights of U.S. citizens, assuaging many fears associated with the relatively strong central government the Constitution provides.

On September 17, 1787, thirty nine delegates signed the constitution. The ratification of the US Constitution proceeded quickly during the winter of 1787-1788. Delaware was the first to ratify unanimously, as did Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Georgia. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and South Carolina ratified between January and May 1788. New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the document in June 1788. Rhode Island out of the thirteen states did not even consider ratification. With the ratification of nine states, it was not theoretically possible for the Constitution to go into effect. A new government could not hope to succeed, however, without Virginia and New York, whose conventions remained closely divided. By the end of June had consented to the Constitution on the assumption that a bill of rights would be added in the form of amendments to the Constitution. North Carolina convention adjourned taking action, waiting to see what happened to the amendments.