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3.4: The Constitutional Convention

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    287352
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    In the summer of 1787, 12 states—all but Rhode Island—sent delegates to Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. Today, this meeting is known as the Constitutional Convention, although at the time it was not referred to as such. Its official purpose was revision, but even before it began many delegates had concluded that the Articles were hopelessly flawed and the only solution was to craft an entirely new constitution from scratch.

    Not all of the 55 delegates who gathered in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall agreed. Some thought a stronger national government would threaten their prized liberties. Virginia delegate Patrick Henry, who had famously proclaimed “Give me liberty or give me death!” in a fiery speech prior to the Revolutionary War, refused to attend at all, claiming that he “smelt a rat” in Philadelphia. Others, including New York’s John Lansing and Robert Yates, left early when they realized that the new constitution would significantly strengthen the national government.

    For over three months, the delegates brainstormed and debated how to design a government that could bind the Union together while still preventing tyranny. George Washington was elected president of the convention but spoke little, preferring to act as an impartial moderator. Some delegates arrived late or left early, either in protest or to attend to personal matters. Independence Hall was hot and stuffy in the Philadelphia summer, but the windows stayed closed and the curtains drawn so that delegates could speak freely without being overheard by passersby.

    In the end, 39 of the 55 delegates affixed their signatures to the new constitution. Not everyone was satisfied with the result. Virginia delegate George Mason claimed he would rather chop off his right hand than use it to sign the document. Benjamin Franklin did sign, reasoning that, while he disliked some aspects of the new constitution, he might grow to like them in the future. Either way, he felt the new design was still a major improvement on the Articles.


    3.4: The Constitutional Convention is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.