History of the United States Constitution

This article discusses the history of the United States Constitution.

Drafting the Constitution

The period between the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in 1781 and the drafting of the Constitution in 1787 was one of weakness, dissension, and turmoil. Under the Articles of Confederation, no provisions were made for an executive branch to enforce the laws or for a national court system to interpret them. A legislative congress was the sole organ of the national government, but it had no power to force the states to do anything against their will. It could theoretically declare war and raise an army, but it could not force any state to meet its assigned quota for troops or for the arms and equipment needed to support them. It looked to the states for the income needed to finance its activities, but it could not punish a state for not contributing its share of the federal budget. Control of taxation and tariffs was left to the states, and each state could issue its own currency. In disputes between states--and there were many unsettled quarrels over state boundaries--Congress played the role of mediator and judge but could not require states to accept its decisions.

Related Topics:
Executive branch - Legislative congress - Army - Troops - Income - Budget - Tax - Tariff

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The result was virtual chaos. Without the power to collect taxes, the federal government plunged into debt. Seven of the 13 states printed large quantities of paper money high in face value but low in real purchasing power in order to pay Revolutionary War veterans and a variety of creditors and to settle debts between small farmers and large plantation owners.

Related Topics:
Paper money - Face value - Purchasing power - Veteran - Farmer - Plantation

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By contrast, the Massachusetts legislature imposed a tightly limited currency and high taxes, triggering the formation of a small army of farmers led by Daniel Shays, a former Revolutionary War army captain. In a bid to take over the Massachusetts statehouse, Shays and others demanded that foreclosures (seizure of land by banks as payment for debts) and unfair mortgages be dropped. Troops were called out to suppress the rebellion, but the federal government took notice.

Related Topics:
Massachusetts - Daniel Shays - Bank - Mortgage

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Absence of a uniform, stable currency also disrupted trade among the states and with other countries. Not only did the value of paper currency vary from state to state, but some states (like New York and Virginia) levied duties on products entering their ports from other states, thereby provoking retaliatory actions. The states could say, as had the federal superintendent of finance, that "our public credit is gone." To compound their problems, these newly independent states, having separated violently from Britain, no longer received favored treatment at British ports. When U.S. Ambassador John Adams tried to negotiate a commercial treaty in 1785, the British refused on the grounds that the individual states would not be bound by it.

Related Topics:
Port - Ambassador - John Adams - Commercial - Treaty - 1785

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A weak central government, without the power to back its policies with military strength, was inevitably handicapped in foreign affairs as well. The British refused to withdraw their troops from the forts and trading posts in the new nation's Northwest Territory, as they had agreed to do in the peace treaty of 1783 that marked the end of the Revolutionary War. To make matters worse, British officers on the northern boundaries and Spanish officers to the south supplied arms to various American Indian tribes and encouraged them to attack American settlers. The Spanish, who controlled Florida and Louisiana as well as all territory west of the Mississippi River, also refused to allow western farmers to use the port of New Orleans to ship their produce.

Related Topics:
Fort - Northwest Territory - American Indian - Florida - Louisiana - Mississippi River - New Orleans

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Although there were signs of returning prosperity in some areas of the fledgling nation, domestic and foreign problems continued to grow. It became increasingly clear that the confederation's central government was not strong enough to establish a sound financial system, to regulate trade, to enforce treaties, or to exert military force against foreign antagonists when needed. Internal divisions between farmers and merchants, debtors and creditors, and among the states themselves were growing more severe. With Shays' Rebellion of desperate farmers in 1786 vividly in mind, George Washington warned: "There are combustibles in every state which a spark might set fire to."

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This sense of potential disaster and the need for drastic change pervaded the Constitutional Convention that began its deliberations on May 25, 1787. All of the delegates were convinced that an effective central government with a wide range of enforceable powers must replace the weaker congress established by the Articles of Confederation. Early in the proceedings the delegates agreed that the new government would be composed of three separate branches, based on ideals enummerated in John Locke's Two Treatises of Government: legislative, judicial, and executive, each with distinct powers to balance those of the other two branches. It was also agreed that the legislative branch, like the British Parliament and the state legislatures, should consist of two houses.

Related Topics:
Constitutional Convention - May 25 - 1787 - John Locke - Two Treatises of Government - Judicial - Parliament

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Beyond this point, however, there were sharp differences of opinion that threatened at times to disrupt the convention and cut short its proceedings before a constitution was drafted. The larger states argued in favor of proportional representation in the legislature--that is, each state should have voting power according to its population, calling equal representation, "confessedly unjust." The smaller states, fearing domination by the larger ones, insisted on equal representation for all states.

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Contrary to popular belief, the division was not explicitly between large states and small states. It was between states with claims of Western land and states without such claims. At the time of the convention, the South was growing more quickly than the North, and it was Southern states who had the most extensive Western claims. South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia were small in the 1780s, but they expected growth, and thus favored proportional representation. New York was one of the largest states at the time, but two of its three representatives (Hamilton being the exception) favored an equal suffrage, as part of their desire to see maximum autonomy for the states. (the two representatives other than Hamilton left the convention before the representation issue was resolved).

Related Topics:
South Carolina - North Carolina - Georgia - New York

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James Madison and Alexander Hamilton were two of the leaders of the proportional representation group. Madison argued that a conspiracy of large states against the small states was unrealistic, as the large states were so different from each other. Hamilton argued that the states were artificial entities made up of individuals, and accused small state representatives of wanting power, not liberty. (see History of the United States Senate).

Related Topics:
James Madison - Alexander Hamilton - History of the United States Senate

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For their part, the small state representatives argued that the states were, in fact, equal, and that proportional representation would be unfair to them. Gunning Bedford, Jr. of Delaware notoriously threatened on behalf of the small states, "the small ones w find some foreign ally of more honor and good faith, who will take them by the hand and do them justice."

Related Topics:
Gunning Bedford, Jr. - Delaware

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After six weeks of tumult, North Carolina switched its vote to equal representation and Massachusetts abstained, and a compromise was reached, the so called "Great Compromise." In the "Great Compromise," every state was given equal representation, previously known as the New Jersey Plan, in one house of Congress and proportional representation, known before as the Virginia Plan, in the other. In the Senate, every state would have two seats. In the House of Representatives, the number of seats would depend on population. Because it was considered more responsive to majority sentiment, the House of Representatives was given the power to originate all legislation dealing with the federal budget and revenues/taxation.

Related Topics:
Massachusetts - Great Compromise - New Jersey Plan - Virginia Plan - Senate - House of Representatives

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The Great Compromise ended the rift between the large and small states, but throughout the summer the delegates worked out numerous other compromises. Some delegates, fearful of giving too much power to the people, argued for indirect election of all federal officials; others wanted as broad an electoral base as possible. Some wanted to exclude the western territories from eventual statehood; others saw the future strength of the nation in the virgin lands beyond the Appalachian Mountains. There were sectional interests to be balanced; differing views to be reconciled on the term, powers, and method of selection of the president; and conflicting ideas on the role of the federal judiciary.

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The high quality of the delegates to the convention eased the way to compromise. Only a few of the great leaders of the American Revolution were absent: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both future presidents, were serving as America's envoys to France and Britain, respectively; John Jay was busy as secretary of foreign affairs of the confederation. A handful of others, including Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine, and Patrick Henry, chose not to participate, believing that the existing governmental structure was sound. Of those in attendance, the best known by far was George Washington, commander of American troops and hero of the Revolution, who presided over the convention. Benjamin Franklin, the scientist, scholar, and diplomat, was also there. So, too, were such outstanding men as James Madison of Virginia, Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania, and Alexander Hamilton, the brilliant young lawyer and soldier from New York.

Related Topics:
Thomas Jefferson - France - Britain - John Jay - Samuel Adams - Thomas Paine - Patrick Henry - George Washington - Benjamin Franklin - James Madison - Gouverneur Morris - Alexander Hamilton - New York

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Even the youngest delegates, still in their twenties and thirties, had already displayed political and intellectual gifts. As Thomas Jefferson in Paris wrote to John Adams in London, "It really is an assembly of demigods."

Related Topics:
Paris - London

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Some of the ideas embodied in the Constitution were new, but many were drawn from Classical Antiquity and the British governmental tradition of mixed government which was in practice among 12 of the 13 states and were advocated by the writings of Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu. The United States Constitution was partly based on ideas from the uncodified constitution of the United Kingdom, such as Article 39 from the British Magna Carta of 1215 which states that:

Related Topics:
Classical Antiquity - Mixed government - Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu - Uncodified constitution of the United Kingdom - Magna Carta - 1215

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No free man shall be arrested, or imprisoned, or deprived of his property, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor shall we go against him or send against him, unless by legal judgement of his peers, or by the law of the land.

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The British Bill of Rights (1689) also acted as a source of ideas for the United States Constitution. For example, like the British Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution requires jury trials, contains a right to bear arms, and prohibits excessive bail and of "cruel and unusual punishments". Similarly, "cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments" are banned under Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

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The Declaration of Independence also acted as an important guide, keeping the minds of the delegates fixed on the ideas of self-government and preservation of fundamental human rights. The writings of such European political philosophers as Montesquieu and John Locke were also influential. What they sought to create was a balanced government of checks and balances.

Related Topics:
Declaration of Independence - Human rights - Political philosophers - Montesquieu - John Locke

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In late July the convention appointed a committee to draft a document based on the agreements that had been reached. After another month of discussion and refinement, a second committee, headed by Gouverneur Morris, produced the final version, which was submitted for signing on September 17. Not all the delegates were pleased with the results; some left before the ceremony, and three of those remaining refused to sign: Edmund Randolph and George Mason of Virginia, and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. Of the 39 who did sign, probably no one was completely satisfied, and their views were ably summed up by Benjamin Franklin, who said, "There are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them." He would accept the Constitution, however, "because I expect no better and because I am not sure that it is not the best."

Related Topics:
Edmund Randolph - George Mason - Elbridge Gerry

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