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In May of 1787, men from all over the United States (it probably still sounded a little strange to them) gathered in Philadelphia to discuss the Articles of Confederation. As the country’s first constitution, it had met a need as the Revolution was winding down. But there were weaknesses. Issues like foreign and inter-state commerce, tax collection, and the whole concept of a central government weren’t adequately addressed. Under the Articles, each state had complete veto power, meaning legislation that was good for the whole country would be impossible if one state’s delegates disagreed. Changes needed to be made.
And these 55 men gathered to make them. But among these men were some who simply thought the Articles had served their purpose and a completely new charter was necessary. Numerous plans were considered. Alexander Hamilton’s idea, put together with the meticulous detail only he could do, was lauded for its completeness, but looked a little too “British” in scope, with a central government that was deemed too strong.
The idea submitted by James Madison offered a ”lower” house elected by the people, an “upper” house elected by the “lower”, and an executive elected by both. But both houses would be proportional to population, which gave the larger states a distinct advantage in the power of their voice. It didn’t help that Madison hailed from Virginia, the largest state at the time.
The smaller states quickly recognized this and called a “time-out”. When play resumed, William Paterson, from the “small” state of New Jersey offered a plan. He left the legislature as it currently stood under the Articles, which provided for a single house that gave small states the same power as large states. The large states, of course, took exception.
They might still be arguing over this today, except that someone (in this case, Roger Sherman from Connecticut…a small state) solved the issue. He proposed a lower body populated based on each state’s population, and an upper body of “one state, one vote”.
They hashed this idea out for another two weeks, and then the Great Compromise (as the Connecticut Compromise came to be known) passed on the June 23rd. There was more haggling over issues (particularly the sticky, divisive issue of slavery which was ultimately shelved for the sake of the rest) and then there was the drafting of the language into a single document, handled by Gouverneur Morris’ (I love that name) Committee of Style and Arrangement.
The U.S. Constitution was submitted for signing and ratified by the Convention on September 17, 1787. The sigh of relief for a job well done was short-lived, as each state’s delegates now had to persuade their home state to adopt the new document. For some, that would be a most difficult task…
Recommended Reading: Alexander Hamilton – I’m approaching the end of this massive, yet very readable book.
