It was perhaps the the single most important gathering the nation has ever seen. On this date in 1787 55 men gathered to form a new government, recognizing the failures of the Articles of Confederation, over the course of four months they would debate and form the basis of a government that has lasted for the time since. George Washington chaired the Constitutional convention. The average age of the delegates was 42 with four of the most influential delegates——Alexander Hamilton, Edmund Randolph, Gouvernor Morris, and James Madison— in their thirties. Funny, the way they are pictured with their white wigs, one thinks of many of them as much older. Young brains at work. Over half were college graduates, and of those nine were from Princeton and six from British Universities. Even more significant was the continental political experience of the Framers: 8 signed the Declaration of Independence, 25 served in the Continental Congress, 15 helped draft the new State Constitutions between 1776 and 1780, and 40 served in the Confederation Congress between 1783 and 1787.
Dedicating the winter of 1787 to the study of confederacies through out history, James Madison would propose a bi-cameral legislature each with representation proportionate to the population. The two houses would in turn elect the chief executive officer, and judiciary, and have the ability to veto state legislatures. This proposal was very similar to the British parliamentary model and of course was derided by small states as giving too much power to the large.
William Patterson proposed a plan similar to the congress in the Articles of Confederation, but with certain taxation authority, regulation of trade, and set up a militia. Attempting to rectify some of the faults of the original Articles of Confederation, it evened out the power among the states regardless of population.
Alexander Hamilton put forth a third plan even more similar to the British model than Madison's. The miracle of 1787 occurred when the Connecticut representatives put forth the plan we see today--two houses of the legislature, with the upper house made up of equal numbers from each state, the Senate, and the lower based on population. This would become the basis of the US Constitution which would become effective in 1789. The constitution has been amended, and of course courts over time have had varying interpretations. Nonetheless, it has survived, as imperfect as it may be, proving the old adage that democracy is a terrible form of government until you consider the alternatives. In this case, hats off to the republic.
Dedicating the winter of 1787 to the study of confederacies through out history, James Madison would propose a bi-cameral legislature each with representation proportionate to the population. The two houses would in turn elect the chief executive officer, and judiciary, and have the ability to veto state legislatures. This proposal was very similar to the British parliamentary model and of course was derided by small states as giving too much power to the large.
William Patterson proposed a plan similar to the congress in the Articles of Confederation, but with certain taxation authority, regulation of trade, and set up a militia. Attempting to rectify some of the faults of the original Articles of Confederation, it evened out the power among the states regardless of population.
Alexander Hamilton put forth a third plan even more similar to the British model than Madison's. The miracle of 1787 occurred when the Connecticut representatives put forth the plan we see today--two houses of the legislature, with the upper house made up of equal numbers from each state, the Senate, and the lower based on population. This would become the basis of the US Constitution which would become effective in 1789. The constitution has been amended, and of course courts over time have had varying interpretations. Nonetheless, it has survived, as imperfect as it may be, proving the old adage that democracy is a terrible form of government until you consider the alternatives. In this case, hats off to the republic.
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