The Constitutional Convention Of 1787: A Historical Analysis

The Declaration of Independence led the way for the U.S. Constitution because without the Declaration of Independence the Constitution would probably never exist. The Declaration of Independence got the thirteen United States of America thinking about how much more they could do on their own under fair leadership and how better things could be if the citizens was able to help make some decisions.

In 1776, the Continental congress elected that Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston help write what many now know today to be The Declaration of Independence. The whole point of this document being written was to declare to Great Britain and King George III that the British colonies in North America would no longer be a part of Great Britain, but rather of their own free states, thus creating the United States of America and declaring independence from Great Britain. Because of what The Declaration of Independence stood for, it has been regarded highly throughout American

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was held to address problems in governing the United States which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation since it’s independence from Britain. Fifty-five delegates from the states attended the convention to address these issues. The delegates consisted of federalists who wanted a strong central government to maintain order and were mainly wealthier merchants and plantation owners and anti-federalists who were farmers, tradesmen and local politicians who feared losing their power and believed more power should be given to the states. The Constitutional Convention dealt with the issue of the debate between federalists and anti-federalists. The debates, arguments and compromises

The American Declaration of Independence has affected the foundation of the United States more than any other event or document in American history. The Declaration of Independence was the basis for what the country was established on. The document was a way for the colonists to emancipate themselves from the cruelty of King George. This document had such an impacting effect because it was such a new way of bringing up concerns. It was the first of its kind in the history of America in the aspect of liberation of a group of people.

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 marked the evolution from the Articles of Confederation to the U.S. Constitution. The ratification argument led to disagreements between the Federalists, who wanted to approve the Constitution, and Anti-Federalists, who opposed the document. The latter believed that the new system forced by the Constitution failed to protect the individual rights of citizens and threatened liberties.

55 delegates of twelve states wrote the Constitution at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787 and in 1788 the states ratified it. That gathering at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall brought nearly all of the nation’s most prominent men together, including Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison and George Washington. Several of the men appointed had records of service in the army and in the courts and others were experienced in colonial and state government. When Thomas Jefferson found out who had been appointed he wrote “It is really an assembly of demigods” to John Adams. That summer in Philadelphia, the men, drew out a document defining the distinct powers for the the president, the federal courts and the Congress. This division of authority that was established is known as the principle of separation of powers, and it ensures that none of the branches of government can overstep their boundaries.

In 1787, the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in hopes of revising the Articles of Confederation before the new, established country would become unsustainable. The Articles of Confederation had failed the country as the central government was not strong enough to uphold the country and protect the people’s rights. They were then abandoned and the Founding Fathers began to draft a new government system, what we now know as the US Constitution. At the time the dilemma was, should the Constitution be ratified? The Constitution should be ratified considering that it averts abuse of power, is effective in regulation, and is in the interest of the people.

The Articles of Confederation were the United State’s first constitution that was drafted in 1776 and set in motion a year later. The Articles of Confederation also known as “The Aoc”, ran the US government successful through the time of the American Revolution. However, the Aoc didn’t permit the national government with the power to levy taxes or regulate commerce, as a result of that all efforts at national cohesion was disheartened. So during the summer of 1787 they decided to create the “Supreme law of the land”, The Constitution. The constitution did everything the Aoc couldn’t do, it established more laws and provided increased federal authority while protecting the basic rights of it’s citizens.

The American Declaration of Independence has affected the foundation of the United States more than any other event or document in American history. The Declaration of Independence was the basis for what the country was established on. The document was a way for the colonists to emancipate themselves from the cruelty of King George. This document had such an impacting effect because it was such a new way of bringing up concerns. It was the first of its kind in the history of America in the aspect of liberation of a group of people.

The Declaration of Independence was important, and Patrick Henry even contributed to it. This is true because Henry was a Patriot, which means he wanted to split from Britain. The Declaration was officially approved on July 4th, 1776, but wasn’t signed until August 1st, 1776. Now, people may think that all the colonies approved of the Declaration, but unfortunately this is not the case. Only 12 of 13 colonies approved of the Declaration, but this however did not matter because only 9 colonies had to agree for the Declaration to be passed. The thirteenth colony, New York, did not approve the Declaration until July 19,

The 1787 Constitutional Convention was paramount in unifying the states after the Revolutionary War. However, in order to do so, the convention had to compromise on many issues instead of addressing them with all due haste. This caused the convention to leave many issues unresolved. Most notably were the issues of slavery, race, secession, and states’ rights. Through the Civil War and the Reconstruction, these issues were resolved, and in the process the powers of the federal government were greatly expanded.

The declaration of independence strengthened the idea of a strong centralized government and how the colonies refuse to be like England and the king. While the Bill of Rights gave the new country a specific set of rights that protect them from the government and its people and these ”god given rights” may not infringe on by anyone. These documents gave us the rights and freedoms that we have today and without them, the new Americas would have ended up like England and the colonies would have stayed oppressed and stripped of their rights and their freedom.

When the United States Constitution was created back in 1776, Thomas Jefferson argued that there should be a constitutional convention held every 20 years to make changes to the Constitution. Jefferson believed that holding this Constitutional Convention would update the constitution to apply to the modern era. After debating whether or not to hold this constitutional convention every 20 years, the house decided to not hold another constitutional

Fifty-five delegates were dispatched to Philadelphia Constitutional Convention in 1787. They were initially assembled to amend the Article of Confederation. The convention delegates agreed that the Article of Confederation needed to be set aside and a new Constitution should be drafted. They set about that task with a diverse group of elite members of society. The men at the meeting were from different states, both large and small. Over half of the delegates were college educated. John Adams described the convention delegates as “a gathering of men of ability, weight, and experience.” (Foner 202)

The last half of the 18th century was very important for the United States. During this era, the nation was founded following the Declaration of Independence and drafting and ratification of the Constitution a decade later. The 1787 constitutional convention and ratification debate was very important in the making of the US Constitution. The dynamics, antagonism, considerations, process and the eventual consensus regarding the Constitution can be explained by discrete theories in political discourses. However, there are theories that fit best within this historical context and help better explain the process of the constitutional convention and ratification. This paper will talk about pluralist theory as a theoretical perspective that best explains the workings of the 1787 constitutional convention and ratification debate, as opposed to power elite theory. This will be achieved by looking at the premises of pluralist theoretical perspective, and the workings of the 1787 constitutional convention and ratification and then show how pluralist theory best captures the workings.