Three Principal Meetings that Led to the Adoption of the Constitution of the United States

On September 17, 1787 framers in Philadelphia signed “The Constitution of the United States in which it was approved on June 21, 1788 by the ninth state. Once confirmed, along with the addition to the Bill of Rights it developed a mutual standard by which Americans determined the responsibilities and limits of their government. Looking to the Constitution to decide political discrepancies has helped to substitute and preserve a general agreement among people that are otherwise diverse. The Constitution, although two centuries of complications and trials of the American experiment in self-government, is a testament to the cleverness and anticipation of its framers.

David O. Stewart, by profession, is a lawyer with a resume that includes everything from arguing appeals at the Supreme Court level to serving as a law court to the acclaimed Junior Powell. But in writing The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution (specifically, I read the First Simon & Schuster trade paperback edition May 2008, copyrighted in 2007), he uses that experience in law to prove himself a gifted storyteller. Two hundred sixty-four pages long, this United States history nonfiction book does indeed have the substance to engage the reader throughout. It has special features that include two appendices featuring the elector system and the actual constitution of 1787, author’s notes, suggested further reading, acknowledgments and an index (which escalate the total length of the book to three hundred forty-nine pages long).

In offering alternative interpretations of the origins of the Constitution, the author accomplishes his secondary purpose, to make the reader challenge what they know about the framing of the Constitution. Holton details the rebellion of the “Unruly Americans” against the state and national governments, using Adonijah Mathews as an ultimate example of the “common man.” Mathews’ views are presented in order to contrast the views of James Madison, whom it seems the author

After the Founding Fathers of America wrote our Constitution there was one more step they had to each achieve in order for it to go into effect: ratifying it. In order to ratify the Constitution nine out of the thirteen states had to agree to adopt it. The process of ratifying the Constitution turned into a debate between two groups: the Federalists and the Anti Federalist.

Throughout American history, many individuals have made reforms to the government. However, significant actions done by George Mason and James Madison still impact society today with the Bill of Rights and the implementation of a ‘check and balance’ government system. George Mason and James Madison were both influential figures in the creation of the United States’ government structure with their oppositions to prejudiced governments.

On September 28, 1787, after three days of bitter debate, the Confederation Congress sent the Constitution to the states with neither an endorsement nor a condemnation. This action, a compromise engineered by Federalist members, disposed of the argument that the convention had exceeded its mandate; in the tacit opinion of Congress, the Constitution was validly before the people. The state legislatures' decisions to hold ratifying conventions confirmed the Constitution's legitimacy.

Whose side would you have been on in the 1790s, Thomas Jefferson’s or Alexander Hamilton’s? Both of these men served under George Washington in the first presidential cabinet, yet they had very different views of what government should be (Davis 86). My objective in this research essay is to inform the reader of why there was so much controversy between these two founding fathers, and to determine which side had the better views for our newly forming country.

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 contained many points but some of the main points consist of the Virginia plan, the New Jersey plan, and the great compromise. The Virginia plan was initiated by James Madison had a strong central government with legislature seats based on a state’s population. The New Jersey Plan was conducted by William Paterson also has a strong central government that endorsed equal representatives throughout the states. The great compromise was imitated to settle the disagreements between the north and south. The great compromise stated a two-house legislature the seats for one of the houses was based on population of the state and the other houses seats were distributed upon states. The great compromise set up a strong

In the initial years of the United States a meeting of delegates appointed by the several states met for the sole purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. The result of this meeting was the creation of the U.S. Constitution that would soon become the ultimate directive for both Federal and State Governments. Since its birth it has been revised, amended, and ratified in order to solidify the allocation of power between the separate branches of government. Although this may be the case, distribution of the powers has been disputed ever since the formation of the Constitution. These political, legal, and quasi-legal constitutional disputes triggered civil unrest and led to explicit acts of opposition involving nullification and

After the Revolutionary war the United States was at a cross-roads. The American Constitution had been written, and the Federalists were attempting to ratify the Constitution throughout the thirteen States(Bloom, "The Constitution of the United States: Questions and Answers") Those who stood against ratifying the Constitution were known as Anti-Federalists. Whether or not to ratify the constitution was a large manner of debate for many well educated men. George Mason, a Virginian public servant spearheaded the Anti-Federalist movement.(USHISTORY.COM "George Mason"). Mason found several major flaws within the constitution including; The lack of a bill of rights, The fact there was far too much power consolidated within the federal government,

Deeming James Madison as the “Father of the Constitution” takes away worth from all the other delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Although he did pave the way for the formation of the constitution and the convention itself, our constitution would not be the same without the ideas and morals of George Mason. Before the Constitutional Convention of 1787, George Mason’s previous political experiences through being a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses as well as authoring the Virginia Declaration of Rights and Virginia Bill of Rights, granted a starting ground to shape the constitution in containing its own Bill of Rights that gave more individual power rather than federal power. George Mason gathered influence

According to Scott (2008), the Constitution of America has undergone several translations within the history of America because they found it to be unclear. Whereas it appears discrepant that the unclear Constitution could be useful, the disagreement is the case (Robertson, 2005). Americans regard the Constitution to be helpful for the reason that it allows for diverseness of views. In the history of America, a variety of thoughts would develop with alarming and formidable support through various factions (Robertson, 2005). Today, the main political arguments are presented from the Republican group or Democratic group. During the early periods of the American government, arguments on politics were made by Thomas Jefferson

James Madison is most widely known as the father of the Constitution. It is a title “deeply deserved on many accounts” (Wills 37). Although his many achievements at times are overshadowed by his work on the Constitution, Madison’s life reflects a legislative talent (Wills 3). Through his interest in politics, he was able to shape the forming nation. Education, illness, and religion dominated the beginning of James Madison’s life; the experiences enabled Madison to write the Constitution as well as a number of influential essays in response to his views on the incompetent confederacy. Madison challenged the ideas of the Anti-federalists through his strong arguments and rhetoric,

“Don’t wait around for your life to happen to you. Find something that makes you happy, and do it because everything else is all just background noise.” George Mason often spoke powerful words and made decisions that would go on to affect one of the government’s most powerful documents. Being delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Mason’s refusal to sign the Constitution would only be the start of his impacts and contributions to the United States.