Creating and Ratifying the Constitution

The Constitutional Convention of 1787

By 1786 the government under the Articles of Confederation was failing. Congress could not tax and could not regulate trade among the states, and amendments required unanimous consent. Shays' Rebellion (1786–87), an armed uprising of indebted Massachusetts farmers, alarmed national leaders. The Annapolis Convention of 1786 called for a broader meeting, and Congress endorsed a convention "for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation."

From May 25 to September 17, 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia's State House, now Independence Hall. Twelve states sent delegates; Rhode Island refused. George Washington presided. James Madison took detailed notes and is called the "Father of the Constitution." Other leading figures included Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris (who drafted the final wording, including the Preamble), James Wilson, and Roger Sherman. The sessions were secret so delegates could debate freely. The delegates quickly decided to write an entirely new framework instead of revising the Articles.

On September 17, 1787, 39 delegates signed the Constitution. That date is now Constitution Day. Some delegates refused to sign, including George Mason of Virginia, partly because the document had no bill of rights.

The Great Compromise and Other Compromises

The compromises show the Framers balancing large and small states, North and South, and national and state power. The slavery compromises reflected the moral failure of the founding era. The nation would not resolve them until the Civil War and the Reconstruction Amendments.

The Federalists

Federalists supported ratification of the Constitution. Leaders included Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and John Marshall. They were often strongest in cities, among merchants and creditors, and in states that wanted protection and trade.

Their arguments

• The Articles had failed. The nation needed a government that could tax, regulate commerce, pay debts, and defend itself.
• The Constitution protected liberty through its structure: separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism.
• A large republic would control factions better than small ones (Federalist No. 10).
• A bill of rights was unnecessary and possibly dangerous. The national government had only enumerated powers, and listing some rights might imply that others were unprotected (Federalist No. 84).

Their most famous writing is The Federalist, 85 essays published in New York newspapers in 1787–88 under the pen name "Publius."

The Anti-Federalists

Anti-Federalists opposed ratification of the Constitution as written. Leaders included Patrick Henry ("I smell a rat," he reportedly said of the Convention, which he declined to attend), George Mason, Richard Henry Lee, George Clinton, and Samuel Adams, who at first had doubts. Anti-Federalists were often strongest among small farmers and in rural areas.

Their arguments

• The national government would be too powerful and would swallow the states. They pointed to the Necessary and Proper Clause, the Supremacy Clause, and the taxing power.
• There was no bill of rights to protect individual liberties.
• A republic could not survive over so large a territory. Representatives would be too few and too distant from the people. See Brutus No. 1.
• The president might become a king, and the Senate an aristocracy. Federal courts would override state courts.

Their writings appeared under pen names such as "Brutus," "Cato," and "the Federal Farmer."

The Ratification Fight and the Bill of Rights as Its Price

Under Article VII, nine state conventions had to ratify. Delaware went first, unanimously, on December 7, 1787. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut followed quickly. Massachusetts ratified narrowly in February 1788 after Federalists agreed to recommend amendments. That "Massachusetts compromise" became the model for other states. New Hampshire became the ninth state on June 21, 1788, making the Constitution official. Virginia (June 1788) and New York (July 1788) ratified after hard fights; Madison and Hamilton led the Federalists in each. North Carolina ratified in 1789 and Rhode Island in 1790, after the new government had begun.

Madison kept the promise. In the First Congress (1789) he proposed amendments that became the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791. It is often called "the price of ratification." Anti-Federalists lost the ratification battle but won a lasting protection of individual liberty. Their concern for states' rights also lives on in the Tenth Amendment.

The debate also shaped the first political parties. Hamilton's Federalists favored a strong national government. Jefferson's and Madison's Democratic-Republicans favored a more limited one.