September 17th is the anniversary of the U.S. Constitution, which was approved by the delegates to the Constittuional Convention on September 17, 1787. While all of us are aware of the U.S. Constitution, many of us are not aware of the fierce and bitter fight between the delegates that almost lead to the failure of the convention.
Here is a quick view of the history of the Constitution:
The 13 colonies united to free themselves from the rule of England.
The war was won, the common enemy defeated. Now the 13 colonies turned to battle with each other over the design of the new government.
The states were very different from eachother in terms of their economies and their social interests, yet they held three core principles in common:
-
To create a successful government, they needed each other
-
The fear of a powerful central government
-
The belief that each state and all of the people have a voice in the central government
The Formal Discussion Begins…
The Convention was called to order by Robert Morris, the financier of the revolution, on May 25, 1787, but some of the delegates didn’t arrive until August 6th.
Fierce and bitter battles arose between different factions at the Convention:
-
Large versus small states battled over representation in the congress
-
Manufacturing versus agricultural states battled over the role of the new government in regulating commerce and taxation
-
Northern versus Southern states battled over slavery
Even George Washington, who was unanimously elected President of the Convention, almost decided not to attend.
After the delegates approved the Constitution, the battle to define the new government was not yet over. A bigger challenge than reaching agreement at the Constitutional Convention now had to be faced; namely, the ratification of the Constitution by nine of the 13 states. Madison helped set the stage for victory by getting the delegates to agree that ratification in each state would be by a convention of the people not by members of the state government.
If you would like to know a little bit more, click on the link below and you will find a short and unscholarly summary of the history of the U.S. Constitution. Many books have been written about this subject, some with over 900 pages, mine is not an attempt to compete with great scholars, but rather to provide a brief, headline version of the difficult times our Founding Fathers faced in the crafting of our Constitution. I hope you enjoy it and learn at least one new piece of information—Happy Constitution Day!
DOWNLOAD MORE ON THE HISTORY OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION: