The Constitutional Convention of 1787.docx

1、The Constitutional Convention of 1787The Constitutional Convention of 1787The road from independence to a constitutional government03 April 2008The Constitution of the United States (1787) helped create modern democracies worldwide. (National Archives and Records Administration)(The following articl

2、e by A.E. Dick Howard is taken from the U.S. Department of State publication, Historians on America.)The Constitutional Convention of 1787By A.E. Dick HowardOn May 15, 1776, the convention meeting in Williamsburg and acting as Virginias de facto governing body instructed that colonys delegates at th

3、e continental congress in Philadelphia to introduce a resolution declaring the United Colonies free and independent states. That Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, adopted by the Continental Congress soon thereafter on July 4, set the former colonies on an irrevocable course that create

4、d the United States of America. But the creation of the United States of America did not occur all at once. Eleven years later, another group of delegates journeyed to Philadelphia to write a constitution for the new nation, a constitution that still defines its law and character.The road from indep

5、endence to constitutional government was one of the great journeys in the history of democratic government, a road characterized by experiment, by mistakes, but ultimately producing surely the most influential national constitution ever written. Even before the break with Great Britain, the American

6、 colonies saw to the nurturing of their future constitutional culture. The lower houses of the colonial assemblies were the most democratic bodies in the English-speaking world, and dialogue with the mother country sharpened the Americans sense of constitutional issues. For a decade before the outbr

7、eak of revolution, disputes over taxes, trials without juries, and other points of contention led to an outpouring of pamphlets, tracts, and resolutions all making essentially a constitutional case against British policy.Declaring independence, the founders of American democracy understood, entailed

8、 establishing the intellectual basis for self-government. On the same day that the Williamsburg convention spoke for independence, the delegates set to work on a declaration of rights and on a constitution for Virginia. Virginias 1776 Declaration of Rights was soon emulated in other states and even

9、influenced Frances Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789). The early American state constitutions every state adopted one varied in their specifics (for example, some created a unicameral legislature, others opted for bicameralism). But they shared a basic commitment to republican p

10、rinciples, principles that then seemed truly revolutionary in most parts of the world consent of the governed, limited government, inherent rights, and popular control of government.These early experiments in republican government carried significant flaws. Recalling their experience as North Americ

11、an colonists with British royal power (including colonial governors and courts), drafters of the initial state constitutions reposed excessive trust in legislatures. Checks and balances among branches of government were more theory than reality. Governors were typically elected by (and thus dependen

12、t on) the legislative branches, and judicial power was as yet largely embryonic. Another flaw in the original design was that constitutions were drafted by bodies that also served as legislative bodies, thus blurring the line between fundamental law and ordinary law. However, in 1780 Massachusetts t

13、ook a great step forward in constitutional design when its people elected a convention to write a constitution which, in turn, was voted on in referendum.The Articles of ConfederationEven more daunting than adopting state constitutions was the framing of a government for the United States. When Grea

14、t Britain finally concluded a peace treaty in 1783, letting the American colonies go, the nation was composed of 13 state governments. Early nationalist sentiments soon collided with parochial interests, with suspicions of how central power might be used to the disadvantage of individual states. Dra

15、fting of a structure to link the states had begun in 1776, but it was 1778 before the Articles of Confederation were adopted and 1781 before all the states had agreed to that document. Distrust of central power was manifest in Article II, which declared, Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom,

16、and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.The Articles created a central government that proved feeble and ineffective. In Congress, each state, regardless of population, had an equal

17、 vote. The state legislatures were allowed to decide how delegates to Congress were to be appointed, and a state could recall and replace its representatives at any time for whatever reason it chose. Congress lacked the powers essential to accomplishing national policies. It had no taxing power, hav

18、ing to rely instead on the states willingness to provide funds and the states often proved unwilling. The vote of nine of the 13 states was required for Congress to exercise its powers, such as making treaties or borrowing money. Amendments to the Articles required the assent of all the states, givi

19、ng every state a liberum veto, that is, sufficient veto power to paralyze democratic process. Tiny Rhode Island could thus thwart the will of the other 12 states as it did in vetoing a proposal to give Congress the power to levy duties on imports.In particular, commercial rivalries spawned trade dis

20、crimination among the states. Landlocked states found themselves at a notable disadvantage, dependent upon states with good seaports. James Madison likened New Jersey, situated between New York and Philadelphia, to a cask tapped at both ends, and North Carolina, between the deep harbors of Hampton R

21、oads and Charleston, to a patient bleeding at both arms. The feebleness of the central government was further highlighted by the lack of executive or judicial power to deal with domestic disorder. For example, beginning in 1786, during a period of economic depression, mobs of impoverished farmers in

22、 western Massachusetts prevented the courts from functioning and ordering foreclosures. Daniel Shays, a farmer and former revolutionary officer, led a force attempting to seize the arsenal at Springfield but was repulsed. In general, perhaps no flaw in the Articles was as glaring as the inability of

23、 the central government to act directly upon individuals, rather than hope for the states to act.In 1785, Virginia and Maryland appointed commissioners to settle disputes over uses of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers. These delegates then called for the states to be invited to discuss whe

24、ther a more uniform system of trade regulation might be in their common interest. Congress responded by calling a meeting at Annapolis in 1786. Only five states attended that meeting, and its members recommended that there should be a constitutional convention in Philadelphia to consider what should

25、 be done to render the constitution of the federal government adequate to the exigencies of the Union. . Virginia took the lead in appointing a delegation, and other states followed suit, forcing Congresss hand. Finally, in February 1787, Congress endorsed the calling of a convention. Significantly,

26、 however, Congresss resolution said that the convention should assemble for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation and reporting to Congress revisions which would become effective only when agreed to in Congress and confirmed by the states.James Madison and the Virgin

27、ia PlanIn spite of the innate conservatism of the states, however, once assembled, the convention proved decisive. A remarkable group of 55 men assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787. Their grasp of issues had been honed by wide experience in public life over half had served in Congress, seven had be

28、en state governors, and a number had been involved in writing state constitutions. George Washington, the general from Virginia who had led the war against the British, brought special prestige to the gathering when he agreed to serve as its presiding officer. Other notables included Alexander Hamil

29、ton (New York), Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania), and James Wilson (Pennsylvania). Perhaps the most conspicuous absence was Thomas Jefferson, who had drafted the Declaration of Independence but who was now serving as the United States minister to Paris.It soon became apparent that the most important

30、 and respected voice at the convention was that of James Madison, of Virginia. Active in Virginia politics, Madison had acquired a national reputation as a member of the Continental Congress, where he was instrumental in bringing about Virginias cession of its claim to western territories, creating

31、a national domain. Madison became increasingly convinced that the liberty of Americans depended on the Unions being sufficiently strong to defend them from foreign predators and, at home, to offset the excesses of popular government in the individual states. No one came to Philadelphia better prepar

32、ed. He had taken the lead in seeing that the nations best talent was at the convention. Moreover, in the weeks before the meeting, he had read deeply in the experiences of ancient and modern confederacies and had written a memorandum on the Vices of the Political System of the United States. First t

33、o arrive in Philadelphia, Madison persuaded Virginias delegation to propose a plan which, far from simply revising the Articles, would replace them with a national government of sweeping powers. Deriving its authority from the people, Congress would have the power to legislate in all cases to which the sepa