Background (College Board AP® US History)

Timeline

Summary

Most Americans agreed that the United States needed a stronger federal government than the one created by the Articles of Confederation. Representatives from 12 of the 13 states met in the summer of 1787 to talk about how they could amend the existing articles or create a new constitution. The Constitutional Convention was closed to the public as representatives collaborated, negotiated, and compromised with one another to create a democracy that had the power to support itself while also protecting the rights of its citizens.

How Did the Constitutional Convention Work?

• Alexander Hamilton and James Madison led the efforts to change the Articles of Confederation

• The Constitutional Convention began in May 1787 in Philadelphia. It lasted all summer

• There were 55 delegates who represented 12 states

  • Rhode Island chose not to attend

  • Indigenous peoples, African Americans, and women were not represented

  • George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were both present

    • They were both well-respected throughout the United States, so the public trusted the proceedings

• Each state had one vote per question

• Decisions were made by majority vote

The Virginia and New Jersey Plans

• Two plans for a central government were proposed

  • Larger states liked the Virginia Plan, which apportioned membership in the bicameral legislature by a state’s population

  • Smaller states liked the New Jersey Plan, which had a single-house legislature in which each state had equal representation

• The delegates voted to work toward a new constitution based on the Virginia Plan

• Roger Sherman proposed the Great Compromise

  • The upper house of the legislature (Senate) would have two representatives from each state

  • Representation in the lower house (House of Representatives) would vary based on a state’s population

  • Every five enslaved people counted as three members of a state’s population