| The Oldest Written National Framework of Government | The U.S. Constitution
has the oldest written national framework of
government in the world. At the end of the 20th century, there were
about 159 other national constitutions in the world, and 101 had been
adopted since 1970. While the United States has been governed by a
single framework of government for over two centuries, France, in
contrast, has had 10 separate and distinct constitutional orders
(including five republics, two empires, a monarchy, and two
dictatorships). The country of El Salvador has had 36 constitutions
since 1824. Nearly all of the national constitutions now in use bear the marks of the 55 men who met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to create the framework of the United States government. Like the U.S. constitution, they are written constitution. They also spell out human and civil rights similar to those contained in the U.S. document. A bill of Rights is particularly common. The principles of American constitutionalism--the separation of powers, the bill of rights, a bicameral legislature, and a presidential form of government--were followed by many nations. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 created a governmental framework that has not only lasted two centuries but has served as a model for freedom-loving people all over the world. In almost every way imaginable, the United States has been radically transformed over the past two centuries. Its population has soared from just 4 million to nearly 300 million. The federal budget has risen from $4 million in 1790 to over $1 trillion today. Yet the basic framework of government has remained unchanged. |
| Was the Constitutional Convention legal? | Benjamin Rush declared
that the Revolution was not complete until
America's institutions were transformed in accordance with the premises
of liberty. The Revolution was not completed until the framers had
drafted the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation required that Congress propose any amendments and that these changes be adopted unanimously. In September 1786, 12 delegates from five states met in Annapolis, Md., and issued a call for a second convention to be held in Philadelphia in May 1787, to consider changes that "may be necessary to their common interest and their permanent harmony." Madison and his allies persuaded Congress, after months of inaction, to endorse the Constitutional Convention, though the members imposed severe restrictions on the convention's mandate. On February 21, 1787, the Confederation Congress passed a resolution calling for a convention to discuss "revisions" and "alterations" of the Union. Madison also convinced Edmund Randolph, the governor of Virginia, to correspond with other governors and legislatures to persuade them to attend the convention. At the head of the list of delegates from Virginia, Madison and Randolph placed the name of George Washington, without consulting the general. On the question of the legality of the Convention, Washington would say this: "The legality of this Convention I do not mean to discuss.... That powers are wanting, none can deny.... That which takes the shortest course to obtain them, will, in my opinion, under present circumstances, be found best. Otherwise, like a house on fire, whilst the most regular mode of extinguishing it is contended for, the building is reduced to ashes." |
| The Delegates | From Paris, where he
held a diplomatic post, Thomas Jefferson described
the delegated who convened in Philadelphia to draft the U.S.
Constitution an "assembly of demigods." Yet the Constitution was not handed down from on high. It was the product of the painstaking, halting and often argumentative application of intelligence and experience to problems of governance. The new Constitution was the product of four months of secret negotiations and dozens of compromises. The framers of the Constitution were all white males. Most were wealthy but not all had started out that way. There were the sons of cobblers, clothiers, blacksmiths, and farmers as we as the sons of wealthy planters. One was Roman Catholic. 30 had participated in the drafting of state constitutions. 32 were lawyers, though few had attended law schools. Two were college presidents, five were planters, eight were merchants or traders, and three were physicians. About 25 owned slaves. Six had served or were serving as governors. Of the 55 delegates; two became president; one became vice president; four served in the cabinet; 14 became senators and five became representatives. The average age of the delegates was 43. The oldest delegate was Franklin, 81; the youngest, Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey, 26. James Madison was 36 and Alexander Hamilton just 32. A third had fought in the Revolution. Eight had signed the Declaration of Independence and six had signed the Articles of Confederation. 44 of the 55 had served in the Continental Congress or in the weak Congress established under the Articles of Confederation. Most of the delegates were highly educated men, who were fluent in Latin and Greek and knowledgeable about history and philosophy. Washington was embarrassed because he had only five years of formal schooling. But the delegates were also highly practical politicians who knew how to maneuver. Those who opposed the idea of a stronger central government, such as Virginia's Patrick Henry, who said he "smelt a rat," mostly stayed away. Most of the delegates took a skeptical, realistic view of human nature. They considered self-interest and the lust for power universal human characteristics, which could be controlled but not eliminated. They believed that even good people in government cannot be trusted with unchecked power and that governmental authority must be hedged with structured limitations. They saw society as permanently conflict-riven. The framers of the Constitution had a profound respect for history. In contrast to Jefferson, they looked to history and experience as a guide, not to reason or nature. They combed history for lessons about the rise and fall of great nations. They were especially interested in the history of the early Greek and Roman republics. Looking at history, they were convinced that a loose confederation would inevitably become weaker and would degenerate into monarchy or tyranny. Weak confederations tended to emphasize the differences among their constituent units and minimize their similarities and common interests. |
| Philadelphia in 1787 | The Constitutional
Convention took place in the nation's largest and
most diverse city. Philadelphia in 1787 had about 40,000 inhabitants.
On its streets could be found wealthy Quaker merchants, German-speaking
farmers, African American slaves, and Delaware Indians. Piles of rotten
garbage and abandoned animal carcasses also lay in the streets. Five percent of Philadelphia's citizens owned half its taxable wealth. The city government was a closed corporation whose members chose their own replacements. Meanwhile, more than half of Philadelphia's population existed on the edge of poverty. Prostitution and disease were widespread. Many streets were open sewers. Servants spent their evenings in the taverns of a rough waterfront district called Helltown. Across Walnut Street from Independence Hall (then called the Pennsylvania State House), was a four story prison. Prisoners called out for alms and cursed passers-by who failed to oblige. |
| Source: Digital History, "The
U. S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights" |
© Kahne Parsons 2008-09