The constitutional convention was a turning point in the history of the United States of America. It took place in Philadelphia in 1787 and the point was to push for a Constitution instead of the Articles of Confederation. There are many factors that lead up to the constitutional conventions, but the incident called Shay's Rebellion if possibly the straw that broke the camel's back.
Ever since the United States broke from England and decided to govern themselves, there were debates and conversations on how this country should be lead. Many people, Anti-federalists, were for the Articles of Confederation, which decentralized the government and put most of the power in the hands of the states. Others, federalist, were in favor of a Constitution, which would create a centralized government in which a federal government had supremacy over individual state governments. For years, these two groups have debated over the two systems, but for the most part, the Anti-federalists almost always won. That is, until Shay's Rebellion.
Shay's Rebellion took place so that the farmers could show the government that they did not want them to foreclose on their land. They rioted and kept the county courts from making decisions until the elections of the new leaders. This rebellion struck fear in many Americans and showed the state governments are unable to handle such a crisis with their militiamen. If the congress could have acted under the new constitution, this would not have been such a major deal (Lowi, p39).
This rebellion, much like the Boston Tea Party, was an event that got people to think about their government and what is it actually doing for you? This event gave Federalists the fuel to go into the constitutional convention and prove to the nation that the Articles have too many flaws and that the new constitution is the best way to run this country. This plan worked, and the delegates in Philadelphia soon got to work on a second system of government that would later become our Constitution.
Late in May 1787, George Washington welcomed delegates from twelve of the thirteen states to the Constitutional Convention. ... At the Constitutional Convention, the delegates of the states were faced with many disputes and solved them by the giving and taking of practical compromise. ...
The Constitutional Convention gathered in Independence Hall on May 25, 1787. ... The Great Compromise was the turning point of the Convention. ... This essay investigated two essays which addressed the Constitutional Convention with a focus on the Great Compromise. ... Because of this Banning gives a very good summary of the Constitutional Convention and should be read by those who have only a basic understanding of the Convention. To those who have studied the Constitutional Convention before this article is superfluous because it does not add anything to our historical knowledge, but inst...
The workings of the Constitutional convention and the ratification debate can be argued both ways: Power Elite, because the delegate members were of the upper class, wanting a central government with real power, and Pluralist, because of the compromises made when amending the Articles of Confederation and also when working to ratify the Constitution. ... The states involved in the convention were groups, or rather subunits of a nation, which interacted and discussed their interests in order to create the constitution. ...
During the Constitutional Convention, delegates agreed on created fundamental changes but conflicting interests of the states led to compromises which when presented to the states, a Federalist-Antifederalist battle for ratification ensued. ... In response, the delegates of the Constitutional Convention synthesized the Great Compromise in which there is a bicameral Congress. ... The federalists believed in a strong central government and supported the Constitution while the antifederalists saw it as a ploy by the rich, who interestingly were the delegates that compromised of the Constitutiona...
Britain's unwritten constitution and its disaggregated system of laws, conventions and principles have tended to obscure the definition of the function and powers of the institutions of the state. ... In theory the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) now plays that role but to what extent it will serve as an effective check and balance remains to be seen. ... The US and the British constitutional models diverge on two main points. ... (4) Constitutional Pressures An incredible fusion of constitutional pressures emerged throughout the 1980s and...
There were three main proposals at the constitution convention in 1787: The Virginia Plan, The New Jersey Plan and the Connecticut Compromise. ... If present at the time of the constitutional convention I would have voted the slaves not be counted at all because at the time they were considered property and not people and would not help my state New Jersey because of its smaller population. ...
Slavery and the Constitutional Convention One aspect of life that was so commonly overlooked in the 1700's was the issue of slavery. ... Slavery was discussed in the Convention but it was coming up with an agreement that was going to take time. Time the Convention didn't have. ...
Success within a constitutional convention is acquired through compromise, yet, at the same time through being able to stand firm in one's beliefs. ... Varying interests, wants, and needs can be problematic in the decision making process of a constitutional convention. ... It is a hardship to form a successful government from a constitutional convention when there are more forces pulling the country apart instead of uniting it. ...
This is possible, but not probable in the near future because it requires calling a constitutional convention, then agreeing upon a set of terms to define in the new constitution. ... Having another Constitutional Convention to address problems with the current Texas Constitution has been discussed. It is necessary to have a Constitutional Convention to revise the Texas Constitution because the constitution currently makes it difficult to effectively govern the state (Casey). In 1974, a Constitutional Convention was held and a new constitution was proposed by legislature (Casey). ... It is tim...