US Constitution
The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in May 1787 for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. Almost immediately, delegates unanimously agreed on the need to replace the Articles with a new document that created a stronger central government. However, the delegates could agree on little else after that. The crafting of the U.S. Constitution highlighted the intense conflicts that existed in 1787 between states large and small, between north and south, and between a variety of different political philosophies. But rather than defeating the process, the conflicts between delegates resulted in compromises that strengthened and improved the document. The process of compromise exhibited by the delegates was in many ways reflected in the flexibility the document allowed for continuous political debate, compromise, and adaptation. The delegates based their initial design of government on political theories and their own experience with government under the Articles. The rest of the issues presented themselves in the form of debates over representation, the enumeration of slaves, the control of commerce, the protection of individual rights, and the amount of power granted to the people.
However, slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation and taxation, and the slave trade would be legal until the year 1808. In fact, the Civil War resulted from disagreements between North and South on the issue of slavery, commerce, and the equitable control of Congressional power. Upon promising to include a Bill of Rights as the first ten amendments to the Constitution, however, the requisite nine of thirteen states complied, and the document went into effect in 1789. Because the delegates fully understood that drafting a perfect political system was impossible, they did what they could to reach compromises on the most divisive issues, and to provide the kind of flexibility that would allow for a constantly evolving, more perfect, government over time. On the issue of how much power is safely held by the people, the delegates acted conservatively to place many checks on the influence of the masses on the national government. Amendments to the Constitution revised the method of election of senators, the president, and the vice president to place the power closer to the people. Having overcome the hurdle of representation, the Convention turned its attention to reaching compromise on the other divisive issues, and to drafting the final document. The omission of the list perhaps resulted from a sense of expediency to get the new government in motion. The concept of a strong central government comprised of three branches empowered to check each other came from the French philosopher Montesquieu. On the issue of slavery, no mention was made about the legality of holding slaves. The checks on the power of the people also came under political attack over time. This also appeased southern plantation owners worried about the commercial power of the North. With the exception of the manner of electing representatives to the legislature, Madison's original plan of government almost completely resembles the final document. On the issue of commerce, Congress gained the authority to tax and regulate all trade except exports.
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Acceptance Essays
