History of The Constitution of the United States: 239 Years Ago

Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Image: Wikimedia Commons

HISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial

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On September 17, 1787, the US Constitution was created. Though it would take until:

• June 21, 1788, to be ratified, and until
• March 4, 1789, to be effective.

In a very real sense, it was the founding document of the United States of America’s system of government. Even more than the Declaration of Independence – which was more of a “bill of divorcement” from England – the Constitution described how the United States would operate as a nation.

Purpose of the Constitution

The Philadelphia Convention, later known as the Constitutional Convention, was convened ostensibly to amend the Articles of Confederation, which had been in effect between 1781 and 1789. But that effort was not realistic. Alexander Hamilton had called these Articles “imbecilic.” The Articles gave little power to the central government and were too weak to regulate conflicts between the states.

The Confederation Congress could make decisions but lacked enforcement powers; it could print money, but the money was worthless, and taxation by the states to support the federal government was inconsistent. States could make their own trade agreements with other countries. It was America’s experiment with a limited democracy, but it was deemed unsatisfactory. Instead, the Constitution empowered a representative republic.

Rather than “fix” the Articles, delegates decided to create a new government at the Convention held at the Pennsylvania State House. Revolutionary War General George Washington of Virginia was elected president of the Convention. Foreshadowing?

Creation of the Constitution

Independence Hall, Philadelphia. Image: Library of Congress

Though the document was developed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by 55 delegates to a Constitutional Convention, the creation was not without contention.

On one side, the Federalists, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, writing under the pseudonym Publius, wrote the Federalist Papers, primarily to support the adoption of the Constitution in places like New York, where Anti-Federalists held sway. These Federalist Papers have frequently served as a commentary or interpretation of the Constitution.

Federalists, including George Washington, argued for a strong central government. On the other side, Anti-Federalists such as Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and later Thomas Jefferson feared the document would lead to the suppression of state and individual rights. Major states like Virginia would sign only if there was the inclusion of a “Bill of Rights.”

Signing of the Constitution, by Howard Chandler Christy – The Indian Reporter, Public Domain. Image: Wikipedia

After almost four months of deliberation, the United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, when 39 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention endorsed the document drafted during the convention. Nevertheless, the Convention’s records were phrased to make the vote appear unanimous with the formula:

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present

Preamble to the Constitution

The first line of the document states its source, purpose, and goal:

We the People of the United States, in Order to

form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice,
insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defence,
promote the general Welfare, and
secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity

do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

This was unique: it was establishing a “Constitutional Presidential Republic,” unlike other such Constitutions.

Elihu Vedder‘s 1896 mural Government, inscribed with Lincoln’s famed phrase, “government of the people, by the people, for the people”, now housed in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Image: Wikipedia

It did not recognize a king but found its source, as Abraham Lincoln would say three-quarters of a century later in his Gettysburg Address:

“government of the people, by the people, for the people…”

Unlike England’s government, the US was to have a system of “checks and balances,” comprising three branches of the federal government with separate powers: the Executive (the Presidency), the Legislative (Congress), and the Judicial (the Supreme Court).

Similar to the bicameral Parliament, the Framers knew from England, with its House of Lords and House of Commons, that the United States was to have a Senate and a House of Representatives. But how this was arrived at was a matter of compromise.

• James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution,” proposed the “Virginia Plan,” or large-state plan, calling for a legislature based on population quotas: the larger the state, the more representatives it would have in Congress.

• William Paterson proposed the “New Jersey Plan,” which favored the smaller states by giving each state an equal number of legislators in a single house.

• Roger Sherman, one of the “Committee of Five” who compiled the Declaration of Independence, proposed the “Great Compromise Proposal,” which broke the loggerhead: the Senate would be based on an equal number of state representatives. In contrast, the House of Representatives would be based on the population ratio.

Amendments to the Constitution

While the original Constitution contained 7 Articles between the Preamble and the closing endorsement with date, location, and signatures, it provided for amendments in Article V. Without changing the original text, most successful amendments could take anywhere from 100 days to almost four years to be ratified.

Trivia: the 27th Amendment took almost 203 years before the states ratified it. Proposed by the 1st Congress in 1789 and passed in 1992, it prevents members of Congress from granting themselves pay raises during the current session. Instead, any raises that are adopted must take effect during the next session of Congress.

The first ten amendments, collectively known as the “Bill of Rights” or supplements to the original Constitution, were hotly debated between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Addressing the Anti-Federalists’ objections about governmental overreach, George Mason of Virginia proposed adding a Bill of Rights to guarantee personal freedoms and rights.

13 US States in 1789. Image: Wikipedia

In a little-known footnote, Virginia required the Bill of Rights before signing the Constitution, in part because, by this time, the majority of the state was no longer Anglican, meaning they were no longer adherents of the Church of England. John Leland, a Baptist leader who knew both Jefferson and Patrick Henry well, spearheaded an effort for the promise of religious tolerance. Henry had expressed opposition to the Constitution because the document “squinted toward monarchy” and guaranteed no religious liberty. Leland’s support was instrumental in Madison’s election to the First Congress, reportedly secured by Madison’s promise to push for a Bill of Rights protecting religious liberty. 

The Bill of Rights was passed by Congress on September 25, 1789. It was then passed to the states for ratification. The Bill of Rights started with the First Amendment, which stated:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

Along with the other nine amendments, they would limit the government’s authority in judicial proceedings and, more importantly, assert that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government were reserved to the states or the people. The debate raged between 1787 and 1788.

Of course, Alexander Hamilton opposed these amendments. Though Madison initially opposed including a Bill of Rights in the Constitution, he gradually came to understand its importance during the often contentious ratification debates. Thomas Jefferson, writing to Madison from France, said:

“Half a loaf is better than no bread. If we cannot secure all our rights, let us secure what we can.”

Most states finally ratified the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. Only Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Georgia declined, the first two embracing religious limitations into the 1800s and supporting the Congregational church as the established church in those two states. All three formally ratified in 1939, the Constitution’s sesquicentennial.

Following the final nationwide religious disestablishment at the state level in 1833, a free-market ecclesiastical society emerged with no governmental support for one variety over another.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com

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