Revolutions Ideals
Four Months Save The Nation
PHILADELPHIA- Eleven days behind
schedule, 29 men assemble in the east
room of The Pennsylvania State House
to rescue America. When they finish
their work 4 months later the United
States will have a new Constitution. The
great experiment begun on July 4, 1776
will have new life.
The date is May 25, 1787, a cool
soggy Friday. The United States has
won its independence from England on
the battlefield but its chances of survival
are not good.
Under the Articles of Confederation,
ratified in 1781, the states are not united.
They are more like a league of small
nations than one country. There is no
national tax, no national currency, no
national army.A small rebellion of
Massachusetts farmers, led by Daniel
Shays closes local courts.
The United States is getting little
respect. Great Britain is still on the
American Frontier, Spain is claiming
land in the south and pirates are stealing
from American ships. The Government
needs to be fixed.
The delegates that arrive in
Philadelphia for the FEDERAL
Convention are the best leaders in the
country. Eventually 55 delegates will
attend from every state but Rhode
Island. The meetings will take place in
the small red bricked house on Chestnut
Street, later to be called Independence
Hall.
Throughout the hot summer they
debate and argue to form a new
government. The most important of the
delegates is George Washington-
now 55 years old. His presence gives
the convention credibility. Also
attending will be Ben Franklin. He is
the oldest delegate and will miss the first
day due to gout. He will show when the
weather improves carried by prisoners
from the jail on Walnut Street.
The small James Madison, 36, from
Virginia is known as the “Father of the
Constitution. Madison prepares for the
convention and realizes the weaknesses
of the Articles of Confederation.
Madison forms a new plan of
government – with three branches- the
legislative, executive, and judicial.
When the convention is set to begin
few delegates are in attendance. Virginia
and Pennsylvania are the only two states
on time. The lateness of the other states
irritates Washington. The Virginians use
the extra time to plan. They also build
friendships with the Pennsylvania
delegates at a party hosted by Ben
Franklin.
On May 25 there are finally enough
delegates to begin the convention.
Shortly after the start, George
Washington is selected to preside over
the convention. He reluctantly accepts.
Madison, whose notes will one day
be the most important sources of
information about the convention finds a
table near Washington’s desk to better
record the meetings. From May 25 to
September 17 he will have a lot to write.
The meetings are about to begin in
earnest with Madison and his fellow
Virginians presenting their plan for
government.