Encyclopedia > United States Constitutional Convention
The Philadelphia Convention—also known as the Constitutional Convention—took place in May through September, 1787, to address problems in the government of the United States of America following independence from Britain. Although it was purportedly intended only to revise the Articles of Confederation, the intention of many of the Convention's proponents, chief among them James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, was from the outset to create a new government rather than "fix" the existing one. The result of the Convention was the United States Constitution. The convention is considered one of the founding events in the history of the United States. 1787 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly known as the Articles of Conformoration, formed the first governing document of the United States of America. ... James Madison (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was the fourth (1809–1817) President of the United States. ... A portrait of Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull, 1792. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme... // Pre-Columbian America Main article: Population history of American indigenous peoples. ...
For details, see History of the United States Constitution.. This article discusses the history of the United States Constitution. ...
The UnitedStatesConstitution and the Bill of Rights are some of the most remarkable documents every created; however, these documents, the rights they protect and the manner in which they are crafted, are not unique to the US.
The drafters of the Constitution were not against a bill of rights; however, as they were drafting a document that would allow only certain enumerated rights to the central government, they simply didn’t see the need for guaranteed rights to be set out in the document.
As part of the original Constitution, as it was envisioned to be a fluid document, that is, one that could, from time to time be amended, in fact, the drafters of the Constitution expressly included a provision in the Constitution allowing for amendments.
The second method prescribed is for a ConstitutionalConvention to be called by two-thirds of the legislatures of the States, and for that Convention to propose one or more amendments.
Another example is the political process that has evolved in the UnitedStates: political parties, and their trappings (such as primaries and conventions) are not mentioned or contemplated in the Constitution, but they are fundamental to our political system.
For example, before the Privacy Cases, it was perfectly constitutional for a state to forbid married couples from using contraception; for a state to forbid fls and whites to marry; to abolish abortion.
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