The Philadelphia Convention

The 1787 Constitutional Convention

Citizens and Government

The Philadelphia Convention

• The Constitutional Convention began in the early summer of 1787. The doors to Philadelphia's State House, where the Constitutional Convention was held, were always guarded. Only the official delegates to the constitution were allowed inside.

• Each delegate at the Convention had agreed ahead of time not to discuss business with outsiders. They knew they were facing difficult decisions. The delegates wanted to meet in private to settle their differences and form their ideas for the new government

• They did not want the public to be allowed to judge their ideas until they were finished.

• Although official records of the Convention proceedings were kept, James Madison kept his own notes. The notes were kept secret until after his death in 1836. From his notes, we know much about the Convention.

Although the delegates represented different parts of the country with different interests, they did agree on the following issues:

*The Articles of Confederation could not be revised to solve all of the problems.

*The country needed a strong central government.

*The power of the government must rest with the voters who would elect representatives to run the government.

*The powers of government needed to be separated.

*The new government must be able to tax, raise an army, and regulate trade.

*The new government must be able to tax, raise an army, and regulate trade.

• Finally, as the summer ended, the hard work of the Convention also came to a close. All that remained was for the states to agree to the new document.