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The New Nation Tom Hand The New Nation Tom Hand

The Constitution of the United States

The opening phrase of our Constitution’s preamble, “We the People,” spoke volumes regarding upon whose authority the Constitution rested and suggested the unanimity of country and purpose that this new Constitution would create. The document is a 4,543-word masterpiece of political thought that has stood the test of time and is the longest standing written constitution in the world.

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The New Nation Tom Hand The New Nation Tom Hand

The Slavery Question at the Constitutional Convention

One of the most troublesome questions at the Constitutional Convention was what to do about slavery. Not whether it should be abolished by the new Constitution, but whether slaves would be counted in the census and if the states or the central government would control the institution and what that control would look like. All delegates recognized the terrible inconsistency between slavery and the words expressed in our Declaration of Independence. But they understood the task at hand was to create a new form of national government that could prosper under the conditions that existed. Most importantly, the fact remained that the southern states were not ready to completely let it go and, as John Rutledge from South Carolina stated, the true question was “whether the southern states shall or shall not be part of the Union.”

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The New Nation Tom Hand The New Nation Tom Hand

Key Debates at the Constitutional Convention

On May 29, 1787, Edmund Randolph from Virginia introduced fifteen resolutions to the Constitutional Convention. Known as the Virginia Resolves or the Virginia Plan, Randolph’s proposal outlined an entirely new national government, including a strong executive, a two-house legislature, and an independent judiciary. It would be the basis for discussion at the convention for the rest of the summer.

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The New Nation Tom Hand The New Nation Tom Hand

The Federal Convention Opens

Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress lacked the authority to raise an army without the approval of the states, all treaties had to be unanimously approved, and most importantly, Congress did not have the power to levy taxes. Congress decided to hold a convention of all states in Philadelphia to review how to fix these and other issues. To add credibility to the convention, the primary organizers, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, felt it was critical for George Washington to attend. Washington reluctantly agreed to represent Virginia at the gathering, and was unanimously chosen to preside over the convention, which began on May 25, 1787 in Philadelphia.

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The New Nation Tom Hand The New Nation Tom Hand

The Origins of the Bill of Rights

When the Constitutional Convention met in the summer of 1787, the primary goal of the delegates was to fix the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation. Most of the discussion focused on how our new government would operate, not on the individual rights of the people. George Mason of Virginia introduced a motion to adopt a Bill of Rights, but the suggestion was quickly dismissed.

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