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Constitutional Convention, (1787), in U.S. history, convention that drew up the Constitution of the United States. Stimulated by severe economic troubles, which produced radical political movements such as Shays's Rebellion, and urged on by a demand for a stronger central government, the convention met in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia (May 25-September 17, 1787), ostensibly to amend the Articles of Confederation. All the states except Rhode Island responded to an invitation issued by the Annapolis Convention of 1786 to send delegates. Of the 74 deputies chosen by the state legislatures, only 55 took part in the proceedings; of these, 39 signed the Constitution. The delegates included many of the leading figures of the period. Among them were George Washington, who was elected to preside, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, James Wilson, John Rutledge, Charles Pinckney, Oliver Ellsworth, and Gouverneur Morris.
(Read John Kennedy's Britannica entry on Oliver Ellsworth.)
Discarding the idea of amending the Articles of Confederation, the assembly set about drawing up a new scheme of government but found itself divided, delegates from small states (those without claims to unoccupied western lands) opposing those from large states over the apportionment of representation. Edmund Randolph offered a plan known as the Virginia, or large state, plan, which provided for a bicameral legislature with representation of each state based on its population or wealth. William Paterson proposed the New Jersey, or small state, plan, which provided for equal representation in Congress. Neither the large nor the small states would yield. Oliver Ellsworth and Roger Sherman, among others, in what is sometimes called the Connecticut, or Great, Compromise, proposed a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation of the states in the upper house. All revenue measures would originate in the lower house. That compromise was approved July 16.

The matter of counting slaves in the population for figuring representation was settled by a compromise agreement that three-fifths of the slaves should be counted as population in apportioning representation and should also be counted as property in assessing taxes. Controversy over the abolition of the importation of slaves ended with the agreement that importation should not be forbidden before 1808. The powers of the federal executive and judiciary were enumerated, and the Constitution was itself declared to be the "supreme law of the land." The convention's work was approved by a majority of the states the following year.

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Constitutional Convention | History & Compromises

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Constitutional Convention, convention that drew up the U.S. Constitution. Stimulated by severe economic troubles, which produced radical political movements such as Shays's Rebellion, the convention met in Philadelphia (May 25-September 17, 1787), ostensibly to amend the Articles of Confederation.

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The Making of the American Constitution - Judy Walton

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The Federalists wanted a strong national government and a constitution. However the did not want a Bill of Rights. The leader of the Federalists was Alexander Hamilton. On the other hand, the Anti federalists wanted a strong state government and wouldn't support a constitution unless there was a Bill of Rights. The leader of the Anti Federalists was George Mason.

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The Northern and Southern states disagreed once again. this time over trade control. The North wanted to control trade, but the South was afraid it would hurt them economically because the North might cancel all slave trade. They later came up with the "Commerce Compromise". In this, the North agrees to wait 20 years to ban slavery.

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Delegates from the Northern and Southern disagreed on how slaves should be counted in the population. The Northern states wanted to make sure they had more power so they suggested to not count the slaves in the population, but wanted them to pay taxes. This gave them more power. on the other side, the southern states wanted them to count in the population, but no raise taxes. This gives them more power without having to pay more taxes. In the end, they decided on the "3/5 Compromise". this included counting slaves as 3/5 of a person for tax and representation. This means, for every 5 slaves, 3 of them where considered a person.

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The Convention had a difficult time deciding how many representatives each state would get. Larger states believed that the number of representatives should be determined by the population. This was called the Virginia Plan. However, the smaller states argued that the representation should be equal in every state. This was called the New Jersey plan. Soon they came up with a compromise called ¨The Great Compromise¨. They decided that each state would send 2 people from each state to Senate and the amount of people sent to represent each state was determined by the population.

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The Constitution was written during the constitutional convention in Philadelphia/Pennsylvania in 1787. 55 representatives attended the convention. They elected the leader as George Washington.