Constitution Essay

In 1786, the delegates from the 13 states gathered together to fix the Article of Confederation in Philadelphia. There were 7 former governors, 39 men who served in Congress and eight who had experience in writing constitutions for their states. As soon as the convention started, the delegates had chosen George Washington to preside. The delegates had voted to keep their discussions a secret. They locked the State House doors and also kept windows closed through out summer.

During that time, the delegates faced many serious problems. The most serious problem was how to balance power between big states and little states. After so many debates, the delegates made a agreement called the Great Compromise. On this agreement,the Congress would have two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the Senate, each state get two senators. In the House,representation is base on population.

The second issue was how slaves should be counted.The southern state wanted to count all people. The Northerners did not want to count slaves at all because slaves are consider properties.This conflict was settled by the Three fifths Compromise. The number of representatives of each state would be based on a count of all the free people plus three-fifths of the slaves.

On September 17, most of the delegates signed the Constitution. Those who supported the Constitution were called the Federalists. Those who opposed the Constitution were called Anti-Federalists. After almost a year of debate, 11 states approved the new Constitution and became the law of the land.

The Constitution had three parts. The first part was the introduction called the Preamble. The second part was the seven articles that describe the plan of the national government. The last part was the amendments or changes to the Constitution. The first paragraph of the Constitution states the basic purposes of the new plan of government were as followed: to create a union where states work together; to create a system of laws that were fair; to keep peace withing the country; to protect the nation from outside attack; to improve the lives of all Americans and to make sure that our free society survives in the future. The seven articles separated the powers of Congress, the President and the federal courts. The articles explained how the states were to relate to the national government and how the Constitution can be changed. Most importantly, the articles states that the Constitution and all laws created by the Congress will be the supreme law of the land and all states must obey the national laws and follow the Constitution. The last part was the amendments. They were later added. During 1791, there were 10 amendments. By 1795, amendments 11-27 were added.