When was the constitutional convention held in philadelphia

Washington's concerns for the country's future were deepened during a trip to his properties in the western frontier. Consequently, Washington expressed doubts in whether a viable constitution could be formed because of humanity's common failings, and even suggested a ruling elite may be necessary.

Washington also realized that many citizens suspected the Convention would be merely a seizure of power from the states by an all-powerful, quasi-royal central government.

Further, Washington initially refused to attend because he suspected that he would be made the Convention's leader, and probably be proposed as the nation's first chief executive. Washington did not want to be perceived as grasping for power, and active participation in the Convention—with its implied Presidential caveat—could have been perceived as such by the public. As a proud man, Washington was protective of the reputation earned with his War service and was loathe to diminish it.

As strong believers in a more national system of government, each believed that Washington needed to play a central role because of the great trust and respect he had accumulated during the War. With Madison's skillful personal courting, Washington agreed to attend. The Convention met in Independence Hall through a typically hot and steamy Philadelphia summer.

The delegates' sweltering was heightened by their decision to meet in secret and to seal the windows shut. As the delegates argued Washington observed, while sitting on a tall wooden chair on an elevated platform in front. Wearing his old military uniform, Washington participated little in the debates, seeing his function as nonpartisan, to maintain or restore order when debate became too boisterous.

The role perfectly fit Washington's dignified, discreet nature. Washington intervened infrequently, and mostly to vote for or against the various proposed articles. In the closing days of the convention, however, George Mason cited the omission of a separate bill of rights to protect the people against the new national government as one of his reasons for opposing the new document.

This quickly became a rallying point for those who opposed ratification. Federalist supporters of the Constitution initially argued against the necessity for a bill of rights because the convention had not delegated powers to the new national government to stem individual liberties.

Some further argued that listing specific rights might imply that rights omitted were therefore subject to governmental control. This position was undercut by the fact that the Constitution did list some governmental restrictions within its text and by arguments, supported by Thomas Jefferson , that even if such guarantees were not foolproof, they would be better than nothing.

In time, leading Federalists , including Madison, agreed to work toward a bill of rights if the Constitution were adopted, thereby helping to head off the threat of a second convention. He is co-editor of the Encyclopedia of the First Amendment.

This article was originally published in Farrand, Max, ed. The Records of the Federal Convention of New Haven, Conn. Goldwin, Robert A. Washington, D. The Federalist Papers, edited by Clinton Rossiter. New York: New American Library, The problem was resolved by the Connecticut Compromise, which proposed a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the lower house House of Representatives and equal representation of the states in the upper house Senate.

On September 17, , the Constitution of the United States of America was signed by 38 of the 41 delegates present at the conclusion of the convention. As dictated by Article VII, the document would not become binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 states. Beginning on December 7, five states— Delaware , Pennsylvania , New Jersey , Georgia , and Connecticut —ratified it in quick succession. However, other states, especially Massachusetts , opposed the document, as it failed to reserve un-delegated powers to the states and lacked constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press.

In February , a compromise was reached under which Massachusetts and other states would agree to ratify the document with the assurance that amendments would be immediately proposed. The Constitution was thus narrowly ratified in Massachusetts, followed by Maryland and South Carolina.

On June 21, , New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the document, and it was subsequently agreed that government under the U.

Constitution would begin on March 4, Constitution—the Bill of Rights—and sent them to the states for ratification. Ten of these amendments were ratified in In November , North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U. Rhode Island, which opposed federal control of currency and was critical of compromise on the issue of slavery, resisted ratifying the Constitution until the U. On May 29, , Rhode Island voted by two votes to ratify the document, and the last of the original 13 colonies joined the United States.

Today the U. Constitution is the oldest written national constitution in operation in the world. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! On the evening of May 25, , white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kills George Floyd, a Black man, by kneeling on his neck for almost 10 minutes.