Theme 1: American Foundation and Character
Case Study: The Philadelphia Convention of 1787
Ryan Risoli
U.S. History
Mr. Mills
Period G
September 13, 2014
The United States constitution has served as the Supreme law of the United States of America since 1787. When people think of the Constitution, they are reminded of the construction of the foundation of this great country that we live in. It is what has built up our government and granted us the liberties that make America, America. This magnificent document was drafted by many of our founding fathers in Philadelphia during a gathering known as the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The convention was called mainly due to the failure of the previous Government, the Articles of Confederation. The lack of central power led to many difficulties that needed to change. However the way in which the changes would carry out was not agreed upon by the big and small states. This led to the Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths compromise. The teamwork led to the creation of the constitution, which had many long lasting effects on the U.S., it formed the basis for the government system that we use today.
Due to the lack of experience in independence, the first system of government in the U.S. had many flaws. The Americans faced many issues with the British not moving out of the country, with the trade policies, and with the debts that were owed to the British lenders.i Many ideas were drawn up to fix these problems, but could not be properly enforced with the powers granted by the Articles. The states universally agreed that a change would need to be made to the government. Washington says, “The friends of our country have long seen and desired that the power of making war, peace, and treaties, that of levying money and regulating commerce, and the corresponding executive and judicial authorities, should be fully and effectually...