Constitution Forged: 1787 Convention Creates New Government
Delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia abandoned their original mandate to revise the Articles of Confederation and instead began drafting an entirely new constitution on May 25, 1787. George Washington was unanimously elected president of the convention. The Articles had created a weak central government that could not tax, regulate commerce, or enforce its own laws. James Madison arrived with a detailed blueprint, the Virginia Plan, proposing a bicameral legislature with representation based on population. Smaller states countered with the New Jersey Plan for equal representation. The Great Compromise, proposed by Roger Sherman, created the House of Representatives (proportional) and the Senate (equal). The Three-Fifths Compromise counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation, embedding slavery into the constitutional structure.
May 25, 1787
239 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on May 25
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