The Constitutional Convention: Building a New Government Public

By 1787, the Articles of Confederation had proven too weak to hold the young nation together, as demonstrated by Shays' Rebellion, when Massachusetts farmers violently protested economic hardships and the federal government lacked the power to respond effectively. Recognizing the urgent need for change, fifty-five delegates traveled to Philadelphia that summer to meet in Independence Hall, where they conducted their deliberations in complete secrecy behind locked doors and shuttered windows. George Washington, whose reputation commanded universal respect, was unanimously elected to serve as the Convention's president, lending credibility and order to the proceedings. James Madison, who arrived eleven days early to prepare his comprehensive Virginia Plan, would later earn the title 'Father of the Constitution' for his meticulous preparation and influential ideas about creating a stronger federal government that could address the nation's pressing challenges.

The delegates at the Constitutional Convention faced a fundamental conflict between large and small states regarding representation in the new legislature. Large states like Virginia favored proportional representation, meaning states with more people would have more votes, while smaller states like New Jersey demanded equal representation regardless of population size. Roger Sherman of Connecticut proposed what became known as the Great Compromise, which created a bicameral legislature with two separate chambers: the House of Representatives would use proportional representation based on population, while the Senate would give each state exactly two senators. However, this compromise raised another difficult question about how to count enslaved people, leading to the controversial Three-Fifths Compromise, which determined that enslaved individuals would be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation and taxation.