Constitutional Convention Of 1787 Analysis

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 might be one of the most important political moments in the history of the United States. Meant to address weaknesses with trade regulations in the Articles of Confederation it quickly became much more than that. All of the fifty-five men who convened in Philadelphia fervently hoped that the convention would strengthen the Articles of Confederation governing the first thirteen colonies. Most of the delegates were professional men, half of them lawyers, and all with wealth and power who stood to gain immensely from a stronger federal government.
The original Articles gave Congress no power to regulate domestic affairs, no power to tax and no power to regulate commerce (Aboukhadijeh, 2010). Congress consistently resorted to begging states for financial contributions and was most often turned down; giving the government no funds to pay soldiers or repay foreign loans that supported the Revolutionary War. Elected representatives often spent more time on the politics in their home states and personal affairs and states continued to make their own laws with regards to taxation and commerce. Most states did so because of …show more content…
A plural presidency of three men was also suggested but the most sweeping part of the plan was to give the government power to tax, regulate trade and use force on “unruly state governments” (Roark, 2009 p274). Small states were universally in favor of this plan. Both plans favored placing national power over state power; something that was definitely not in the Articles of Confederation and both agreed on a two-house or bicameral legislature. The Virginia plan placed the national government as a nation of people, while the New Jersey plan was a government of states united