Highlights of the 1787 Constitutional Convention

The Constitutional Convention officially began on May 25, 1787. George Washington was unanimously elected as president, and Major William Jackson of South Carolina had been employed as secretary. However, this role ultimately fell to James Madison as Jackson was not really qualified to handle such an arduous task. Madison eagerly assumed the role and occupied a desk at the front of the room so he could take detailed notes of the entire convention. Each night, after that day’s session ended, Madison reviewed his notes and filled in as many details as he could recall. This consistent schedule left him overworked and fatigued. We are indebted to Madison for his tireless efforts because his notes have survived as the most complete and detailed account of what took place at the convention.

Each state, except for Rhode Island, sent delegates to the convention at some point or another. This was a miracle because many attempts to call for a convention in the past had failed. The states were constantly bickering, and many believed a convention would be marginally successful at best. Finally, in February 1787, Congress officially invited each state to send delegates to Philadelphia for a convention that was scheduled to begin on May 14.

Although this was a step forward, no funding was given for the delegates to attend which required them to pay their own way. This was especially difficult for some, including James Madison, who lived on borrowed money. Additionally, it looked doubtful that George Washington would attend. Many believed without his presence the convention would fail. Although Washington had strongly encouraged the idea of a convention previously, he had declined the invitation to attend in May. His brother had just died, his mother and sisters were seriously ill, and he was in immense pain from rheumatism, which resulted in him getting little sleep. Furthermore, he had just declined an invitation from the Society of the Cincinnati who wanted to honor him at their convention in Philadelphia during this same time. He felt that to suddenly show up to another convention in the same city would be embarrassing and show a lack of respect for the society. However, Washington ultimately decided to attend which greatly increased the credibility of the convention.

Key Players at the Constitutional Convention

Of the 55 delegates that participated in one way or another during the convention:

• Two were college presidents (William S. Johnson and Abraham Baldwin).
• Three were, or had been, college professors (George Wythe, James Wilson, and William C. Houston).
• Four had studied law in England.
• Thirty-one were members of the legal profession, several of them being judges.
• Nine had been born in foreign countries and knew the oppressions of Europe from firsthand experience.
• Twenty-eight had served in Congress, and most of the rest had served in state legislatures.
• Nineteen or more had served in the army, 17 as officers, and 4 on Washington’s staff.

Dr. Samuel Eliot Morison of Harvard noted that:

“Practically every American who had useful ideas on political science was there except John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (on foreign missions) and John Jay (busy with the foreign relations of the Confederation). Jefferson contributed indirectly by shipping to Madison and Wythe from Paris sets of Polybius and other ancient publicists who discoursed on the theory of ‘mixed government’ on which the Constitution was based. The political literature of Greece and Rome was a positive and quickening influence on the Convention debates.” (Samuel Eliot Morison, Oxford History of the American People (New York: Oxford University Press, 1965), p. 305.)

A distinctive quality of this convention was the youthfulness of most of its participants. The average age was about 41.

• Five (including Charles Pinckney) were under 30.
• One (Alexander Hamilton) was 32. Three (James Madison, Gouverneur Morris, and Edmund Randolph) were within a year of being 35.
• Three (Washington, John Dickinson, and George Wythe) were 55.
• Only four members had passed 60, and Benjamin Franklin, at 81, was the oldest member by a gap of 15 years.

Among the 55 delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention, 15 were particularly influential in directing the creation of the Constitution. These were:

• George Washington (1732-1799)
• Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
• James Madison (1751-1836)
• Edmund Randolph (1753-1813)
• Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804)
• Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816)
• Robert Morris (1734-1806)
• George Mason (1725-1792)
• George Wythe (pronounced “With”) (1726-1806)
• James Wilson (1742-1798)
• John Dickinson (1732-1808)
• Roger Sherman (1721-1793)
• John Rutledge (1739-1800)
• Charles Pinckney (1757-1824)
• Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746-1825)

The Fifteen Resolves

Practically all the delegates came to the convention with the specific intent of amending the Articles of Confederation. James Madison may have been the only exception. He had given considerable thought to the possibility of abandoning the Articles and creating an entirely different type of constitution. Since the convention was originally scheduled to start on May 14, Madison had an opportunity to present his ideas to the Virginia delegation before the convention officially started on May 25. Madison ultimately convinced them that the only option was to replace the articles with an entirely new form of government. Washington readily saw the wisdom in Madison’s proposal but cautioned that unless they felt certain about their proposal, it would be difficult to defend during the debates and the subsequent state ratifying conventions.

Having convinced the Virginia Delegation that an entirely new system was needed, they began formulating resolutions that they wanted in a new constitution. These resolutions became known as Virginia’s “Fifteen Resolves” and later formed the basic agenda for the Constitutional Convention. While the original draft of the fifteen resolves has never been found, a later working copy of the original, dated June 13, 1787, has survived. See Virginia Plan (1787)

Convention Rules

When the convention finally started, several interesting rules were introduced by George Wythe and adopted by the convention. Here is a summary of these rules.

1. The proceedings were to be conducted in secret. This was to prevent false rumors or misinformation from spreading across the country while the Founders were still threshing out the formula which would solve the problems plaguing the nation. Guards were posted at the doors, and no one was admitted without signed credentials.
2. Each state was to be allowed one vote, and the majority of the delegation from a state had to be present and in agreement in order to have its vote counted.
3. Many times during the proceedings a poll was taken of the individual delegates to see how they stood, but the rule was adopted that none of these votes were to be recorded lest delegates be embarrassed if they later changed their minds as the discussion progressed.
4. Each delegate could speak only twice on each issue until after everyone else had been given the opportunity to speak. And no one could speak more than twice without special permission of the convention members.
5. Everyone was expected to pay strict attention to what was being said. There was to be no reading of papers, books, or documents while someone was speaking.
6. All remarks were to be addressed to the president of the convention and not to the members of the convention. This was to avoid heated polemics between individuals engaging in direct confrontation.

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