...He became a successful printer, publisher, author, inventor, and scientist. He founded the Pennsylvania Gazette, Poor Richard’s Almanack, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the American Philosophical Society, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Hospital. He also conducted experiments on electricity, invented the lightning rod, the Franklin stove, the bifocal glasses, and the odometer. He was a leader of the Enlightenment movement and a promoter of civic virtues, education, and philanthropy.Franklin was also a prominent statesman and diplomat. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1776, and a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. He was also the first postmaster general of the United States, and the minister to France from 1778 to 1785. He helped secure the alliance with France and the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution. He was also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where he advocated for a strong federal government and a compromise between the large and small states. He was the oldest and most respected delegate at the convention, and his influence and wisdom helped shape the Constitution. He died in 1790 at the age of...
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...means an agreement reached by opposing claims. (1) There were several compromises that were made to help form the Constitution of the United States. There were three main conflicts the new nation had to be resolve. The main ones were: The Great Compromise, The 3/5ths Compromise and also The Slave Trade Compromise. Even though there were conflicts over a strong central government, and states’ rights, the members in the Philadelphia Convention overcame their differences to form a democratic government that is for the people, and meets the needs of our nation. (2) The original document established for the United States to govern the people was adopted in 1777. It was called, the Articles of Confederation. It was outdated and it needed to be tweaked. Congress had very limited power to regulate national affairs, no authority to tax, or to regulate commerce. As a result of a weak central government, in 1787, the United States went bankrupt. With credit and debt problems, the states convinced the delegates to meet. So, they met in May, at the Convention, in Philadelphia. Rather than fix a broken system, the Virginia plan modeled a whole new government system, it had Federal and National Features. States would have power but submit to a national supreme authority. (3) The Great Compromise was very important. The Virginia plan had the structure that established a government with three branches and a legislature. The first branch made the laws, the second was the executive branch...
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...issues. * Introduction * The Articles of confederation * Loose and clumsy confederation * Weak central government for a nation of thirteen states * No control over commerce * Conflicting laws regarding navigation and tariffs * Lacked an effective tax system * The Annapolis convention -1786 * Meeting lightly attended, only twelve delegates from five states * Proposal for a convention by all states in Philadelphia later * Convention to revise the articles of confederation * The Philadelphia convention -1787 (Brinkley, 2010) * The writing and adoption of a new Constitution * Abolishment of Articles of Confederation * Delegates from twelve states except Rhode Island * The Virginia Plan- James Madison, May, 1787 * Introduction of the plan * Edmund Randolph, governor for Virginia * Structure of the proposed national government * Separate executive * Separate judicial department * Bicameral legislature * The New Jersey Plan-June, 1787 * An alternative to the Virginia Plan * Retention of the Articles of Confederation * Making amendments * Plan was supported by the small states, fear of non-proportional representation in the national congress * Rejection of the New Jersey Plan * The legislature branch * Organization...
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...meetings and conventions. Those Patriot governments in the colonies then unanimously empowered their delegates to Congress to declare independence. In 1776, Congress created an independent nation, the United States of America. With large-scale military and financial support from France and military leadership by General George Washington, the American Patriots won the Revolutionary War. The peace treaty of 1783 gave the new nation the land east of the Mississippi River (except Florida and Canada). The central government established by the Articles of Confederation proved ineffectual at providing stability, as it had no authority to collect taxes and had no executive officer. Congress called a convention to meet secretly in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation. It wrote a a new Constitution, which was adopted in 1789. In 1791, a Bill of Rights was added to guarantee inalienable rights. With Washington as the Union's first president and Alexander Hamilton his chief political and financial adviser, a strong central government was created. When Thomas Jefferson became president he purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, doubling the size of the US. A second and last war with Britain was fought in 1812. All thirteen colonies united in a Congress that called on the colonies to write new state constitutions. After armed conflict began in Massachusetts, Patriots drove the royal officials out of every colony and assembled in mass meetings and conventions. Those...
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...Organized Document; The Constitutional Convention Of 1787; (Also known as the Philadelphia Convention) The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, (hints the name) in May and September of 1787. The constitutional convention was put into play to address the issues of the weak central government that existed under the AOC. Delegates like James Madison and Alexander Hamilton wanted to create a new government (rather than fix the existing one). The men elected George Washington to preside over the Convention. The y debate known as the Constitutional Convention was one of the most momentous occurrences in United States Constitutional History. the events took place in the Pennsylvania State House. The United States Constitution...
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...Aidee Salgado American Government 6/29/2016 The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia The three proposals that were debated at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 were the Virginia and New Jersey Plan and the Connecticut Compromise. Legislatures of twelve states had selected seventy-four delegates, and fifty-five filled these seats. These delegates consisted of twenty-nine college graduates and the remaining twenty-six included notables such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. The goal of the the Philadelphia convention was to establish a new Union. The Virginia Plan was the first plan proposed at the Constitutional Convention. This plan was written by James Madison and was led by Governor Edmund Randolph and called for a strong central government. The plan consisted of the following: A two house legislature, with numerical representation, where popularly elected lower house elects the upper house. Broad, yet undefined legislative power, with absolute veto over laws passed by state legislatures with taxing power. Single executive elected by legislature for fixed term. National judiciary elected by the legislature. Council of Revision composed of the executive and judiciary to review laws passed by national legislature. The Virginia Plan generated a counter-proposal by William Paterson of New Jersey called the New Jersey Plan. The New Jersey Plan called for a modest change in the Articles of the Confederation, keep the state governments dominant...
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...requirement of nine votes in agreement instead of the majority. The only powers granted to the national government were rights regarding the maintenance of independence. By 1787, many Americans sought to revise the Articles of Confederation due to growing debts and lack of protection of liberties, which resulted in the Constitution of 1789. The economy and the national government were...
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...Should There be Another Constitutional Convention? The Articles of Confederation was he first federal “constitution” to be upheld in the thirteen colonies. Unfortunately, under the Articles, Congress was given no power over the states so that the country could grow into an actual functioning society, though there were certain things that they did have control over, such as create war and peace time, conduct foreign affairs and etc. But under the Articles, “But Congress could not collect taxes and enforce laws directly; it had to rely on the states to provide money and enforce its laws. . .”(Dye 61). Essentially, the states did what they felt was right beneath their own respective state level government. “No respect is paid to the federal authority. Not a single state complies with the requisitions[submitted by Congress]” (Nardo 18). The Founding Fathers were disturbed by the utter discord the nation seemed to be in. Deciding that enough was enough in May of 1797, twelve of the thirteen colonies delegates, 55 delegates, gathered together in the State House of Philadelphia to, originally, fix and tweak the bugs out of the Articles of Confederation. But instead of fixing the Articles, James Madison decided that it would be better to scrap the whole document and create a whole new federal constitution. James Madison was intent on drafting a new constitution that would create a stronger, central government: The Virginia Plan. “. . . he by no means wanted that government to be so...
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...Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation were first drafted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1777. This first draft was prepared by a man named John Dickinson in 1776. The Articles were then ratified in 1781. The cause for the changes to be made was due to state jealousies and widespread distrust of the central authority. This jealousy then led to the emasculation of the document. As adopted, the articles provided only for a "firm league of friendship" in which each of the 13 states expressly held "its sovereignty, freedom, and independence." The People of each state were given equal privileges and rights, freedom of movement was guaranteed, and procedures for the trials of accused criminals were outlined. The articles established a national legislature called the Congress, consisting of two to seven delegates from each state; each state had one vote, according to its size or population. No executive or judicial branches were provided for. Congress was charged with responsibility for conducting foreign relations, declaring war or peace, maintaining an army and navy, settling boundary disputes, establishing and maintaining a postal service, and various lesser functions. Some of these responsibilities were shared with the states, and in one way or another Congress was dependent upon the cooperation of the states...
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...In 1787, the delegates of the United States met at the State House in Philadelphia as a means to reform the Articles of Confederation. This meeting would come to later be known as the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The delegates had elected George Washington as the president of the convention and soon began debating on what would be best for the future of the United States. Eventually, the delegates decided to eliminate their current system of government all together and create a new one. The delegates had created the United States Constitution, which established the United States national government and laws. These men who had established this Constitution became known as the “Founding Fathers”. One of these Founding Fathers was John Dickinson, a delegate from Delaware whose numerous contributions left a positive impact on the United States Government....
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...In 1786, about 700 debt-ridden farmers led by Daniel Shays took part in a violent uprising in western Massachusetts. They attacked courthouses to stop officials from foreclosing on farms. The farmers rebelled against state taxes that were difficult to pay due to the economic depression. The Massachusetts militia was called to end the mob violence, but many Americans saw shay’s Rebellion as a sign that the Articles of Confederation was not working. Fearing a future crisis, leaders called for a convention to discuss forming a stronger government. This led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. The rebellion started on August 29, 1786. It was precipitated by several factors: financial difficulties brought about by a post-war...
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...Decision in Philadelphia was written by well-known authors Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier. Christopher Collier was the headlining author of this book and also wrote the well know children’s book My Brother Sam is dead, which won the Newberry Honor book and was nominated for the National Book award in 1975. Collier was born in New York City on 1930 and worked with his brother James Lincoln Collier in numerous books that were published. Christopher also gained his PhD in history and now is a Professor of history at the University of Connecticut. Finally Collier is an official Connecticut State Historian. After knowing all of this background information about Professor Collier the reader should feel comfortable about reading this material for the reason that it is coming from a knowledgeable source....
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...The most important event in the creation of the United States government was the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, also known as the Constitutional Convention. At this event, delegates from every state except Georgia gathered in Philadelphia to discuss the topic of what should replace the Articles of Confederation. Of the plans suggested by delegates, the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan were the most appealing to those at the convention. The Virginia Plan recommended proportional representation while the New Jersey Plan wanted equal representation. The United States government would be shaped in a completely different way today if the Framers had not put forth each of the two plans which formed the Great Compromise. The Virginia Plan was put forth by James Madison, who had been working on it for a while. He proposed that for the national government to be strong it should have more power than the states. Madison had the idea that Congress should...
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...3 PRACTICE Follow-up Questions for Congressional Hearing • What was the original purpose for calling a meeting in Philadelphia in 1787? Why was the purpose changed? By whose authority was it changed? • In what ways were the delegates representative of the American people? IN what ways were they not representative? • Should the topics being debated at the Philadelphia Convention have been reported to the public? Why or why not? • Explain the difference between equal representation and proportional representation. Which plan did the states with large populations support? Why? • What position would you take on the issue of equal and proportional representation if it were raised today? Why? • What important differences of opinion existed...
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...Shays’s Rebellion was an armed uprising in the state of Massachusetts, led by American Revolution Captain Daniel Shays, from 1786 to 1787. Approximately 4,000 farmers protested against tax increases, levied by the state to pay off the Revolutionary War debt. The already struggling farmers, who were in debt, demanded that the government provide tax relief. Throughout the state, protestors began shutting down the courts, where their debts were normally collected. The farmers, who rioted against all those in support of the government, desperately attempted to take over the government’s arsenal in Springfield. However, by the winter of 1787 the state militia defeated most of the rebels, causing many to flee. With the rebellion drawing to a close,...
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