The Founding Of The Constitution

INTRODUCTION

In May, 1787 delegates from the 13 colonies of the United States met together in Philadelphia. The delegates formed the Founding Fathers and the meeting became known as The Constitutional Convention or The Philadelphia Convention. The purpose of the convention was to form a set of rules for the government and laws of the United States of America.

THE FOUNDING FATHERS

George Washington was voted as the president of the Constitutional Convention. His response was to apologise for any errors he might make during the proceedings for he felt under qualified for this huge responsibility. George Washington was not the only famous name among the delegates.

The Founding Fathers were people who contributed to the Constitution. Founding fathers who were present in Philadelphia included:

• Benjamin Franklin
• James Madison
• Alexander Hamilton
• Roger Sherman

Not all of the Founding Fathers were present at Philadelphia however they became known as Founding Fathers due to contributions that were made to the seven articles that became The Constitution. There many reasons why Founding Fathers were not all present including a suspicion of the purpose of the convention. Thomas Jefferson however had a different reason for not attending because he was acting as the American ambassador to France.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

The 13 colonies all agreed on the Articles of Confederation as a ruling law on how the colonies would be governed. This was first drafted in 1776 and had undergone many amendments before the Constitutional Convention met.

Each of the Founding Fathers had contributed either in the articles or the convention itself. The purpose of the Constitutional Convention was to agree on how to rule The United States of America and end the civil war once and for all now that the British had given The United States their freedom.

The Articles of Conferation compromised of seven separate articles covering many laws of government including:

• Article One – a description of congress
• Article Two – a description of the President
• Article Three – a description of the court system
• Article Four – a description of relations between states and federal government
• Article Five – a description of the amendment process
• Article Six – a description of federal laws and treaties
• Article Seven – a description of the frame of government

Each of the 13 States came together under the Constitution in order to become one independent country separate from Britain.

CONCLUSION

The Founding of the Constitution allowed all the colonies to unite together under one set of rules and one government. From this point in time the 13 colonies became the United States of America.