This Week at the Constitutional Convention of 1787: First Draft of Constitution Presented to Delegates
This was a big week in 1787. The delegates at the Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia finally received printed copies of the first draft of what would become the new Constitution of the United States. John Rutledge of South Carolina, chairman of the...
Benjamin Franklin Urges Adoption of the Constitution with a Warning
On September 17, 1787, James Wilson delivered a speech written by Benjamin Franklin on the last day of the Philadelphia Convention. The speech urged the adoption of the Constitution despite Franklin’s reservations – and prediction that the system would...
James Madison and the Case Against Compromise
Over the three days spanning from July 2 to July 5, 1787, the attendees at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia approved a resolution that would sufficiently satisfy the demands of delegates from small states for equality of representation and those from the...