The convention was held in an attempt to rescue the government from the claws of powerlessness over the states. Some states wanted to abandon the Articles of Confederation all together, claiming that a stronger national government was needed. Others wanted to merely amend the Articles seeing no need to destroy and start from scratch. All the delegates, however, did realize that significant changes needed to be done for an effective government. And so the delegates began to work.

As mentioned earlier, James Madison was called the father

Now, with the debates over and the basic issues agreed upon, the convention turned the document over to a Committee on Style on September 9 to further refine it. Then on September 17, 1787, the convention approved the draft and thirty-nine names were placed on the finished document. Only thirty- nine delegates signed the document because the others either left the convention disappointed or were absent from that meeting. But the document was now signed. The United States had a brand new "set of rules" which made the powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial more than there were before, and the Constitution was declared to be the "supreme law of the land."

of the Constitution because of his contribution to the debate, his Virginia Plan which became the first issue of the Convention and the focus of discussion against which all other ideas were weighed. The Virginia Plan called for the creation of a bicameral, or two-house, national legislature (the House and the Senate) creating the legislative branch of their proposed government. Each state would send representatives on proportion to the number of its citizens. That meant that a state with a large population would have more representatives in both chambers that a state with a small population, giving the larger state (in terms of population) more voting power in the legislature. Along with the legislative branch, the government would also have an executive branch and a judicial branch. It would also have the right to tax its citizens (right that wasn't included in the Articles of Confederation making it inefficient) and the power to veto, or overturn any act of a state legislature. This power made many oppose the Virginia plan because it would give the national government greater power than the states. Therefor, an opponent arose making the Convention more of a dispute than a peaceful meeting, which was its initial intent.

The Convention finally adjourned on September 28, 1787 and the Constitution was sent to all the states for ratification. Eventually all the states did approve of the Constitution and the United States had a new way of life. As a matter of fact, only the consent of two-thirds of the states was needed to ratify the Constitution (Article VII) in order for it to become effective. The Constitution wasn't perfect in all its features. There were those who opposed it. Rhode Island was so against it that it didn't even show up at the Convention. But it eventually accepted it becoming the last state to put its

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1686
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)