Essay Database

The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in May 1787 for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. Almost immediately, delegates unanimously agreed on the need to replace the Articles with a new document that created a stronger central government. However, the delegates could agree on little else after that. The crafting of the U.S. Constitution highlighted the intense conflicts that existed in 1787 between states large and small, between north and south, and between a …

…under political attack over time. Amendments to the Constitution revised the method of election of senators, the president, and the vice president to place the power closer to the people. Because the delegates fully understood that drafting a perfect political system was impossible, they did what they could to reach compromises on the most divisive issues, and to provide the kind of flexibility that would allow for a constantly evolving, more perfect, government over time.