What Happened at the Constitutional Convention? Revision of the Articles of Confederation Discarded
Before the start of the Constitutional Conference many attempts had been made to amend the Articles of Confederation in order to give Congress more power. However all of the attempts had failed to gain unanimous approval which was necessary because the consent of every state was required to amend the Articles. One state or another had objected to every amendment that had been proposed. The assembly gathered at the Constitutional Conference immediately discarded the idea of trying to amend the Articles of Confederation and set about drawing up a new scheme of government. George Washington, President of the Convention, made few speeches but his few words were very important and highly influential. The eldest delegate in the Convention was Benjamin Franklin who also was accorded great respect. Other delegates were experienced politicians, statesmen and business men. Many were lawyers and all of the delegates had considerable expertise in politics.

What Happened at the Constitutional Convention? The Rules
On the first day of the Constitutional Convention (May, 25) a Rules Committee was established to decide how the Constitutional Convention would be conducted to ensure equality and fairness. 16 rules for conducting business were agreed without debate by May 29 and included the following:

• Any delegate of the Constitutional Convention could voice an opinion

• Each state was given only one vote, regardless of how many delegates a state sent

• If a state sent more than one delegate, all delegates had to agree about their state's one vote

• All proceedings would be kept secret until the Constitutional Convention presented a finished Constitution.

What Happened at the Constitutional Convention? Plans for a National Government
Some of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention had already begun to formulate ideas for a National Government. James Madison presented a Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan was based on proportionate representation. Charles Pinckney brought forward a South Carolina plan. Pinckney's scheme was more detailed than was Madison's plan but both schemes provided for a government with "supreme legislative, executive, and judicial powers." Little attention was given to Pinckney's Plan as attention was focused on Madison's Plan which was well documented. On May 30, 1787 the Constitutional Convention voted that a "national government ought to be established, consisting of a supreme Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary." Refer to 3 Branches of Government. The Constitutional Convention next decided that the legislative department should consist of two houses. The delegates of the Constitutional Convention also devised a brilliant system characterized by an intricate system of Checks and Balances.

What Happened at the Constitutional Convention? The Disputes
However, when the delegates began to talk over the details, they began to disagree as to Representation in the two houses of Congress. The disagreements as to Representation led to more ideas for a National Government. In June Governor William Patterson brought forward the New Jersey Plan which he had drafted and been agreed by the delegates from the smaller sized states. But the New Jersey plan was also rejected.

What Happened at the Constitutional Convention? The Stalemate and the Compromises
The Constitutional Convention reached a total stalemate over the issue of representation. The Constitutional Convention reached a complete deadlock over the thorny issue of representation. It required the opposing sides to make concessions enabling a breakthrough to the deadlock over representation for the convention to continue. Compromises were also required on the subjects of Apportionment and on Commerce and the Slave Trade.

What Happened at the Constitutional Convention? The Compromise on Representation
Connecticut delegates Oliver Ellsworth and Roger Sherman proposed a compromise, referred to as the Connecticut Compromise and then the Great Compromise, on the subject of Representation in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The compromise was that members of the House of Representatives should be apportioned among the states according to their population and should be elected directly by the people. In the Senate they proposed that each state, regardless of size, population, or wealth, should have two members. The Senators would be chosen by the state legislatures. It was agreed that the states should be equally represented in the Senate. Basically the compromise consisted of proportional representation in the lower house (House of Representatives) and equal representation of the states in the upper house (Senate).

What Happened at the Constitutional Convention? The Compromise on Apportionment: 3/5 compromise
The delegates to the Constitutional Conference also found it difficult to reach an agreement as to the apportionment of representatives in the House. The question was should the members of the House of Representatives be distributed among the states according to population? The answer seems simple but the real question was, should slaves, who had no vote, be counted as a part of the population? It was finally agreed that the slaves should be counted at three-fifths of their real number. This rule was called the "federal ratio." The result of this rule was to give the Southern slave states representation in Congress out of all proportion to their voting population.

What Happened at the Constitutional Convention? The Compromise on Commerce and the Slave Trade
The delegates to the Constitutional Conference then came into dispute over the Power of Congress over commerce. The Northerners wanted Congress to have power to regulate commerce. But the Southerners opposed it because they feared Congress would use this power to end to the slave trade. A compromise was reached by providing that Congress could not prohibit the slave-trade until 1808.

What Compromises were made at the Constitutional Convention?
The three major Compromises made at the Constitutional Convention were therefore:

• The Compromise on Representation (the Great Compromise)

• The Three-fifths Compromise

• The Compromise on the Slave Trade and Commerce

There were compromises on many smaller points these did not cause so many disputes or have the same impact on the new government

The Constitutional Convention - The Constitution is Signed
These  three major compromises made at the Constitutional Convention were crucial to the success of the Constitutional Convention and the new Constitution. On September 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States of America was signed by 38 of the 41 delegates who were present at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention (see table below for names of the signers of the Constitution).

The Constitutional Convention - The Constitution is Ratified (Approved)
Although the Constitution document was signed by delegates at the Constitutional Convention the document would not become binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 states (as dictated by Article VII).

• Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut quickly ratified the Constitution

• Massachusetts, Maryland and South Carolina then followed providing amendments to the Constitution were made (the Bill of Rights)

• New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the document  and it was agreed that government under the U.S. Constitution would begin on March 4, 1789

• On September 25, 1789, the first Congress of the United States adopted 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution

• Ten of these amendments were ratified in 1791, collectively called the Bill of Rights

• North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in November 1789

• Rhode Island was the last of the original 13 colonies to ratify the document on May 29, 1790