Philadelphia Convention

(noun)

The Constitutional Convention (also known as the Philadelphia Convention, the Federal Convention, or the Grand Convention at Philadelphia) took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain.

Related Terms

Examples of Philadelphia Convention in the following topics:

  • From Annapolis to Philadelphia

    • Prior to the Philadelphia Convention, delegates met twice-—at Mount Vernon and Annapolis—to discuss changes to the Confederation.
    • Prior to the Annapolis Convention and the 1787 Philadelphia convention that saw the drafting of the United States Constitution, delegates from Virginia and Maryland met at George Washington's home at Mount Vernon, Virginia in March 1785.
    • The convention met in September 1786.
    • The report asked support for a broader meeting to be held the next May in Philadelphia.
    • The direct result of the report was the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, which produced the United States Constitution.

  • Calls for a Stronger Constitution

    • This meeting, which came to be known as the Mount Vernon Conference, preceded the Annapolis Convention of 1786 and was a precursor of the 1787 Philadelphia Convention that saw the drafting of the US Constitution.
    • This would later become known as the groundbreaking Annapolis Convention.
    • In 1787, the Philadelphia Convention further expanded cooperation to include all states in an effort to reform or replace the Articles of Confederation with a new constitution.

  • Shay's Rebellion: 1786-1787

    • The events of the rebellion, most of which occurred after the Philadelphia Convention had been called but before it began in May 1787, are widely seen to have affected the debates on the shape of the new government.
    • Examine the impact of Shay’s Rebellion on the political debate during the Constitutional Convention

  • Nationalists of the 1780s

    • Long dissatisfied with the weak Articles of Confederation, nationalists drafted a resolution to form the Annapolis Convention.
    • In September 1786, meeting to discuss the various conflicts at what came to be known as the Annapolis Convention, delegates of five states called for all states to meet in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787 to discuss ways to improve the Articles of Confederation.
    • Rhode Island, fearing that the Convention would work to its disadvantage, boycotted the Convention and in 1788 refused ratification on the first try.
    • The direct result of the report was the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, which produced the United States Constitution.
    • Explain why states were motivated to come together at the Annapolis Convention

  • The Holdouts: Virginia and New York

    • The document that the Philadelphia Convention presented was technically only a revision of the Articles of Confederation, but the last article of the new instrument provided that when ratified by conventions in nine states (or 2/3 at the time), it should go into effect among the states so acting.
    • What followed was an arduous process of ratification by specially constituted conventions.
    • Probably of greater importance to the Virginia debate, in any case, was George Washington's support of the proposed Constitution and the presence of Madison and Edmund Randolph, the governor, at the convention, all arguing in favor of ratification.
    • A major issue during the Virginia Ratification Convention was the question of individual rights.
    • Many of the ideas presented during this convention were later incorporated into the United States Bill of Rights.

  • The Structure of the Government

    • The Constitutional Convention was convened in Philadelphia in 1787 to address the problems in the Articles of Confederation.
    • The Constitutional Convention, which took place in Philadelphia in 1787, was convened to address the problems in the Articles of Confederation.
    • Several proposals were presented by delegates to the Convention outlining various political structures.
    • New Jersey Plans was contentious and almost threatened to shut the Convention down.
    • Describe the work done by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention

  • The U.S. Constitution

    • The 1787 Constitutional Convention was convened in Philadelphia to address severe problems and weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation.
    • The Constitutional Convention (May 14 to September 17, 1787) was convened in Philadelphia to address severe problems and weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation. although many of the delegates that attended went with the purpose of drafting a document outlining a new federal structure, rather than fix the existing one.
    • Several proposals were presented by delegates to the Convention, outlining various political structures.
    • New Jersey Plans was contentious and almost threatened to shut the Convention down.
    • Another issue that faced the Convention was creating a balance between state and federal veto power.

  • The First Continental Congress

    • The First Continental Congress was a convention of 12 colonial delegates that met on September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    • The First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve British North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    • An opening prayer at the First Continental Congress, September 7, 1774, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    • The First Continental Congress met briefly in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from September 5 to October 26, in 1774

  • The Second Continental Congress

    • The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that formed in Philadelphia in May 1775, soon after the launch of the American Revolutionary War.
    • In September 1777, the Continental Congress was forced to relocate to York, Pennsylvania, as British troops occupied the city of Philadelphia.

  • The Articles of Confederation

    • Outcry for a convention to revise the Articles grew louder.
    • Subsequently, at what came to be known as the Annapolis Convention, in 1786, the few state delegates in attendance endorsed a motion that called for all states to meet in Philadelphia in May 1787 to discuss ways to improve the Articles.
    • This meeting became known as the Constitutional Convention.