Historians sometimes talk about the constitutional convention of 1787 as “the miracle of Philadelphia.” Why? This is Part One of the answer.
What was then known as the “Philadelphia Convention” convened a quorum of delegates, including Ben Franklin, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, the last week of May 1787. They unanimously elected George Washington to preside. Madison, one of the architects of the entire convention idea, had prepared in advance an outline of what a new, stronger national government should look like. His outline was based on intense study of the republics and confederacies of the past, from ancient Athens to the Swiss confederacy of cantons. On May 29th, this outline was proposed by Madison’s fellow Virginian Edmund Randolph in the form of fifteen separate resolutions. Together, these came to be known as the Virginia Plan. Randolph and Madison argued forcefully that, as shown by Shays’ Rebellion the previous year, a stronger national government was badly needed, as long as it was founded on what Madison and Randolph called “republican principles.”
The Virginia Plan included the basic outlines of our federal government: three separate branches—legislative, executive, and judicial; and a legislature divided into two chambers, the senate and the house of representatives, with the House elected directly by the people and the senate then elected by the members of the House. But the plan was vague as to the executive branch, whether an individual or a committee, and it suggested that executive should be elected by Congress. Madison originally proposed that federal judges also be elected the same way. And the Virginia Plan allocated representation in both the house and senate based on population so that in both houses, the most populous states: Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, would hold sway. This alarmed smaller states like New Jersey and ensured the convention had much work left to do. More on that subject next week…
"The History of Our Freedoms" is produced by KEDT-FM in Corpus Christi. Dr. Bill Chriss is a historian and legal scholar. For more on history and the constitution, check out his blog at https://drbillchriss.substack.com/.
