The Pros And Cons Of The Constitutional Convention

The American people had fought a costly war to loosen the grip of a tyrannical leader. The colonists, in their open letter to the king of England declared, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness (Jefferson 1776).” These three unalienable rights are broad and would need some defining if the American people were to stay free. That chance came in 1787 during the Philadelphia convention, which would become known as the Constitutional Convention. The Articles of Confederation weren’t serving the American people in an effective way, and something needed to be done to fix some of the major problems facing the nation. The convention decided the solution to most of these problems was a robust federal government, which would have immense powers and authority to handle the affairs of a nation that was growing rapidly. While this large federal government would solve many of the problems that the nation faced, it also presented new challenges and concerns. Many Americans, who would become known as the Antifederalists, worried that a new government would slowly take away their rights-especially one with a President, two houses of congress, and federal judges. With so many …show more content…

He introduced twelve amendments to Congress. The first two amendments dealt with the size and pay of Congress and slavery. The last ten would become known as the Bill of Rights. These amendments ensured their rights to assemble, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom to bear arms, freedom of fair trial, and civil and criminal legal rights. It also protected them against excessive bail and fines, quartering of soldiers, search and arrest, and provided for a strong state government (James Madison, 1789,