? Candice Ransom

RANSOM In May 1787, men from all over the United States arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on serious business. Just eleven years earlier, colonial leaders had met in Philadelphia to declare their independence from Great Britain. But now the young country was in trouble. The U.S. government was weak, and its guiding document—the Articles of Confederation—was failing. Throughout the summer of 1787, state representatives and leaders argued, shouted, and wrote and rewrote articles. By September, they had produced a new document, the U.S. Constitution. The Convention became a turning point in American history. ? But WHAT were the new country's problems WHO came up with the solutions? Who HOW did the states work out disagreements? Wrote to create a new system of government Discover the facts about the 1787 Convention and the writing of the Constitution. The U.S. Constitution OF AMERICAN SIX QUESTiONSHISTORY How Did Slaves Find a Route to Freedom? When Did Columbus Arrive in Who Was William Penn? And Other Questions about the Underground Railroad the Americas? And Other Questions about the Founding of And Other Questions about Columbus’s Voyages Pennsylvania ? How Did Tea and Taxes Spark a Revolution? When Did George Washington Fight His Who Were the Accused Witches And Other Questions about the Boston Tea Party First Military Battle? of Salem? And Other Questions about the French and Indian War And Other Questions about the Witchcraft Trials How Many People Traveled the Oregon Trail? When Were the First Slaves Set Free Who Wrote the U.S. Constitution? And Other Questions about the Trail West during the Civil War? And Other Questions about the Constitutional And Other Questions about the Emancipation Proclamation Convention of 1787 What Difference Could aWaterway Make? And Other Questions about the Erie Canal Where Did Sacagawea Join the Corps Why Did cherokees move west? of Discovery? And Other Questions about the Trail of Tears What Was the Continental Congress? And Other Questions about the Lewis and Clark Expedition And Other Questions about the Declaration of Why Did english settlers come to virginia? Independence Who Was Sitting Bull? And Other Questions about the Jamestown Settlement And Other Questions about the Battle of Little Bighorn What Was the Missouri Compromise? And Other Questions about the Struggle over Slavery A division of Lerner Publishing Group www.lernerbooks.com 009–012 ATOS: 5.9 Lexile: 760 CANDICE RANSOM Guided Reading: R* *Provided by a trained reading consultant THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Candice Ransom LERNER PUBLICATIONS • MINNEAPOLIS Who What Why Where When How A Word about Language English word usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation have changed over the centuries. We have preserved original spellings Who What Why Where Whenand word usage in theHow quotations included in thisWho book. What Why Where When How Who What Why Where When How Who What Why Where When How Copyright © 2011 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Who What Why WhereAll rights reserved. International copyright secured.When No part of this book may be HowWho What Why Where When How reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. Lerner Publications Company Who What Why Where WhenA division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. HowWho What Why Where When How 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA WhoFor reading levels and more information, Whatlook up this title at www.lernerbooks.com. Why Where When How Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ransom, Candice F., 1952– Who wrote the U.S. Constitution? And other questions about the Constitutional Convention of 1787 / by Candice Ransom. p. cm. — (Six questions of American history) Who What Why Where Includes bibliographical references and index. When How ISBN 978–1–58013–669–3 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper) ISBN 978–0–7613–6319–4 (EB pdf) 1. United States. Constitutional Convention (1787)—Juvenile literature. 2. United States. Constitution—Juvenile literature. 3. United States—Politics and government—1783–1789—Juvenile literature. 4. Constitutional history—United Who What States—JuvenileWhy literature. I. Title. II. Title: Who wrote Wherethe US Constitution? When How E303.R36 2011 320.973—dc22 2009047425 Manufactured in the United States of America Who What Why Where When3 – HF – 5/1/15 HowWho What Why Where When How Who What Why Where When How Who Who What Why Where When HowWhat Who What Why WhereWhere When How table of contents Why IntroductIon . When . 4 Who What Why Where WhoWhenONE What How Why Where When How GAtHErInG . How. 6 twO Who What Why Where When HowWhotHE CONVENTION BEGIWhatnS . Why. 12 Where When How thrEE Who A nEW PLAn . 18 fOur What Who What Why Where When HowWho WhatSEPArAtION oF PoWErS . Why . 24 Where When How fivE Where tHE GrEAt COMPROMISE . 30 Who What Whysix WhereWhy When How oF AND FOR tHE PEoPLE . 36 Primary Source: James Madison’s Notes 42 When Tell Your Constitutional Convention Story 43 Who What Why WhereTimeline 44When HowHow Source Notes 46 Selected Bibliography 46 Who Who What Why Where When HowWhoFurther ReadingWhat and Websites 47 TheWhy six Where When How Index 48 quesTions What help you discover facTs! Where Who What Why Where When How The Why Who What Why WhereWhen When How Who What Why Where When HowHow iNTRODuCTION On a May day in 1787, a stagecoach bounced over a rough Pennsylvania road. The coach’s passenger had been riding for days through the countryside. The journey was uncomfortable, but the quiet passenger knew it was worth it. He had worked for months to prepare for a meeting in Philadelphia. In the distance, he spotted church spires of the city. Almost there! Ten days later, a tall, broad-shouldered man arrived at the outskirts of Philadelphia. He came to the city to attend the same important meeting. The man was a famous army general. City officials honored him with a thirteen-gun salute— one cannon for each of the thirteen states. Those states were originally thirteen colonies, ruled by Great Britain. In 1776 the colonies declared their independence. They wanted to be free of British rule. The quiet man and the tall man helped lead the country through a war against Britain. In 1781 the colonies won their freedom. They became the United States of America. The new nation adopted the Articles of Confederation—a set of rules for the U.S. government. Leaders thought the Articles of Confederation were the right plan for the country. But over the course of the 1780s, it became clear that the plan was not working. The country was in trouble. Unless something was done, the United States might break apart. In 1786 state representatives began planning a meeting to discuss how to 4 fix the Articles of Confederation. Soon after arriving in Philadelphia, the tall man stopped at a brick house on a quiet street. He was shown in and greeted by an elderly man wearing glasses. The man’s simple clothes did not show that he was famous around the world. The two men talked about the meeting, which was due to start the following day. Others were making their way to the city too. Most believed they were meeting to fix the Articles of Confederation. But these three had different ideas. Who were these three men? 5 Who This flag, made by American Betsy Ross, has thirteen stars and thirteen stripes. The stars and stripes represented each of the What original thirteen colonies. Where Why When How Who What Where ne Why o GatheRinG from 1775 to The three men who gathered—James Madison, When1783, a conflict between Great George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin— HowBritain and its helped lead the colonies during the Revolutionary War. American colonies. The British Like many American colonists, they had thought Whosurrendered in British rule was unfair. They felt that Great Britain 1781. The war had given the colonists no control over how they officially ended Whatin 1783 with the were governed. WhereTreaty of Paris. After the revolution, the Articles of Confederation loosely held together the thirteen U.S. states. Why But most citizens were more loyal to their states than to the new nation. They called themselves New Yorkers or When How 6 Pennsylvanians rather than What Were the articles Americans. They did not of confederation? think of the states as working A confederation is a group of people or states bound to one another by together under one nation. agreement. An article is a section Many people were also of writing in a larger document. suspicious of a strong The Articles of Confederation were thirteen statements. They explained federal government. They a central or national power the independence of the thirteen had just overthrown that unites a states and the power given to the a large, controlling group of states central government that bound them together. government. Why would they want another? So the articles allowed each state to run its own government. Each state had its own laws and its own way of doing business with other states. Under the articles, state governments were stronger than the federal government. The federal government could not force states to pay taxes to support the country. It could not control how states dealt with one another or even with foreign countries. “’tis a universal [feeling] that our present system is a bad one. a convention would revive the hopes of the people.” –alexander hamilton, a new York delegate to the 1787 convention Alexander Hamilton 7 The federal government also had no leader, such as a president.

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