The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• About the Author
• Preface
• Part 1: The Constitution’s Deep Roots
• Points to Remember
• The Meaning of Constitutional Government
• The Lamp of Experience
• The Constitutions of Antiquity
• English Origins of America’s Constitution
• The Growth of Parliament
• The Challenge of Parliamentary Supremacy
• The Common Law Tradition
• The Republican Tradition and the Struggle For Constitutional Liberty
• The Influence of Continental Thinkers
• The Education of the Founders
• The French and American Revolutions Compared
• Appendix A: Relevant Chapters of Magna Charta (1215)
• Appendix B: Petition of Right (1628)
• Appendix C: The English Bill of Rights (1689) an Act For Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject, and Settling the Succession of the Crown.
• Part 2: America’s First Constitutions and Declarations of Rights
• Points to Remember
• Colonial Governments
• Relations With Great Britain
• Local Government In the Colonies
• Civil Liberties In the Colonies
• The Movement Toward Independence
• The Declaration of Independence
• The Rights Proclaimed
• The First State Constitutions, 1776–1783
• The Articles of Confederation
• Appendix A: the Mayflower Compact
• Appendix B: Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
• Appendix C: Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress
• Appendix D: Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms
• Appendix E: the Declaration of Independence (1776)
• Appendix F: Virginia Bill of Rights
• Appendix G: Thoughts On Government
• Appendix H: Massachusetts Constitution of 1780
• Appendix I: Articles of Confederation (1778)
• Part 3: The Achievement of the Philadelphia Convention
• Points to Remember
• The Problems of the Convention
• The Delegates to the Convention
• A Wide Range of Talents
• Plans and Progress At Philadelphia
• The Meaning of “federal”
• The Virginia Plan: a Supreme National Government
• Hamilton’s Concept of a Unified America
• The New Jersey Plan:checks Upon Central Power
• The Benefits of Compromise
• Compromise and Consensus
• Appendix A: Virginia Plan
• Appendix B: New Jersey Plan
• Appendix C: Constitution of the United States of America (1787)
• Part 4: Basic Constitutional Concepts: Federalism, Separation of Powers, and Rule of Law
• Points to Remember
• A.: Federalism
• Powers Delegated to Congress
• Powers Denied to Congress
• Powers Denied to the States
• The Division of Powers
• The Supremacy Clause
• National and State Obligations
• Obligations of the National Government to the States
• Obligations of the States to the National Government
• Obligations of the States to Each Other
• The Role of the States In the Amendment Process
• The Federalism Factor
• The Advantages of Federalism
• The Future of Federalism
• B.: the Separation of Powers
• Checks and Balances
• Checks Upon the Congress
• Checks Upon the President
• Checks Upon the Judiciary
• The Independence of Congress
• The Independence of the President
• The Independence of the Judiciary
• Summary and Review
• Separation of Powers: a Critical Evaluation
• Separation of Powers At the Crossroads
• C.: The Rule of Law
• The Basic Principles of the American Constitution
• Appendix A: the Federalist No. 10
• Appendix B: the Federalist No. 45
• Appendix C: The Federalist No. 47
• Part 5: Defending the Constitution: the Struggle Over Ratification and the Bill of Rights
• Points to Remember
• A.: the Anti-federalist Persuasion
• The Constitution Establishes a Consolidated Empire
• The Constitution Establishes an Aristocracy
• The Constitution Confers Too Much Power
• An Imperial Congress
• An Elected Monarch
• An Omnipotent Judiciary
• B.: the Federalist Response
• The Constitution Limits and Distributes Power
• Congress Is Not an Oligarchy
• The President Is Not a King
• The Judiciary Is the Least Dangerous Branch
• Whether a Bill of Rights Was Necessary
• The Clash of Values
• C.: The Bill of Rights
• The First Amendment: Religious Freedom, and Freedom to Speak, Print, Assemble, and Petition
• The Second Amendment: the Right to Bear Arms
• The Third Amendment: Quartering Troops
• The Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure
• The Fifth Amendment: Rights of Persons
• The Sixth Amendment: Rights of the Accused
• The Seventh Amendment: Trial By Jury In Civil Cases
• The Eighth Amendment: Bail and Cruel and Unusual Punishments
• The Ninth Amendment: Rights Retained By the People
• The Tenth Amendment: Rights Retained By the States
• Rights Versus Duties
• Appendix A: the Address and Reasons of Dissent of the Minority of the Convention of the State of Pennsylvania to Their Constituents
• Appendix B: Northwest Ordinance (1787)
• Part 6: Interpreting and Preserving the Constitution
• Points to Remember
• Principles of Statutory Construction
• The Doctrine of Judicial Review
• The Supreme Court As Final Interpreter
• The States As Final Interpreters
• Strict Versus Loose Construction
• The Independence of the Judiciary
• A.: Origins of Judicial Independence
• B.: the Judicial Power
• C.: Jurisdiction
• Appendix A: Marbury V. Madison
• Appendix B: Martin V. Hunter’s Lessee
• Appendix C: Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)
• Part 7: Changing the Constitution—together With an Explanation of the Amendments Added Since 1791
• Points to Remember
• Our Living Constitution
• Our Changing Constitution
• Amending the Constitution
• The Limits of the Amending Power
• The Amended Constitution
• A.: Amendment Xi (1798)
• B.: Amendment Xii (1804)
• C.: Amendment Xiii (1865)
• D.: Amendment Xiv (1868)
• E.: Amendment Xv (1870)
• F.: Amendment Xvi (1913)
• G.: Amendment Xvii (1913)
• H.: Amendment Xviii (1919)
• I.: Amendment Xix (1920)
• J.: Amendment Xx (1933)
• K.: Amendment Xxi (1933)
• L.: Amendment Xxii (1951)
• M.: Amendment Xxiii (1961)
• N.: Amendment Xxiv (1964)
• O.: Amendment Xxv (1967)
• P.: Amendment Xxvi (1971)
• Q.: Amendment Xxvii (1992)
• Conclusion

POINTS TO REMEMBER

1. The initial task of the Constitutional Convention was to revise and improve the Articles of Confederation, not to write a new constitution.

2. The delegates were soon persuaded, however, that the Articles were fundamentally flawed and that a new constitution, based upon a separation of powers among three branches of the national government, and a division of powers between the national government and the States, was essential.

3. One of the major difficulties that the Framers confronted was reconciling the differences between the large States and the small States. This they accomplished by giving all of the States representation in the national government, while at the same time giving a substantial share of power to the large States.

4. The Framers of the Constitution were gentlemen of great learning and ability and religious conviction. The Convention was an unusual gathering of America’s greatest leaders of the day. They resolved their differences by careful reasoning and thoughtful deliberation, not by force or violence.

5. The form of government which the Framers sought to create was a republic, or more specifically an extended republic that was both democratic and federal.

6. The Virginia Plan, the first proposal for a new political system debated at the Convention, favored a strong national government. The delegates who opposed this scheme and wished to reserve most political power to the States rallied around the New Jersey Plan.

7. Under the “Connecticut Compromise,” the delegates satisfied the demands of both the small States and the large States on the crucial question of representation in Congress. The interests of the small States were protected by giving all of the States equal representation in the Senate, and those of the large States by establishing representation in the House of Representatives on population.

8. The delegates wanted a strong Chief Executive who was independent and not chosen by or subservient to the legislature. They also desired a judiciary independent of the executive, but subject to some control by the legislature.

9. The delegates also reached an agreement on questions pertaining to slavery. They agreed to allow Congress to prohibit the importation of slaves after 1808. They also allowed the States to include three-fifths of their slave population for purposes of establishing representation in the House of Representatives. This came to be known as the “Three-Fifths Compromise.” Under the fugitive slave clause, the new Constitution also provided that slaves who might escape from one State into another must be returned to their owners.

In the heart of Philadelphia stands a handsome two-story brick building with central tower, belfry, spire, and conspicuous exterior clocks. It was erected before 1735 as the State House of Pennsylvania. Today it is called Independence Hall.

Here, in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed. Here again, on May 25, 1787, twenty-nine gentlemen assembled to prepare a constitution for a nation. Some days later they were joined by twenty-six more delegates. Fifty-five delegates attended the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787, but for voting purposes the number of States represented during the Convention’s four months of debate never rose above eleven at any one time. None ever arrived from Rhode Island.

Great empires have crashed since that day in May, but the Constitution framed in Independence Hall endures. Related here is the story of what happened at that Pennsylvania State House during the summer of 1787.