Sign the Constitution and then What?

After four long months of debate, the Constitutional Convention finally agreed on wording for the United States Constitution. It was on September 17, ,1787, that 39 delegates at the convention signed the Constitution.

The delegates were then able to carry the Constitution back to the individual states so the process of ratification could begin. While Benjamin Franklin urged all states to ratify, the convention did agree that only 9 of the 13 states had to do so.

It took the 13 states two and one half years to agree to the new Constitution. Many states refused to agree to the Constitution until certain amendments detailing the rights of individuals were added. These amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.

The new government for the United States was put into practice on March 4, 1789. At that time, only 11 states had ratified the Constitution. The 13th state did not ratify the Constitution until May 1790.

Staff Report
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The Great Compromise of Representation

During the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the delegates supported and debated many ideas. The larger states wanted representation in the one chamber based on population. The smaller states didn't think that would be good for them.

The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, was the result of the delegates coming together to devise a better plan. This plan, as we know it today, provided for two chambers- the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate allows equal representation for each state, while delegates to the House are based on state population.

Georgia delegate Abraham Baldwin, who first favored representation based on land holdings, saw the wisdom of the the Great Compromise. Later, he was to say his greatest public service was in his role in promoting the Great Compromise at the Convention.

This Constitution Moment was brought to you by the James Waldrop Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution in Fayetteville, GA.

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Today is Constitution Day. Celebrate it

Today is Constitution Day. Celebrate it
by: Clyde posted: 2009-09-17 11:45:00


On Monday, September 17, 1787, two-hundred twenty-two years ago today, our second Constitution was signed and sent to the states for ratification. Everything went well for a few states, then the lack of a Bill of Rights, something present in all the states' constitutions, stopped the ratification process in its tracks.

The Constitution, as then-presented, was worded only to say what the federal government could do; it did not address.....http://patriotroom.com/article/today-is-constitution-day-celebrate-it

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May 14, 1787 The Beginning the Convention to Overthrow the Articles of Confederation

May 14, 1787 and the rest, as they say, is history...

Constitutional Convention delegates begin to assemble

On this day in 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention begin to assemble in Philadelphia to confront a daunting task: the peaceful overthrow of the new American government as defined by the Article of Confederation. Although the convention was originally supposed to begin on May 14, James Madison reported that “a small number only had assembled.” Meetings had to be pushed back until May 25, when a sufficient quorum of the participating states--Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia—had arrived.......http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=622