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Articles of Confederation
There were more than 50 delegates to begin writing the constitution. But Rhode Island refused to send one of their delegates because they were afraid of loosing it's rights. -
Amendments
Since 1787, over 9,000 amendments have been proposed, but only 27 have been approved. -
Virginia Plan
The larger states favored the Virginia Plan. According to the Virginia Plan, each state would have a different number of representatives based on the state's population. -
New Jersey Plan
The smaller states favored the New Jersey Plan. According to the New Jersey Plan, the number of representatives would be the same for each state. -
Virginia Plan Proposed
The Virginia Plan was choosen instead of the New Jersey Plan. -
Writing the Constitution
The Constitutional Convention met for 4 months. The 55 delegates were seldom all together at once because the weather was bad and travel was difficult. About 35 delegates were present during the process of writing the Constitution. -
Signing the Constitution
The Constitution was signed by 39 of the 55 delegates on September 17, 1787. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were weak. They had no executive branch.So a convention was called in 1787 to rewrite the Articles of Confederation. -
Bill of Rights
Twelve amendments, written by James Madison, were presented to the states for final approval. Only ten were approved. Those ten make up the Bill of Rights.
