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The American Revolution
The Revolution and the domestic instability that followed prompted a call for a new type of government with a constitution to guarantee liberty. But the Enlightenment of 17th-century Europe had the most immediate impact on the framers of the United States Constitution. The Revolution Sparked the US Constitution through our want for freedom. The last battle of the Revolutionary War takes place, the 13 states set up a federal government under laws called the Articles of Confederation. -
Writing of Declaration of Rights & Grievances
The Declaration of Rights and Grievances was a document written by the Stamp Act Congress . It declared that taxes imposed on British colonists without their formal consent were unconstitutional. Trial by jury is a right. The use of Admiralty Courts was abusive. This led to our Constitution being fair and equal to all persons that there are in the US. -
The Pass of Intolerable Acts
Colonists felt that this legislation violated their rights as Englishmen and their Natural Rights as human beings. This Feeling is a contribution to the laws under the Constitution. The Intolerable Acts were punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The laws were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest in reaction to changes in taxation by the British to the detriment of colonial goods. -
Publishing of Common Sense
Common Sense is credited as playing a crucial role in convincing colonists to take up arms against England. In it, Paine argues that representational government is superior to a monarchy or other forms of government based on aristocracy and heredity. Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain. -
Signing of Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence, which officially broke all political ties between the American colonies and Great Britain, set the ideas and principles behind a just and fair government, and the Constitution outlined how this government would function. Jefferson mentioned four ideals that have shaped The US history. They were Equality, Consent of the Governed, the unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty, the pursuit of Happiness, and finally, the Right of the People to alter or abolish the Gov. -
Adoption of Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first constitution of the United States. After more than a year of consideration, it was submitted to the states for ratification in 1777, but not enough states approved it until 1781. The Articles provided for a weak executive branch, no national power of taxation, and voting by states. On this page, Jefferson’s notes reflect his interest in Article XVII, about representation in Congress. -
Shays Rebellion
The uprising was one of the major influences in the calling of a Constitutional Conv. in Phil. The tax protest showed the federal government, under the Articles of Confederation, couldn't put down an internal rebellion. Although plans for a Constitutional Convention were already under way, the uprising in Massachusetts led to further calls for a stronger national government and influenced the ensuing debate in Philadelphia that led to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution in the summer of 1787. -
The Start of the Constitutional Convention
The official purpose of the Constitutional Convention that met in Philadelphia beginning on May 25, 1787 was to amend the Articles of Confederation. It had, by that time, become clear that the Articles of Confederation were not a good enough constitution for the new nation. How the Articles of Confederation failed and delegates met to create a new constitution. The major debates were over representation in Congress, the powers of president, Electoral College, slave trade, and a bill of rights.
