The Constitution

The Constitution was made necessary by the utter ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation as a governing document. In the six years prior to the Convention, the Articles had provided a laughably weak central government unable to perform the most basic of functions, including but not limited to: imposing taxes, raising an army, adjudicating disputes between states, conducting foreign policy, and regulating commerce between states. Notable delegates to the Convention included Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin. George Washington presided over the gathering, which lasted from May 27 to September 17, 1787. Many of these delegates were educated and well-read individuals, and their ideas on government had been informed by Enlightenment writers. John Locke (1632-1704) of England and Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) of France were particularly influential on those who wrote the Constitution.