Main pic

Ratification of the constitution

  • First Continental Congress Meets

    First Continental Congress Meets
    The first Continental Congress met in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, from September 5, to October 26, 1774. All of the colonies except Georgia sent delegates. These were elected by the people, by the colonial legislatures, or by the committees of correspondence of the respective colonies. The colonies presented there were united in a determination to show a combined authority to Great Britain, but their aims were not uniform at all.
  • Period: to

    Events Leading to the Ratification of the Constitution

    These events in my opinion led to the constitution being ratified.
  • Second Continental Congress Meets

    Second Continental Congress Meets
    After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, a Second Continental Congress met on May 10, 1776, in the State House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, now called Indepence Hall. This second Congress had a few delegates that hadn't been at The First Continental Congress. Some of those new and returning delegates included Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and the new president of the Continental Congress, John Hancock.
  • Articles of Confederation proposed

    Articles of Confederation proposed
    The Dickinson Draft of the Articles of Confederation named the Confederation "the United States of America," provided for a Congress with representation based on population, and gave to the national government all powers not designated to the states. After considerable debate and alteration, the Articles of Confederation were adopted by Congress on November 15, 1777.
  • Articles of Confederation ratified

    Articles of Confederation ratified
    The U.S. Articles of Confederation was a plan of government based upon the principles fought for in the American Revolutionary War, it contained crucial flaws. It had no power of national taxation, no power to control trade, and it provided for a comparatively weak executive. Therefore, it could not enforce legislation. It was a "league of friendship" which was opposed to any type of national authority.
  • Finished and turned in on 12/12/2012

  • Shays' Rebellion

    Shays' Rebellion
    The rebellion started on August 29, 1786. It was precipitated by several factors: financial difficulties brought about by a post-war economic depression, a credit squeeze caused by a lack of hard currency, and fiscally harsh government policies instituted in 1785 to solve the state's debt problems. Protesters, including many war veterans, shut down county courts in the later months of 1786 to stop the judicial hearings for tax and debt collection.
  • Final Draft of the Constitution Sent to Congress

    Final Draft of the Constitution Sent to Congress
    Members of the Constitutional Convention signed the final draft of the Constitution on this date. Although the Constitutional Convention met for the last time on this date, public debate over the Constitution was just beginning. The Constitution specified that at least nine states ratify the new form of government, but everyone hoped for nearly unanimous approval. As the states called their own ratifying conventions, arguments for and against the document resurfaced.
  • Constitutional Convention opens

    Constitutional Convention opens
    Delegates from the states meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to adress the problems caused by the United States operating under the Articles of Confederation. The Convention was intended to fix the Articles of Confederation so that the delegates would actually come. The real intention was to create a new government and abolish the Articles of Confederation.
  • Ratification of the Constitution

    Ratification of the Constitution
    The Constitution may have been ratified on this date but was not official until 30 April 1789 when they added the Bill of Rights, which established the fundamental rights of the United States citizens relieving the fears associated with the relatively strong government the Constitution provided.