The Road to the Constitution Chapter 3 Sec. 1

Section 1 Vocabulary Constitutional Convention

Fixing the Articles Each state except Rhode Island sent delegates to Philadelphia to fix the flaws in the Articles of Confederation Most of the 55 men were well educated and experienced in politics Native Americans, African Americans, and women were not included

Fixing the Articles Benjamin Franklin was the oldest to attend He was a writer, diplomat, inventor, and scientist George Washington and James Madison also attended Both would later become presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams could not attend They were visiting Europe as diplomats

Early Decisions The delegates chose George Washington to preside He would choose a committee to set rules for conducting the convention The committee decided that decisions would be made by a majority vote. All discussions were to be kept secret No formal records were kept Most of what we know comes from James Madison’s personal notebook of events The delegates decided to do away with the Articles of Confederation all together and write a new constitution This meeting became known as the Constitutional Convention

Constitutional Convention