The Federal Convention Opens
Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress lacked the authority to raise an army without the approval of the states, all treaties had to be unanimously approved, and most importantly, Congress did not have the power to levy taxes. Congress decided to hold a convention of all states in Philadelphia to review how to fix these and other issues. To add credibility to the convention, the primary organizers, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, felt it was critical for George Washington to attend. Washington reluctantly agreed to represent Virginia at the gathering, and was unanimously chosen to preside over the convention, which began on May 25, 1787 in Philadelphia.
Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses the opening of the Federal Convention, and why it still matters today.
Images courtesy of Yale University Art Gallery, National Archives, Library of Congress, Brown University Library, Architect of the Capitol, National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The New York Public Library, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Wikipedia.
When delegates met at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, one of the most troublesome questions was what to do about slavery. Not whether it should be abolished, because even the most vehement abolitionist recognized this was neither the time nor the place for that fight. The issues to be decided were how would slaves be counted in the census and whether the states or the central government would control the institution, and what that control would look like.