Constitution and the Constitutional Convention

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Constitution and the Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was responsible for the formulation of the United States Constitution. The convention was aroused by the severe economic challenges, which birthed radical political movements across the United States. Therefore, there was a need to formulate a centralized government that would oversee or control the emerging issues in the nation. The meeting was organized at the Pennsylvania State House between May 25 to September 17, 1787. As challenges emerged through the nations, leaders perceived the need to amend the Articles of confederation across all the states. Representatives from all the states attended the convention except Rhodes Island. Their delegates included numerous influential figures at the time, who included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Oliver Ellsworth, and James Wilson. The paper focuses on the Constitution and the Constitutional Convention, arguing whether the constitution was truly needed to save the new nation from failure. Further, the discussion will highlight the numerous compromises that were important for the ratification of the constitution.
The Need for a Constitution
On August 29th in 1786, a popular uprising, called the Shays’ Rebellion, began in Massachusetts. Daniel Shays was a former Continental Army captain (Staff). He led a group of Massachusetts residents who shared his pain in the state government's handling of taxes and wartime debt. In several cases, Army veterans who had never enjoyed pay for the services they offered saw their properties confiscated. The protesters were armed with deadly weapons, including guns and swords. They took possession of the Court House and other courthouses after the government refused to honor provisions for debt relief. A group of 1500 protesters, led by Shays, attempted to raid the Springfield armory (Staff). The alarming protests caused governor Bowdoin to appeal for help from the Commonwealth of states. Following the protest, George Washington remarked that it threatened the tranquility of the Union.
The Shays' protest provoked the founding fathers into action, and it was just the tip of the iceberg of the dissatisfaction in the independent USA. The events were set in motion when war merchants in America and Europe reined in the Union's enormous debt. They refused further loans and demanded payment in cash for any future services or goods. The demand for hard currency coupled with small cash in circulation placed the average American borrower under unrealistic pressure (Gelman). As a result, rural farmers began to lose property and land, leading to disgruntlement. In a letter to Washington, Henry Lee confirmed that the problems were not confined to just one state but affected the whole of America.
The events leading to the protest and the protest itself exposed the inherent w...