tions have sprung forth, including the current Constitution that has governed us for over 210 years.On February 21, 1787, the Continental Congress resolved that: …”it is expedient that that on the second Monday in May next, a convention of delegates who shall have been appointed by the several states be held at Philadelphia for the sole purpose of revising the articles of Confederation”…The original states except Rhode Island, collectively appointed 70 individuals to the Constitutional Convention, but a number did not accept or could not attend. Those who did not attend included Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, John Adams, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock. In all 55 delegates attended the Constitutional Convention sessions, but only 39 actually signed the Constitution. The delegates ranged in age from Jonathon Dayton, aged 26, and to Benjamin Franklin at 81 years of age, who was very sick at the time. The plan of the delegates was to remedy the defects in the Articles of Confederation, but Virginia delegates had a new idea in mid and boldly proposed the Virginia Plan, which introduced a whole new national government instead of the confederation. The New Jersey Plan was also presented as an alternative, but it was based mainly on autonomous states being represented by a single chamber. When bicameral legislation was approved it effectively made the decision for the Virginia Plan, and allowed for the New Jersey Plan to be passed over and defeated. The principle of separation of powers was a much stronger principle of the new Constitution, than those of the state constitutions. A single figure was to be elected by an electoral collage as our Chief Executive. Representation proportional to each states population in both houses, was proposed by the Virginia Plan. However this was modified and each state was given equal representation in the Senate.At the Convention there was some controversy about cou...
