"Many people have argued that the war itself was caused by rival interpretations of the original constitution (Barker 20)". So in 1787 a Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in what is now called Independence Hall. State legislators chose seventy-four delegates to go to the convention. They came from every state except Rhode Island (Welch 29). The delegates came to the convention to re-write the articles because everyone was complaining that the government was too weak. The delegates ended up writing a new constitution instead of revising the old one. Several of the delegates were well known and influential people; James Madison (who is considered the father of the constitution), George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton were only a few. "A new nation was about to begin, but also a new idea was about to be brought into the world; the idea that the people could run their own government (Hauptly 5)".
The delegates had to decide; how big the government should be, what type of government, what powers it should be given, and what powers it should not have. Despite some disagreements, the delegates did agree on most of the issues. They agreed that the government should be a republic, so that people could vote for at least some of the officials who would represent them. They also agreed that the National Government should be stronger than before. Even though they all agreed on the structure of the new government, the delegates argued about the issues concerning representation, slavery, and trade.
"Representatives of the northern states claimed that if the southern slaves were mere property, then they should not be counted towards voting representation in Congress (Harrison 1)". The South was eventually allowed the Three Fifths Compromise in which they were allowed to count five slaves as three free men. "[ ] slavery, though never specifically mentioned, was well protected within the body of the constitution (qtd in Ferris 9)".
