The Confederation Period lasted from 1783 to 1789. Following the end of the American Revolution in 1783, the newly independent states retained their sovereignty but were part of a confederation of states with a weak federal government. After it became clear that the confederation could not handle the challenges facing the states, a convention was held in Philadelphia which produced a constitution that created a new nation with a stronger federal government. Episode Six explains that the delegates to the constitutional convention had disagreed over a number of issues, but had finally accepted a lower house with directly elected representatives...
The Confederation Period lasted from 1783 to 1789. Following the end of the American Revolution in 1783, the newly independent states retained their sovereignty but were part of a confederation of states with a weak federal government. After it became clear that the confederation could not handle the challenges facing the states, a convention was held in Philadelphia which produced a constitution that created a new nation with a stronger federal government. Episode Six explains that the delegates to the constitutional convention had disagreed over a number of issues, but had finally accepted a lower house with directly elected representatives and an upper house where each state had two members. The entire convention had lasted for four months, and a sizeable number of delegates had failed to make it to the end but the remaining delegates had finally hammered out a constitution that would create a new nation, The United States of America.
Cast of Characters:
George Washington- former Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, former delegate to the Continental Congress
Edmund Randolph-Governor of Virginia, former delegate to the Continental Congress
James Madison-delegate to the Confederation Congress
George Mason-member of the Virginia General Assembly, author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights
Benjamin Franklin-President of Pennsylvania, former minister to France, former Postmaster General, signer of the Declaration of Independence
Luther Martin-lawyer
Roger Sherman-former delegate to the Confederation Congress, former delegate to the Continental Congress, one of the drafters of the Declaration of Independence
Gouverneur Morris-businessman, former Assistant Superintendent of Finance and former delegate to the Continental Congress
James Wilson-lawyer, former delegate to the Continental Congress and signer of the Declaration of Independence
Alexander Hamilton-member of the New York State Legislature, former aide to General George Washington, commander of the Continental Army
John Rutledge-former governor of South Carolina and former delegate to the Continental Congress
Charles Pinckney-delegate to the Confederation Congress
Sources:
Plain, Honest Men: The Making of The American Constitution-Richard Beeman
The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution-David O. Stewart
Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership-Edward J. Larson
Founding Finance: How Debt, Speculation, Foreclosures, Protests, and Crackdowns Made Us a Nation-William Hogeland
The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800-Stanley Elkins & Eric McKitrick
The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789-Joseph J. Ellis
American Creation-Joseph J. Ellis
The Framers' Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution-Michael J. Klarman
Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution-Woody Holton
The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789-Edward J. Larson
Washington: A Life-Ron Chernow
His Excellency: George Washington-Joseph J. Ellis
George Washington: A Life-Willard Sterne Randall
Radical Hamilton: Economic Lessons from a Misunderstood Founder-Christian Parenti
Alexander Hamilton-Ron Chernow
Alexander Hamilton: A Life-Willard Sterne Randall
James Madison: A Biography-Ralph Ketcham
Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution-Charles Rappleye
Gentleman Revolutionary: Gouverneur Morris-The Rake Who Wrote the Constitution-Richard Brookhiser
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789-Robert Middlekauff
The Forging of the Union 1781-1789-Richard B. Morris
Image Credit:
Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, by Howard Chandler Christy (1940) - The Indian Reporter, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=662340
