What does the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution say?
The Supremacy Clause states: “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.”
HISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTION
What was the pressing need for the Constitution?
The previous constitution in the United States was called the Articles of Confederation. This confederation system of government did not provide sufficient power to the central government and allowed state governments too much power. Many leaders in the country saw that there was a pressing need for a stronger central government to regulate interactions (such as matters of commerce) between the states. This led to a series of meetings culminating in a meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Representatives from every state except Rhode Island (a small, independently minded state) met in secret in Philadelphia to discuss how to improve and amend the Articles of Confederation. The Framers—as they came to be called—went far beyond their stated duty and formed an entirely new legal document called the U.S. Constitution.
What were the problems with the Articles of Confederation?
The primary problem with the Articles of Confederation was that the central government was too weak. It did not have the power to regulate different states’ behavior. The commerce interests of the various states often were not aligned and the central government could not resolve these disputes. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Confederation Congress could not force state governments to raise monies for the federal government but had to depend on them to supply it voluntarily. The Confederation Congress could declare war but it could not raise an army. The states had to do that.
George Washington, who would later become the first president of the United States, was also one of the framers of the Constitution and a leader of the Philadelphia Convention (iStock).
New York political leader Alexander Hamilton wrote to colleague James Duane in 1780 about the problem with the Confederation Congress, which he described: “The fundamental defect is a want of power in Congress.” Former United States Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger wrote, nearly two hundred years later, that the Articles “were barely more than a multinational treaty between thirteen independent, sovereign states.”
Who were some of the leaders of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787?
The Philadelphia Convention included future Presidents George Washington and James Madison; future Supreme Court Justices Oliver Ellsworth, William Paterson, John Rutledge, and James Wilson; the first U.S. Attorney General, Edmund Randolph; and Roger Sherman, a principal draftsman of the Declaration of Independence.
Who were the 55 Founding Framers of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787
The following table lists who the Framers were and the states from which they hailed.
Founding Framers of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787
| State | Framers |
| Connecticut | Oliver Ellsworth, William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman |
| Delaware | Richard Bassett, Gunning Bedford, Jacob Broom, John Dickinson, George Read |
| Georgia | Abraham Baldwin, William Few, William Houstoun, William Pierce |
| Maryland | Daniel Carroll, Luther Martin, James McHenry, John F. Mercer, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer |
| Massachusetts | Elbridge Gerry, Nathan Gorham, Rufus King, Caleb Strong |
| New Hampshire | Michael Gillman, John Langdon |
| New Jersey | David Brearley, Jonathan Dayton, William Houston, William Livingston, William Paterson |
| New York | Alexander Hamilton, Robert Lansing, Robert Yates |
| North Carolina | William Blount, William Richardson Davie, Alexander Martin, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson |
| Pennsylvania | George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Benjamin Franklin, Jared Ingersoll, Thomas Mifflin, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, James Wilson |
| South Carolina | Pierce Butler, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Rutledge |
| Virginia | John Blair, James Madison, George Mason, James McClurg, Edmund Randolph, George Washington, George Wythe |
Did all of the 55 delegates sign the final product of the Philadelphia Convention?
No, several delegates left before the Convention convened in September. These included: William Richardson Davie, Oliver Ellsworth, William Houston, William Houstoun, John Lansing, Jr., Alexander Martin, Luther Martin, James McClurg, John Francis Mercer, William Pierce, Caleb Strong, George Wythe, and Robert Yates.
Additionally, three members of the Convention stayed until the end but still refused to sign the document. These three were Elbridge Gerry, Edmund Randolph, and George Mason.
Why did Elbridge Gerry, Edmund Randolph and George Mason refuse to sign the Constitution?
Ironically, Randolph would later refuse to sign the Constitution at the end of the Convention in part because he believed his constituents in Virginia would disapprove of the Constitution. He argued that the people in the states, through their representatives, should have the “full opportunity” to propose amendments to the Constitution. However, during the ratification battle in his home state of Virginia, Randolph fought for its adoption.
Gerry and Mason, key contributors throughout the summer, refused to sign the Constitution in part