Lesson 9: How Was the Philadelphia Convention Organized?
Primary Sources
Credentials of the Members of the Federal Convention : State of New Hampshire; June 27, 1787The act appointing New Hampshire's delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
Link: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/cred01.asp Credentials of the Members of the Federal Convention. Commonwealth of Massachusetts; April 9, 1787An act for appointing Massachusetts delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
Link: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/cred02.asp Credentials of the State of Connecticut 1787An act for appointing Connecticut's delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
Link: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/credct.asp James Madison's Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787Madison's day-by-day journals on the proceedings at the Constitutional Convention.
Link: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/debcont.asp Notes of Ancient and Modern ConfederaciesOne of the documents James Madison wrote in preparation for the Constitutional Convention.
Link: http://bit.ly/gg3Vw The Text of PinckneyThe Text of Pinckney's Plan
Link: http://www.usconstitution.net/plan_pinck.html The Virginia Plan (1787)The Virginia Plan was presented by Virginia delegate Edmund Randolph to the Philadelphia Convention on May 29, 1787. It provided for a national government composed of three branches. It proposed a Congress of two houses, both of which would be based on proportional representation. The Virginia Plan favored a strong national government.at the Philadelphia Convention that provided for a national government composed of three branches. It proposed a Congress of two houses, both of which would be based on proportional representation. The Virginia Plan favored a strong national government.
Link: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/vatexta.asp United States ConstitutionThe supreme law of the United States that provides the framework for the government. The Constitution outlines the nation's institutions of government and the most important rights of the people. The document was created in 1787 during the Philadelphia Convention. The government created by the Constitution took effect on March 4, 1789.
Link: http://civiced.org/constitution Vices of the Political System of the United States—James Madison, 1787Madison's working paper outlining an agenda for the Constitutional Convention.
Link: http://tinyurl.com/yln7zkk