A report on Constitution of the United States, Articles of Confederation and George Washington

Page one of the officially engrossed copy of the Constitution signed by delegates. A print run of 500 copies of the final version preceded this copy.

Portrait based on the unfinished Athenaeum Portrait by Gilbert Stuart, 1796

Signing of the Constitution, September 17, 1787 (1940 by Howard Chandler Christy)

1977 13-cent U.S. Postage stamp commemorating the Articles of Confederation bicentennial; the draft was completed on November 15, 1777

Ferry Farm, the residence of the Washington family on the Rappahannock River

Dates the 13 states ratified the Constitution

The Act of the Maryland legislature to ratify the Articles of Confederation, February 2, 1781

Lieutenant Colonel Washington holds night council at Fort Necessity

Washington the Soldier: Lieutenant Colonel Washington on horseback during the Battle of the Monongahela (oil, Reǵnier, 1834)

Colonel George Washington, by Charles Willson Peale, 1772

Closing endorsement section of the United States Constitution

Martha Washington based on a 1757 portrait by John Wollaston

United States Bill of Rights
Currently housed in the National Archives.

General Washington, Commander of the Continental Army by Charles Willson Peale (1776)

Washington taking command of the Continental Army, just before the siege.

Battle of Long Island
Alonzo Chappel (1858)

Salmon P. Chase {{refn|group= lower-alpha|The Chase Court, 1864–1873, in 1865 were Salmon P. Chase (chief Justice); Hon. Nathan Clifford, Maine; Stephen J. Field, Justice Supreme Court, U.S.; Hon. Samuel F. Miller, U.S. Supreme Court; Hon. Noah H. Swayne, Justice Supreme Court, U.S.; Judge Morrison R. Waite}}

Washington Crossing the Delaware, Emanuel Leutze (1851)

William Howard Taft {{refn|group= lower-alpha|The Taft Court, 1921–1930, in 1925 were James Clark McReynolds, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., William Howard Taft (chief justice), Willis Van Devanter, Louis Brandeis. Edward Sanford, George Sutherland, Pierce Butler, Harlan Fiske Stone}}

The Passage of the Delaware, by Thomas Sully, 1819 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

Earl Warren {{refn|group= lower-alpha|The Warren Court, 1953–1969, in 1963 were Felix Frankfurter; Hugo Black; Earl Warren (chief justice); Stanley Reed; William O. Douglas. Tom Clark; Robert H. Jackson; Harold Burton; Sherman Minton}}

William Rehnquist {{refn|group= lower-alpha|The Rehnquist Court, 1986–2005.}}

The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776
by John Trumbull

Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge, by John Ward Dunsmore (1907)

Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth, Emanuel Leutze (1851–1854)

An engraving of Washington, likely made after his tenure in the army.

French King Louis XVI allied with Washington and Patriot American colonists

Siege of Yorktown, Generals Washington and Rochambeau give last orders before the attack

General George Washington Resigning His Commission, by John Trumbull, 1824

Shays' Rebellion confirmed for Washington the need to overhaul the Articles of Confederation.

Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States by Howard Chandler Christy, 1940. Washington is the presiding officer standing at right.

President George Washington, Gilbert Stuart (1795)

The President's House in Philadelphia was Washington's residence from 1790 to 1797

Seneca chief Red Jacket was Washington's peace emissary with the Northwestern Confederacy.

Battle of Fallen Timbers by R. F. Zogbaum, 1896. The Ohio Country was ceded to America in its aftermath.

USS Constitution: Commissioned and named by President Washington in 1794

Washington's Farewell Address (September 19, 1796)

Washington on his Deathbed
Junius Brutus Stearns 1799

Miniature of George Washington by Robert Field (1800)

The sarcophagi of George (right) and Martha Washington at the present tomb's entrance

The Washington Family by Edward Savage (c. 1789–1796) George and Martha Washington with her grandchildren. National Art Gallery

George Washington's bookplate with the Coat of arms of the Washington family

George Washington as Master of his Lodge, 1793

Washington as Farmer at Mount Vernon
Junius Brutus Stearns, 1851

Runaway advertisement for Oney Judge, enslaved servant in Washington's presidential household

In 1794, Washington privately expressed to Tobias Lear, his secretary, that he found slavery to be repugnant.

Washington, the Constable by Gilbert Stuart (1797)

A drawing from a Japanese manuscript of Washington fighting a tiger.

George Washington Presidential one-dollar coin

It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution.

- Constitution of the United States

Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army, Washington led the Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War and served as the president of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which created the Constitution of the United States and the American federal government.

- George Washington

On March 4, 1789, the government under the Articles was replaced with the federal government under the Constitution.

- Articles of Confederation

Although, in a way, the Congressional powers in Article 9 made the "league of states as cohesive and strong as any similar sort of republican confederation in history", the chief problem was, in the words of George Washington, "no money".

- Constitution of the United States

In 1783, George Washington defused the Newburgh conspiracy, but riots by unpaid Pennsylvania veterans forced Congress to leave Philadelphia temporarily.

- Articles of Confederation

On March 1, 1781, Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation, but the government that took effect on March2 did not have the power to levy taxes, and it loosely held the states together.

- George Washington

11 related topics with Alpha

John Adams

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American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801.

Adams's birthplace now in Quincy, Massachusetts

Boston Massacre of 1770 by Alonzo Chappel

John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence depicts the Committee of Five presenting its draft to Congress. Adams is depicted in the center with his hand on his hip.

The Assembly Room in Philadelphia's Independence Hall, where the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence

Adams frequently clashed with Benjamin Franklin over how to manage French relations.

Treaty of Paris by Benjamin West (Adams in front).

Portrait of Adams by John Trumbull, 1793

Portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, 1795. Washington rarely consulted Vice President Adams, who often felt marginalized and overshadowed by Washington's prestige.

President's House, Philadelphia. Adams occupied this Philadelphia mansion from March 1797 to May 1800.

A political cartoon depicts the XYZ Affair – America is a female being plundered by Frenchmen. (1798)

Thomas Jefferson, Adams's vice president, attempted to undermine many of his actions as president and eventually defeated him for reelection.

Alexander Hamilton's desire for high military rank and his push for war with France put him into conflict with Adams.

John Marshall, 4th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and one of Adams's few dependable allies

John Adams, c. 1816, by Samuel Morse (Brooklyn Museum)

Tombs of John and Abigail Adams (far) and John Quincy and Louisa Adams (near), in family crypt at United First Parish Church

John Adams by Gilbert Stuart (1823). This portrait was the last made of Adams, done at the request of John Quincy.

Adams was the primary author of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780, which influenced the United States constitution, as did his essay Thoughts on Government.

In June 1775, with a view of promoting union among the colonies against Great Britain, he nominated George Washington of Virginia as commander-in-chief of the army then assembled around Boston.

While in London, Adams learned of a convention being planned to amend the Articles of Confederation.

Constitutional Convention (United States)

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The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787.

James Madison, the author of the Virginia Plan

Edmund Randolph, the Governor of Virginia, introduced the Virginia Plan

James Wilson's ideas shaped the American presidency more than any other delegate

Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, by Howard Chandler Christy (1940)

U.S. Postage, Issue of 1937, depicting Delegates at the signing of the Constitution, engraving after a painting by Junius Brutus Stearns

Quaker John Dickinson argued forcefully against slavery during the convention. Once Delaware's largest slaveholder, he had freed all of his slaves by 1787.

Although the convention was intended to revise the league of states and first system of government under the Articles of Confederation, the intention from the outset of many of its proponents, chief among them James Madison of Virginia and Alexander Hamilton of New York, was to create a new Frame of Government rather than fix the existing one.

The delegates elected George Washington of Virginia, former commanding general of the Continental Army in the late American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and proponent of a stronger national government, to become President of the convention.

The result of the convention was the creation of the Constitution of the United States, placing the Convention among the most significant events in American history.

Benjamin Franklin

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American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Among the leading intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a drafter and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the first United States Postmaster General.

La scuola della economia e della morale sketch of Franklin, 1825

Benjamin Franklin (center) at work on a printing press. Reproduction of a Charles Mills painting by the Detroit Publishing Company.

William Franklin (1730-1813), son of Benjamin Franklin

Franklin's The General Magazine and Historical Chronicle (January 1741)

This Join, or Die by Franklin urged the colonies to join the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War). It later served as a symbol of colonial freedom during the American Revolution.

In 1751, Franklin co-founded Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, one of the first hospitals in the United States (depicted in this engaving by William Strickland, 1755)

First U. S. postage stamp, issue of 1847, honoring Benjamin Franklin.

Pass, signed by Postmaster General Benjamin Franklin, gave William Goddard the authority to travel as needed to investigate and inspect postal routes and protect the mail.

Pennsylvania colonial currency printed by Franklin and David Hall in 1764

Franklin in London, 1767, wearing a blue suit with elaborate gold braid and buttons, a far cry from the simple dress he affected at the French court in later years. Painting by David Martin, displayed in the White House.

John Trumbull depicts the Committee of Five presenting their work to the Congress.

Franklin, in his fur hat, charmed the French with what they perceived as rustic New World genius.

While in France, Franklin designed and commissioned Augustin Dupré to engrave the medallion Libertas Americana, minted in Paris in 1783.

Franklin's return to Philadelphia, 1785, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

Gouverneur Morris signs the Constitution before Washington. Franklin is behind Morris. Painting by Hintermeister, 1925.

Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky c. 1816 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, by Benjamin West

Franklin and Electricity vignette engraved by the BEP (c. 1860)

An illustration from Franklin's paper on "Water-spouts and Whirlwinds"

A bust of Franklin by Jean-Antoine Houdon, 1778

Voltaire blessing Franklin's grandson, in the name of God and Liberty, by Pedro Américo, 1889–90

Dr Richard Price, the radical minister of Newington Green Unitarian Church, holding a letter from Franklin

Franklin bust in the Archives Department of Columbia University in New York City

Franklin on the Series 2009 hundred dollar bill

Marble memorial statue, Benjamin Franklin National Memorial

Life-size bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin (seated with cane) in the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia

While the plan was not adopted, elements of it found their way into the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.

When he returned home in 1785, Franklin occupied a position second only to that of George Washington as the champion of American independence.

Alexander Hamilton

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American revolutionary, statesman and Founding Father of the United States.

Coat of arms of the Hamiltons of Grange in Ayrshire, Scotland.

The Hamilton House, Charlestown, Nevis. The current structure was rebuilt from the ruins of the house where it was thought that Alexander Hamilton was born and lived as a young child.

Kings College c. 1756, adjacent to the New York Commons where City Hall Park is today

Alexander Hamilton in the Uniform of the New York Artillery, by Alonzo Chappel (1828–1887)

Aides-de-camp's office inside Washington's Headquarters at Valley Forge. General Washington's staff officers worked in this room, writing and copying the letters and orders of the Continental Army.

The Storming of Redoubt #10, an 1840 painting by Eugene Lami

Detail of Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull, showing Colonels Alexander Hamilton, John Laurens, and Walter Stewart

Miniature of Hamilton attributed to Charles Shirreff, c. 1790

A Turban Head eagle, one of the first gold coins minted under the Coinage Act of 1792

A painting of a Revenue Marine cutter, which may be of either the Massachusetts (1791), or its replacement, the Massachusetts II

Portrait of Alexander Hamilton by Walter Robertson. Circa 1794

A statue of Hamilton by Franklin Simmons, overlooking the Great Falls of the Passaic River in Paterson, New Jersey, where Hamilton envisioned using the falls to power new factories

Aaron Burr, Hamilton and Philip Schuyler strolling on Wall Street, New York, 1790

Alexander Hamilton by William J. Weaver, ca. 1794-1806

A statue of Hamilton in the United States Capitol rotunda

Detail of 1802 portrait by Ezra Ames, painted after death of Hamilton's eldest son Philip

Hamilton's tomb in Trinity Church's first burial grounds at Wall Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan

Drawing (c. 1902) of the Burr–Hamilton duel, from a painting by J. Mund

This July 25, 1804 article reflected extreme lamentation over Hamilton's death, and described the plan for his funeral procession and other tributes, including a 30-day wearing of a commemorative black armband ("crape") by members of the Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania of which Hamilton had been President General.

Elizabeth Schuyler, portrait by Ralph Earl

Distinctive unit insignia of the United States Army 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment (i.e. Alexander Hamilton Battery). The crest at center is that of Clan Hamilton, with the addition of 13 gold acorns representing the original 13 states.

USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753) seal. The two colors on the coat of arms represent the aspects of Alexander Hamilton's life: military and civilian. The white demarcation line is a virtual diagram of the trenches converging on the British redoubt #10 at Yorktown. Surmounting the crossed bayonets symbolizing Hamilton's taking of the redoubt is a Doric column which represents Hamilton's service as a statesman. The crest shows an ermine cinquefoil, which is the principal charge on the Hamilton family coat of arms and is worn by a unicorn, taken from the hand-carved powder horn Hamilton is believed to have owned. The motto, "Vigilant Sentinel," is derived from a quote in Federalist No. 12: "A few armed vessels, judiciously stationed at the entrance of our ports, might at a small expense be made useful sentinels of the law."

A starboard view of the nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine USS Alexander Hamilton (SSBN-617) underway.

Alexander Hamilton on the Series 2004A U.S. $10 bill

The Hamilton Grange National Memorial in St. Nicholas Park

A statue of Hamilton outside Hamilton Hall, overlooking Hamilton Lawn at Columbia University in New York City

Image of the statue of Alexander Hamilton created by William Ordway Partridge, commissioned for the Hamilton Club of Brooklyn. The statue later stood in front of Hamilton Grange when the house was located at 287 Convent Ave.

A view of the Alexander Hamilton Bridge from the south

Lin-Manuel Miranda performs the title role in the 2015 musical Hamilton.

He was an influential interpreter and promoter of the U.S. Constitution, and was the founder of the Federalist Party, the nation's financial system, the United States Coast Guard, and the New York Post newspaper.

In 1777, he became a senior aide to Commander in Chief General George Washington, but returned to field command in time for a pivotal action securing victory at the Siege of Yorktown, effectively ending hostilities.

Hamilton was a leader in seeking to replace the weak confederal government under the Articles of Confederation; he led the Annapolis Convention of 1786, which spurred Congress to call a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where he then served as a delegate from New York.

John Jay

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American statesman, patriot, diplomat, Founding Father, abolitionist, negotiator, and signatory of the Treaty of Paris of 1783.

Drawing of Sarah Jay by Robert Edge Pine.

Jay's childhood home in Rye, New York is a New York State Historic Site and Westchester County Park

Jay's retirement home near Katonah, New York is a New York State Historic Site

The Treaty of Paris, by Benjamin West (1783) (Jay stands farthest to the left). The British delegation refused to pose for the painting, leaving it unfinished.

Jay as he appears at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Certificate of Election of Jay as Governor of New York (June 6, 1795)

John Jay 15¢ Liberty Issue postage stamp, 1958.

Rye, New York Post Office Dedication Stamp and cancellation, September 5, 1936

He directed U.S. foreign policy for much of the 1780s and was an important leader of the Federalist Party after the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788.

Following the end of the war, Jay served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, directing United States foreign policy under the Articles of Confederation government.

After the establishment of the new federal government, Jay was appointed by President George Washington the first Chief Justice of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1795.

United States Declaration of Independence

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Pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776.

Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration, as painted by Rembrandt Peale

The 13 states at the Declaration of Independence

Writing the Declaration of Independence, 1776, an idealized depiction of Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson working on the Declaration was widely reprinted (by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1900).

Portable writing desk that Jefferson used to draft and finalize the Declaration of Independence

"Declaration House", the reconstructed boarding house at Market and S. 7th Street in Philadelphia, where Jefferson wrote the Declaration

The opening of the original printing of the Declaration, printed on July 4, 1776, under Jefferson's supervision. The engrossed copy was made later (shown at the top of this article). The opening lines differ between the two versions.

English political philosopher John Locke (1632–1704)

The signed copy of the Declaration is now badly faded because of poor preserving practices in the 19th century. It is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

The Syng inkstand, which was used at both the 1776 signing of the Declaration and the 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution, is on display in Philadelphia

On July 4, 1776, Continental Congress President John Hancock's signature authenticated the United States Declaration of Independence.

Johannes Adam Simon Oertel's painting Pulling Down the Statue of King George III, N.Y.C., ca. 1859, depicts citizens destroying a statue of King George after the Declaration was read in New York City on July 9, 1776.

William Whipple, signer of the Declaration of Independence, manumitted his slave, believing that he could not both fight for liberty and own slaves.

The Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in the National Archives building

John Trumbull's famous 1818 painting is often identified as a depiction of the signing of the Declaration, but it actually shows the drafting committee presenting its work to the Congress.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her two sons (1848)

This view was notably promoted by Lincoln, who considered the Declaration to be the foundation of his political philosophy and argued that it is a statement of principles through which the United States Constitution should be interpreted.

John Dickinson made one last effort to delay the decision, arguing that Congress should not declare independence without first securing a foreign alliance and finalizing the Articles of Confederation.

President of Congress John Hancock sent a broadside to General George Washington, instructing him to have it proclaimed "at the Head of the Army in the way you shall think it most proper".

President of the United States

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Head of state and head of government of the United States of America.

George Washington, the first president of the United States

President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers a radio address, 1933

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the 1964 Civil Rights Act as Martin Luther King Jr. and others look on

President Donald Trump delivers his 2018 State of the Union Address, with Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Gorbachev sign the 1990 Chemical Weapons Accord in the White House.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, successfully preserved the Union during the American Civil War.

President Barack Obama with his Supreme Court appointee Justice Sotomayor, 2009

President Ronald Reagan reviews honor guards during a state visit to China, 1984

President Woodrow Wilson throws out the ceremonial first ball on Opening Day, 1916

President Jimmy Carter (left) debates Republican nominee Ronald Reagan on October 28, 1980.

Map of the United States showing the number of electoral votes allocated following the 2010 census to each state and the District of Columbia for the 2012, 2016 and 2020 presidential elections; it also notes that Maine and Nebraska distribute electors by way of the congressional district method. 270 electoral votes are required for a majority out of 538 votes possible.

Franklin D. Roosevelt won a record four presidential elections (1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944), leading to the adoption of a two-term limit.

President William McKinley and his successor, Theodore Roosevelt

President Reagan surrounded by Secret Service

From left: George H. W. Bush, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter. Photo taken in the Oval Office on January 7, 2009; Obama formally took office thirteen days later.

Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter at the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas, 2013

The presidential limousine, dubbed "The Beast"

The presidential plane, called Air Force One when the president is on board

Marine One helicopter, when the president is aboard

Congress finished work on the Articles of Confederation to establish a perpetual union between the states in November 1777 and sent it to the states for ratification.

Prospects for the next convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washington's attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia.

It was through the closed-door negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U.S. Constitution emerged.

1876 Currier & Ives printing of Washington being promoted to commanding general

Second Continental Congress

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Meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies in America that united in the American Revolutionary War.

John Trumbull's 1819 painting, Declaration of Independence, depicting the five-man drafting committee presenting the Declaration of Independence to Congress

South facade of Independence Hall (formerly the Pennsylvania Statehouse), Philadelphia, principal meeting site of the Second Continental Congress

1977 13-cent U.S. Postage stamp commemorating the Articles of Confederation bicentennial; the draft was completed in York (formerly York Town), Pennsylvania on November 15, 1777

A five-dollar banknote issued by the Second Continental Congress in 1775.

During this period, its achievements included: Successfully managing the war effort; drafting the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the first U.S. constitution; securing diplomatic recognition and support from foreign nations; and resolving state land claims west of the Appalachian Mountains.

On June 14, 1775, Congress voted to create the Continental Army out of the militia units around Boston and appointed George Washington of Virginia as commanding general.

Jefferson's proposal for a Senate to represent the states and a House to represent the people was rejected, but a similar proposal was adopted later in the United States Constitution.

Continental Congress

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Series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War.

The term "Continental Congress" most specifically refers to the First and Second Congresses of 1774–1781 and, at the time, was also used to refer to the Congress of the Confederation of 1781–1789, which operated as the first national government of the United States until being replaced under the Constitution of the United States.

Soon after meeting, this second Congress sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III while also selecting George Washington as the head of the new Continental Army.

In March 1781, the nation's first Frame of Government, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, came into force, at which time the body became what later was called the Congress of the Confederation.

An artist's depiction of the rebellion: Shays' troops repulsed from the armory at Springfield, Massachusetts in early 1787

Shays' Rebellion

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Armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades.

Populist Governor John Hancock refused to crack down on tax delinquencies and accepted devalued paper currency for debts.

Artist's depiction of protesters watching a debtor in a scuffle with a tax collector by the courthouse at Springfield, Massachusetts. The insurrection was a tax-related rebellion.

Governor James Bowdoin instituted a heavy tax burden and stepped up a collection of back taxes.

Militia general William Shepard defended the Springfield Armory against rebel action.

General Benjamin Lincoln, portrait by Henry Sargent

This monument marks the spot of the final battle of Shays' Rebellion in Sheffield, Massachusetts.

The 1787 Constitutional Convention by Junius Brutus Stearns, 1856

Elbridge Gerry (1861 portrait by James Bogle) opposed the Constitution as drafted, although his reasons for doing so were not strongly influenced by the rebellion.

The widely held view was that the Articles of Confederation needed to be reformed as the country's governing document, and the events of the rebellion served as a catalyst for the Constitutional Convention and the creation of the new government.

There is still debate among scholars concerning the rebellion's influence on the Constitution and its ratification.

In contrast, George Washington had been calling for constitutional reform for many years, and he wrote in a letter dated October 31, 1786, to Henry Lee, "You talk, my good sir, of employing influence to appease the present tumults in Massachusetts. I know not where that influence is to be found, or, if attainable, that it would be a proper remedy for the disorders. Influence is not government. Let us have a government by which our lives, liberties, and properties will be secured, or let us know the worst at once."