In 1787, he was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end of the convention, in September 1787, he urged his fellow delegates to support the heavily debated new document. How old was Benjamin Franklin when he signed the Constitution? […]
Those who drafted the Declaration believed that it was better to remove the section dealing with slavery than risk a long debate over the issue of slavery. They needed the support for independence from the southern states. Was slavery included in the Declaration of Independence? What isn’t widely known, however, […]
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” What is the most important phrase in the Declaration of Independence and why? The most […]
After signing The Declaration of Independence, Franklin did not remain in Philadelphia much longer thereafter. The reason for Franklin’s departure was that he was named the United States Commissioner (Ambassador) to France in December of 1776, and he returned to Europe. What happened to the man who signed the Declaration […]
Although Jefferson disputed his account, John Adams later recalled that he had persuaded Jefferson to write the draft because Jefferson had the fewest enemies in Congress and was the best writer. (Jefferson would have gotten the job anyway—he was elected chair of the committee.) Who convinced Thomas Jefferson to write […]
Benjamin Franklin primarily served as the editor of the Declaration of Independence. His changes were believed to have been minimal, but, when the document went before the entire Continental Congress, the draft was more thoroughly changed by the larger body from Jefferson’s original text. Who originally wrote the Declaration of […]
Thomas Jefferson is considered the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, although Jefferson’s draft went through a process of revision by his fellow committee members and the Second Continental Congress. Who is the main author of the Declaration of Independence? Thomas Jefferson’sWritten in June 1776, Thomas Jefferson’s draft of […]
Drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776 became the defining event in Thomas Jefferson’s life. Despite Jefferson’s desire to return to Virginia to help write that state’s constitution, the Continental Congress appointed him to the five-person committee for drafting a declaration of independence. Why did they write the Declaration of […]
Written in June 1776, Thomas Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence, included eighty-six changes made later by John Adams (1735–1826), Benjamin Franklin 1706–1790), other members of the committee appointed to draft the document, and by Congress. Who was the true author of the Declaration of Independence? Although Thomas Jefferson […]
The other purposes for adopting the Constitution, recited by the Preamble— to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”—embody the aspirations that We the People have for our What are the 5 […]
In 1787, George Washington was persuaded to attend the Constitutional Convention and subsequently was unanimously elected its president. What did George Washington do in the Constitutional Convention? In presiding over the Constitutional Convention, he worked to forge consensus, demanding complete secrecy as the delegates set about the controversial task of […]
the National Archives museum. Located on the upper level of the National Archives museum, the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom is the permanent home of the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and Bill of Rights. Is the Constitution on display the original? The original Constitution […]
In 1787, he was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end of the convention, in September 1787, he urged his fellow delegates to support the heavily debated new document. Did Ben Franklin help write the Constitution? Benjamin Franklin was […]
An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two-thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for […]
GEORGE WASHINGTON President. IN CONVENTION, September 17, 1787. Who was president when the Constitution was signed? George Washington signed the Constitution of the United States on September 17, 1787 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. George Washington spent the spring and summer of that year presiding over intense and lengthy […]