In 1787, fifty-five men met in secret to write a constitution for "a more perfect Union." This exhibition of five early printings of the US Constitution opens a window into the process by which the draft evolved into the Constitution we live by today. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is the only institution to hold all of the first five printings of the US Constitution.
On May 25, 1787, the fifty-five delegates to the Constitutional Convention opened their first session in Philadelphia’s State House. They posted sentries at the doors to keep their secrets from flying out. Barring the press and the public, the delegates took a vow not to reveal to anyone the words spoken there.
“We the People of the States”
In the August 6 preamble, delegates describe themselves as representatives of “the States of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode-Island,” etc. They viewed the United States as a confederation of separate states that worked together in limited situations. This view would soon change.
On September 17, as the delegates were preparing to sign the document, a delegate suggested changing the number of Representatives in the House from at least one per 40,000 to one per 30,000. Washington believed the change would increase the chances for ratification, so the Convention voted unanimously to adopt the one per 30,000 rule.
Benjamin Franklin, Oldest Delegate
At 81 years of age, Franklin was the oldest delegate to the Convention. Benjamin Franklin owned the member’s copy of the Constitution included in this exhibition. He presented it to his nephew Jonathan Williams. The document was discovered in an old trunk by a descendant of the Williams family in 1972.
“We, the People of the United States”
The preamble in this printing reads “We, the People of the United States.” The preamble to the first printed draft of August 6, 1787, reads “We the People of the States of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode-Island,” etc., listing each of the thirteen states. Between the writing of the draft and the final version, the idea of a single, unified nation had been born.
Before radio, television, and the Internet, it was through newspapers that Americans read and debated the provisions of the Constitution. In newspapers such as the Freeman’s Journal, Federalists and anti-Federalists picked apart each article and section. Their fierce debates culminated in the ratification of a strong but flexible Constitution that has served as the cornerstone of our republic for 228 years.
Developed by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.