the preservation of the union."

[Sidenote: Convention assembled.]

By May, 1787, delegates to the proposed convention had been chosen in all
the States except New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Many of the ablest and
most experienced public men were included. Among them were Francis Dana
and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, Alexander Hamilton of New York,
Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, and James Madison and George Washington
of Virginia. The convention was the most distinguished body which had ever
assembled in America; if its work could not command public confidence,
there was no hope for the Union.


61. DIFFICULTIES OF THE CONVENTION (1787).


[Sidenote: Task of the convention.]

When on May 25, 1787, the convention assembled at Philadelphia, its task,
under the call of Congress, was limited to the preparation of amendments
to the old Confederation. The first formal resolution to which it came
after organization reads as follows: "That a national government ought to
be established, consisting of a supreme legislature, executive, and
judiciary." The convention from the beginning was evidently resolved to
recommend a new, elaborate, and powerful form of government. The key to
this action is found in the history of the twelve years from 1775 to 1787.
The country had tried a revolutionary, irresponsible, form of government,
and it had not worked well. It had tried a union of sovereign States;
neither the Union nor the States had prospered. The time had come to