"H.W. Brands, Miracle at Philadelphia" Summary
H.W. Brands’ essay “Miracle at Philadelphia” is a narrative account of the Constitutional Convention that took place in Philadelphia in 1787 at the Pennsylvania State House. The essay contains names of the prominent delegates, including Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and James Madison, who attended the convention. Initially, “[t]he Convention was to be kept a profound secret” (Brands 122). A majority of the delegates had once been a part of the Continental Congress, and were familiar with the restrictions that the Articles of Confederation had placed on the national government. Brands’ essay highlights the conviction of the delegates that “a strong central government that would rise above the petty differences of the thirteen states” (Brands 114) was needed.
One of the questions that the delegates were facing was whether the Articles of Confederation were to be amended or a new frame of government was to be created by throwing out the Articles. The delegates decided to draft a new constitution that would propose a new framework. This was why the convention was named the Constitutional Convention. Thus, the drafting of the Constitution began, however, the needs of the large and small states needed to be balanced for the governmental system to work. A framework that would solve this conflict of interests was first presented by Edmund Rudolf in the Virginia Plan. According to the Plan, a bicameral legislature would be established where two houses would represent the large and smaller states based on their population.
However, Benjamin Franklin apparently believed that a unicameral legislature would be better for America. “[T]he dispute over representation” (Brands 122) caused the convention to go on for weeks, until Franklin finally intervened. As Brands writes, it was Benjamin Franklin helped achieve the balance between the states, and thus, it was decided that the interests of the large states would be safeguarded in the lower house, which was named the House of Representatives, and “[t]he interests of the small states would be safeguarded in the lower house, called the Senate” (Brands 122). If it was not Franklin, and the Constitutional Convention had not taken place, perhaps the United States would not have the constitution that it has today.
Works Cited
Brands, H. W.. "Miracle at Philadelphia." Trans. ArrayPortait of America. Stephen B. Oates and Charles J. Errico. 10th ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2012. 113-127. Print.
