Korva is a scroll of the internet’s best ideas.
Annapolis drew only 12 men
From Mount Vernon to Annapolis
It started a year earlier, when delegates from Maryland and Virginia met at George Washington's Mount Vernon home and settled their Potomac disputes in a 13-point agreement. James Madison was so impressed that he pushed for a gathering of all 13 states on interstate trade, and Virginia called one in Annapolis.
The Annapolis letter
Only three states, Virginia, Delaware, and New Jersey, sent enough people to form a proper delegation. Alexander Hamilton, who had written in 1782 that the union was too frail to be relied on, pulled the talk beyond commerce. The 12 men concluded that the Articles themselves were the real problem, and Hamilton drafted a letter calling for a convention to overhaul the Union. Edmund Randolph and Madison softened it.
Congress calls the convention
Madison's tireless lobbying and Shays' Rebellion did the rest. On February 21, 1787, Congress resolved that delegates meet in Philadelphia on the second Monday in May for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles. Madison came 11 days early and found only a small number of delegates. The convention could not open until May 25, with 27 delegates from seven states.
What was the Mount Vernon Conference?
It met in March 1785 at Washington's home, with commissioners from Maryland and Virginia. They worked out rules for navigation and fishing on the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. The agreement worked so well that Maryland suggested a wider meeting on trade. Virginia then proposed the Annapolis gathering.
Which states sent delegates to Annapolis?
The twelve delegates came from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia. Delegates from other states were named but never arrived. The meeting opened on September 11, 1786, and wrapped up in a matter of days. The report it produced called for a larger convention the next May.
Which state refused to attend the convention?
Rhode Island was the only state that never sent a delegate to Philadelphia. Its leaders were mostly farmers and debtors who favored paper money and feared a stronger central government. The state did not ratify the Constitution until May 1790, after the new government was already running. It joined only after Congress threatened to treat it as a foreign nation for trade.
More from History That Doesn't Suck
