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Initially, the Constitutional Convention was meant to amend the Articles of Confederation,
however, after much deliberation and debate, the country’s founding fathers decided to redraft it
completely and construct the Constitution. Therefore, one of the important achievements of the
Constitutional Convention was the creation of the Constitution itself. The Convention was
anything but smooth sailing however, and no subsequent constitutional convention in any
country has had the success of that of America (p.100).1 The three main achievements of the
Constitutional Convention include the Connecticut Compromise, the three-fifths compromise,
and the disillusion of the Articles and Confederation.
In order “to form a more perfect union” the founders needed to construct a governmental
structure that would satisfy the needs of both small and large states as well as create a central
government that would not threaten citizens as most were largely distrustful of a power
sovereign. Ultimately, the main issue relating to the construction of the Constitution was the
difference of opinions from those who either agreed with the Virginia Plan (Large State) or the
New Jersey Plan (Small State). Despite the large disagreements among those who attended the
Constitutional Convention, after much prayer the founders came with a compromise that would
meet the needs on both sides known as the Connecticut Compromise (p.209).2
Another compromise that resulted from the convention occurred on the topic of slavery. Whether
slavery was to be regulated under the New Constitution was a matter of such intense conflict
between the North and the South that several southern states refused to join the union if slavery
were not to be allowed. While the act of slavery in general was not prohibited, it was given a
time limit in regards to the international slave trade. It also resulted in the three-fifths
compromise which allowed slaves to be counted as part of the population in determining
representation of the states in Congress, but one slave would only equal 3/5 of a person (p.220).3
Historian, Gary Wills has hypothesized that without the additional slave votes, Thomas Jefferson
may have lost the presidential election of 1800.4
Out of these three achievements, it seems that the most important one is the disillusion of the
Articles of Confederation and the creation of the Constitution. The reason why this is the most
important achievement of them all is that it is doubtful the United States could ever survive as a
nation under the severe restrictions under the Articles of Confederation. Such issues of the
Articles of Confederation that were solved through the Constitution included congress’ inability
to tax and regulate foreign/interstate commerce. Additionally, the national government could not
create its own militia nor could the federal government enforce acts passed by congress.
The constitutional convention has proven to be an excellent example of the Christian foundation
of the country and the Christian worldview of the founders. In fact, during the Constitutional
Convention Benjamin Franklin led his speech with a prayer asking for God to aid them in their
pursuit of creating the Constitution. 5 Ultimately, the founders knew that they were constructing a
government which needed to follow natural law as proposed in the Bible, “For there is no power
but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God” (Romans 13:1).
References
1 James McClellan. Liberty, Order, and Justice 3rd ed. The Liberty Fund, 2000.
2 IBID
3 IBID
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4 Garry Wills. "Negro President": Jefferson and the Slave Power. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
ISBN 0-618-34398-9 (2003).
5 Thomas Kidd. Why Ben Franklin Called For Prayer at the Constitutional Convention, The
Gospel Coalition (2017).
