Events Leading to the Drafting of the United States Constitution

The Sarah Riggs Humphreys-Mary Silliman Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution celebrates America 250! In anticipation of the July 4, 2026, 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the 13 Colonies the DAR wishes to remind people of the events leading up to the drafting of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787.

The First Continental Congress was held in Philadelphia, PA between September 5 and October 26, 1774. It was called in 1774 to boycott British goods to compel the British Parliament to rescind the Intolerable Acts. The Congress wanted to be loyal to the British King but it felt the colonies should be represented in Parliament and disputed the British Parliament’s right to tax the colonies. The results of the First Continental Congress was to address grievances against the British Government and coordinated the patriot colonists’ resistance to the harsh and restrictive British rule.

In 1775 the Second Continental Congress convened. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence and assumed the normal functions of a government. It appointed ambassadors, issued paper money, raised the Continental Army through conscription, and appointed generals to lead the army. It also wrote petitions such as the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms along with drafting an Olive Branch Petition to King George III hoping to reach a peaceful solution.

The Second Continental Congress elected George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the American forces. The Congress also needed a strong union and a government powerful enough to defeat Great Britain. After the British captured Philadelphia in 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777.

The Articles of Confederation was a document which limited a central government and allowed Congress to conduct business. Congress sent the Articles to the states for ‘immediate consideration’ which took almost two years for the states to approve the document on March 1, 1781. Delegates from 8 states (NH, MA, RI, CT, NY, PA, VA, and SC) signed the ratification on July 9, 1778. July 21, 1778 North Carolina delegates signed and three days later, Georgia delegates signed the ratification. New Jersey delegates signed on November 26, 1778 but it wasn’t until May 5, 1779 that Delaware delegates signed and, finally, the 13th state delegates, Maryland, signed the ratification on March 1, 1781.

The Articles established that “the United States of America” was a perpetual union to defend the states as a group, but there were few central powers and lacked an executive branch and a judicial branch. Also, the central government had no uniform economic system in place. It couldn’t tax the states so the issue of revenue loomed large in trying to wage a war, raise armies, clothe and feed the armies and pay them for their service. The states were still issuing their own currency and had their own sovereign rights under their original colonial charters.

One of the many concerns was trade and the need for a uniform economic system. As the war progressed and the Articles of Confederation proved unable to govern the 13 states, Congress approved a plan to hold a convention in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation on February 21, 1781.

The DAR is a non-profit women's service organization dedicated to historic preservation, education and patriotism. Any woman over 18 who can prove lineal descent to an ancestor who served in the American Revolution is a prospective member. For more information on the DAR visit http://www.sarahriggshumphreysDAR.org

The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution asks everyone to celebrate the 250th Birthday of the United States of America and the Patriots that achieved American Independence. For more information visit https://honoringourpatriots.dar.org/