Compare and Contrast Versions of the Constitution of the United States

Today, we often forget that our nation’s founding documents went through many rounds of edits and revisions before they were finalized. The process to create them took weeks, sometimes months of debates and discussions. Originally, under the Articles of Confederation, individual states retained most governing powers. Concerns over their effectiveness soon became evident. The new nation badly needed to pay off its war debts, and there was no method to collect taxes. A supermajority of states was required to pass most laws. 

A constitutional convention was called in 1787 to address these challenges. Delegates met at Philadelphia in Independence Hall, where they scrapped the Articles of Confederation and eventually created a new system of government under the United States Constitution. Two printings of the draft of what eventually became the Constitution were provided to the delegates. The copy below belonged to New Jersey delegate David Brearley Jr., and includes Brearley’s handwritten annotations as the delegates debated.

Begin by analyzing the Printed Draft of the Constitution Brought in to the Convention by the Committee on Revision of Style, then analyze the final version of the Constitution of the United States. 

Click View Primary Source Details under the document image to zoom in or to read the transcripts.