2.Constitutional Convention

On May 25，1787，fifty-five delegates from all states except Rhode Island met in the opening session of the Constitutional Convention in Independence Hall in Philadelphia.Among them were many famous Americans：for example，George Washington，Benjamin Franklin，Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.George Washington presided over the Convention.James Madison was called the Father of the Constitution because of his important contribution to the formation of the Constitution.

The sessions of the convention lasted from May to Sept.17，1787.The final Constitution represents a series of compromises between strong government and government limited in freedom，between national and local authority，and between the interests of the large states and those of the smaller ones.In the course of their proceedings，the delegates adopted the ideas that each branch of government—executive，legislative，or judicial—must exercise distinct powers and be selected in a distinct way，and that each branch must be able to“check and balance”the others if one branch grew too powerful and sought to dominate the others.Besides establishing a new governmental structure，the Constitution greatly enlarged the power and scope of the national government.The new government would impose its authority on the people directly，not through states.It could impose and collect taxes from citizens，control and regulate foreign and interstate commerce.It had sole control over the coinage of money and could establish a postal system，build post roads，and pass laws of naturalization.Finally，the Constitution declared that the new government could“make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing powers，and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States.”

As a further guarantee to the people that the new government would pose no threat to them，the Constitution implied that any powers not listed were not granted at all.This is the doctrine of expressed power.The Constitution grants only those powers specifically expressed in its text.Any power not enumerated in the Constitution was conceived to be reserved to the states.For example，crime and breaches of the peace were in the states’jurisdiction，except when a state legislature or governor specifically requested federal help to put down local violence.Social relations，including marriage，divorce，and education，were also left to the states.