Those leaders who began to believe that the Articles of Confederation were inadequate to address the problems facing the new nation had the perfect forum in which to express their concerns. The Annapolis Convention had called for another convention to be held starting on the second Monday in May 1787. The upheaval of Shays's Rebellion ensured that the Confederation Congress would echo this call for a convention. On February 21, 1787, the Congress officially announced what it hoped would be a meeting to discuss minor changes to the Articles of Confederation. In fact, this meeting would turn out to be the Constitutional Convention. Instead of minor changes to the Articles of Confederation, a whole new governing structure would be born.

The convention was scheduled to begin work in Philadelphia on the second Monday in May (May 14, 1787). However, it could not officially begin work until May 25, when a quorum of...