Which state refused to send a delegate to the Constitutional Convention?

Which state refused to send a delegate to the Constitutional Convention?

• A. New York
• B. Rhode Island
• C. Pennsylvania
• D. Virginia

Answer: (B)

Rhode Island did not send a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, which was convened to draft a new framework for the U.S. government after the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The state resisted because it feared a strong national government would threaten state sovereignty and its own economic interests, and it worried that representation in the new plan would blunt the influence of smaller states. With Rhode Island absent, the other states moved forward with drafting the Constitution, which they then proceeded to ratify. Rhode Island eventually joined later, but its initial refusal highlights the essential tension between national power and states’ rights that shaped the founding era.

Rhode Island did not send a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, which was convened to draft a new framework for the U.S. government after the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The state resisted because it feared a strong national government would threaten state sovereignty and its own economic interests, and it worried that representation in the new plan would blunt the influence of smaller states. With Rhode Island absent, the other states moved forward with drafting the Constitution, which they then proceeded to ratify. Rhode Island eventually joined later, but its initial refusal highlights the essential tension between national power and states’ rights that shaped the founding era.