ABSTRACT
As colonists from England settled in America in the seventeenth century, they brought with them not only English law, but also the dissenting political and religious ideas that led many of them to leave England. Although royal charters granting English colonies required adherence to English law, and royal governors and the Privy Council back in London had the power to veto colonial legislation, the colonists managed to go their own ways. Two of the delegates were regarded by common consent as the greatest living Americans. George Washington had not had an easy time deciding whether to accept or decline his appointment to the Virginia delegation. The dispute that posed the greatest threat to the unity and harmony of the Federal Convention focused on the system of representation governing the structure of the national legislature. From the first days of the Convention, the delegates abandoned the idea of merely framing amendments to the Articles of Confederation.
