Annapolis Convention (1786)

The Annapolis Convention is notable as the event leading to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Delegates from five states, including Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, met in Annapolis to consider a federal plan for regulating commerce. Because of the lack of attendance, the delegates soon decided to call a new convention to meet the next year with the broad purpose of amending the Articles oe Coneederation.

An earlier conference at Mount Vernon, Virginia, in 1785 had resolved a number of disputes concerning the navigation of Chesapeake Bay, thus illustrating the advantages of independent state action. The success of this conference led to Virginia’s invitation to the states to meet at Annapolis in 1786, with the purpose of creating a more uniform standard for dealing with interstate commerce. The government under the Articles of Confederation did not have the power to regulate commerce, which often led to difficulties between states. Disputes between Maryland and Virginia over navigation of the Potomac River were the immediate catalyst of the Annapolis Convention. However, discussions were brief and futile as the delegates soon decided that because of such low attendance and the complexities of commerce, there was little they could accomplish. Alexander Hamilton was key in convincing his colleagues that the issues they were concerned with required revision of other political and economic practices. After only two days, the delegates to the Annapolis Convention issued a report, written primarily by Hamilton, requesting the states to select delegates to send to a convention in Philadelphia the next year to revise the Articles of Confederation. They expressed their opinion that the situation of the United States was delicate and critical, requiring the attention of all members of the Confederacy. The delegates stated that the Philadelphia convention should create “provisions as shall appear to them necessary to render the constitution adequate to the exigencies of the Union.” The report was completed on September 11, 1786, and copies of the report were submitted to Congress and to all the state legislatures. The legislatures were asked to send their delegates to Philadelphia in May 1787. This action was technically unconstitutional but soon gained the support of the SECOND Continental Congress. On the suggestion of the Annapolis Convention, delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention, which drafted the United States Constitution.

Further reading: Merrill Jensen, The New Nation: A History of the United States during the Confederation (New York: Knopf, 1950).

—Crystal Williams