A Second Printed Draft that Belonged to Delaware Delegate Jacob Broom

Home History Online Exhibits Constitution: On Display A Second Printed Draft that Belonged to Delaware Delegate Jacob Broom

A Second Printed Draft that Belonged to Delaware Delegate Jacob Broom

The delegates continued to debate and revise the Constitution during August and early September. A five-man Committee of Style—consisting of William Samuel Johnson of Connecticut, Alexander Hamilton of New York, James Madison of Virginia, Rufus King of Massachusetts, and Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania—was elected on September 8 to incorporate the revisions into the document. Morris did most of the work of the committee, which included rewriting the 23 articles and 40 sections and reducing them to 7 articles and 21 sections. Morris also completely revised the Constitution’s preamble, changing its introductory phrase from “We the People of the States of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts . . .” to “We the People of the United States.” The Committee of Style submitted its printed report to the convention on September 12. HSP’s copy of this report, one of only 14 to survive, had belonged to Delaware delegate Jacob Broom.