What is the role of the legislative branch in government?”
Constitutional Role of the Legislative Branch Fifty-five men gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May to September 1787 for a national convention. Their job was to propose revisions to the Articles of Confederation, the framework for American government at that time. Operating under the Articles, Congress (the only branch of the American government then) was having trouble raising money to run the government. In correspondence a year earlier between two Massachusetts politicians, Continental congressman Rufus King (1755–1827) wrote to a former Continental congressman, Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814). According to The Founders’ Constitution, King wrote, “We are without money or the prospect of it in the Federal Treasury; and the States, many of them, care so little about the Union, that they take no measures to keep a representation in Congress.” The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were primarily from the wealthy class of society. Most were lawyers, and most either owned l
