Annapolis Convention

On September 11, 1786, delegates from five states met at Mann's Tavern in Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss trade and commercial problems under the Articles of Confederation. Alexander Hamilton of New York, James Madison of Virginia, and John Dickinson of Delaware were among the twelve men who actually attended the Annapolis Convention. Because only five states sent delegates, the convention adjourned on September 14, 1786 after issuing a report that called for a broader meeting in Philadelphia.

The Annapolis meeting exposed a constitutional weakness in the Articles of Confederation: Congress lacked reliable power to regulate interstate commerce or correct conflicting state laws. Madison and Hamilton concluded in Annapolis that piecemeal trade reforms would fail unless the states reconsidered the structure of the Union itself. The report drafted in Maryland therefore turned a narrow commercial discussion into a direct challenge to the adequacy of the Confederation government.

The Annapolis Convention led directly to the Philadelphia Convention of May 1787, where delegates abandoned limited trade revision and drafted an entirely new Constitution. The Annapolis report also helped legitimate the idea that state-appointed conventions could propose structural changes beyond the Articles of Confederation.