"Today In History" is perfect for Memorial Day. Because today is the day in 1787, Philadelphia, that the Constitutional Convention began. What was the Constitutional Convention, you might ask? Well, let me explain. . . .

I'll try and make this short and simple - The Constitutional Convention is where our founders wrote the Constitution, to replace the "Articles of Confederation" - a previous governing document. There were 3 major compromises discussed. keep reading. . .

There was the "Great Compromise (also called the Connecticut Compromise) which was about small states having equal representation. The large states wanted representation based on population.

So the compromise? - A bicameral legislature. Two Houses. 1, The House of Representatives, which IS based off the states population. 2, The Senate, where each state gets an equal number of representatives with 2.

There was the "3/5" compromise - the Southern states wanted to count slaves as part of their population to add to their representation in the House. The compromise made it that every 5 slaves was worth 3 people towards your census.

The last compromise was the Bill of Rights, between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. This created the first 10 amendments to the Constitution

George Washington came out of retirement to not only presided over the convention, but agreed to become the Nations 1st President. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were not there and it killed them not to be. They were serving as foreign ministers in England and France at the time

Obviously there is a lot more to it - There's James Madison and his "Virginia Plan", creating the 3 tiers of Government, and then drafted the constitution. . but that's some of the basics. i don't want to take up your entire holiday here. . But Happy Memorial Day, everyone!