document_title: Constitutional Convention (United States)

question_text: who were the delegates that attended the constitutional convention

question_tokens: who were the delegates that attended the constitutional convention

text: Constitutional Convention (United States)

text: Historical context[edit]

text: Before the Constitution was drafted, the nearly 4 million inhabitants[4] of the 13 newly independent states were governed under the Articles of Confederation, created by the Second Continental Congress. It soon became evident to nearly all that the chronically underfunded Confederation government, as originally organized, was inadequate for managing the various conflicts that arose among the states.[5]:4–5[6]:14–16 As the Articles of Confederation could only be amended by unanimous vote of the states, any state had effective veto power over any proposed change.[7] In addition, the Articles gave the weak federal government no taxing power: it was wholly dependent on the states for its money, and had no power to force delinquent states to pay.[7]

text: Once the immediate task of winning the American Revolutionary War had passed, the states began to look to their own interests, and disputes arose. These included a dispute between Maryland and Virginia over the Potomac River and opposition to Rhode Island's imposing taxes on all traffic passing through it on the post road that linked all the states. James Madison suggested that state governments should appoint commissioners "to take into consideration the trade of the United States; to examine the relative situation and trade of said states; to consider how far a uniform system in their commercial regulations may be necessary to their common interests and permanent harmony".[8]:92

text: Another impetus for the convention was Shays' Rebellion. A political conflict between Boston merchants and rural farmers over issues such as property seizures for tax debts had broken out into an open rebellion. This rebellion was led by a former Revolutionary War captain, Daniel Shays, himself a small farmer with tax debts, who had never received payment for his service in the Continental Army. The rebellion took months for Massachusetts to put down completely, and some desired a federal army that would be able to put down such insurrections.

text: In September 1786, at the Annapolis Convention, delegates from five states called for a Constitutional Convention in order to discuss possible improvements to the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787. Rhode Island, fearing that the Convention would work to its disadvantage, boycotted the Convention and, when the Constitution was put to the states, initially refused to ratify it.[9]

text: The Convention[edit]

text: Due to the difficulty of travel in the late 18th century, very few of the selected delegates were present on the designated day of May 14, 1787, and it was not until May 25 that a quorum of seven states was secured. (New Hampshire delegates would not join the Convention until more than halfway through the proceedings, on July 23.)[5]:103 James Madison arrived first, and soon most of the Virginia delegation arrived. While waiting for the other delegates, the Virginia delegation produced the Virginia Plan, which was designed and written by James Madison. On May 25, the delegations convened in the Pennsylvania State House.

text: George Washington was unanimously elected president of the Convention,[10] and it was agreed that the discussions and votes would be kept secret until the conclusion of the meeting.[5]:11 Despite the sweltering summer heat, the windows of the meeting hall were nailed shut to keep the proceedings a secret from the public.[History Alive! 1] Although William Jackson was elected as secretary, his records were brief and included very little detail. Madison's Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, supplemented by the notes of Robert Yates, remain the most complete record of the Convention.[5]:162–64 Throughout the debate, delegates constantly referred to precedents from history in support of their position. Most commonly, they referred to the history of England, in particular the Glorious Revolution (often simply called "The Revolution"), classical history (mainly the Roman Republic and the leagues of Greek city-states), and recent precedents from Holland and Germany.

text: Outside the Convention in Philadelphia, there was a national convening of the Society of the Cincinnati. Washington was said to be embarrassed. The 1776 "old republican" delegates like Elbridge Gerry (MA) found anything military or hereditary anathema. The Presbyterian Synod of Philadelphia and New York convention was meeting to redefine its Confession, dropping the faith requirement for civil authority to prohibit false worship.[11] Protestant Episcopalian Washington attended a Roman Catholic Mass and dinner.[12] Revolution veteran Jonas Phillips, of the Mikveh Israel Synagogue, petitioned the Convention to avoid a national oath including belief in both Old and New Testaments. Merchants of Providence, Rhode Island, petitioned for consideration, though their Assembly had not sent a delegation.[13]

text: Manasseh Cutler came directly from the capital in New York and found himself a frequent dinner guest among the delegates. He carried grants of five million acres to parcel out among The Ohio Company and "speculators", including some who were attending the Convention.[a] A Philadelphia guest of Robert Morris, Noah Webster would write a pamphlet immediately after the signing. "Leading Principles of the Federal Convention" advocated adoption of the Constitution. It was published much earlier and more widely circulated than today's better known Federalist Papers.[15]

text: James Madison's blueprint[edit]

text: While waiting for the Convention to formally begin, James Madison sketched out his initial draft, which became known as the Virginia Plan and reflected his views as a strong nationalist.[6]:47 By the time the rest of the Virginia delegation arrived, most of the Pennsylvania delegation had arrived as well. They agreed on Madison's plan, and formed what came to be the predominant coalition. By the time the Convention started, the only blueprints that had been assembled were Madison's Virginia Plan, and Charles Pinckney's plan. As Pinckney didn't have a coalition behind his plan, Madison's plan was the starting point for deliberations.[6]:47

text: The Convention agreed on several principles. Most importantly, they agreed that the Convention should go beyond its mandate merely to amend the Articles of Confederation, and instead should produce a new constitution outright. While some delegates thought this illegal, the Articles of Confederation were closer to a treaty between sovereign states than they were to a national constitution, so the genuine legal problems were limited.[6]:64 Another principle they agreed on was that the new government would have all the powers of the Confederation Congress, plus additional powers over the states.[6]:64 Once agreeing on these principles, the Convention voted on the Virginia plan and signaled their approval for it. Once this was done, they began modifying it.

text: Madison's plan operated on several assumptions that were not seriously challenged. During the deliberations, few raised serious objections to the planned bicameral congress, nor the separate executive function, nor the separate judicial function.[6]:67 As English law had typically recognized government as having two separate functions, law making embodied in the legislature, and law executing embodied in the king and his courts, the division of the legislature from the executive and judiciary was a natural and uncontested point.[10]

text: The division of the legislature into an upper and lower house wasn't questioned either, despite the obscure origins of the English House of Lords and its role as the representative of the hereditary nobility.[6]:82 Americans had seldom known any but bicameral legislatures, both in Britain and in most state governments. The main exceptions to this were the dysfunctional Confederation Congress and the unicameral Pennsylvania legislature, which was seen as quickly vacillating between partisan extremes after each election.[6]:82 Experience had convinced the delegates that an upper house was necessary to tame the passions of the lower classes against the interests of wealthy merchants and landowners. Since America had no native hereditary aristocracy, the character of this upper house was designed to protect the interests of this wealthy elite, the "minority of the opulent," against the interests of the lower classes, who constituted the majority of the population.[6]:85[16]

text: On Thursday, June 7, it was proposed that senators should be chosen directly by the state legislatures, instead of by popular vote, as this method was more likely to preserve the power of the upper classes. Convention delegate Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts observed that "the great mercantile interest and of stockholders, is not provided for in any mode of election-they will however be better represented if the State legislatures choose the second branch."[16] The proposal was carried unanimously.

text:
In England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people, the property of landed proprietors would be insecure. An agrarian law would soon take place. If these observations be just, our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation. Landholders ought to have a share in the government, to support these invaluable interests, and to balance and check the other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority. The Senate, therefore, ought to be this body; and to answer these purposes, they ought to have permanency and stability.

—James Madison, quoted in Notes of the Secret Debates of the Federal Convention of 1787 by Robert Yates

text: The delegates also agreed with Madison that the executive function had to be independent of the legislature. In their aversion to kingly power, American legislatures had created state governments where the executive was beholden to the legislature, and by the late 1780s this was widely seen as being a source of paralysis.[6]:82 The Confederation government was the ultimate example of this.

text: Furthermore, in the English tradition, judges were seen as being agents of the King and his court, who represented him throughout his realm.[10] Madison believed that in the American states, this direct link between state executives and judges was a source of corruption through patronage, and thought the link had to be severed between the two, thus creating the "third branch" of the judiciary which had been without any direct precedent before this point.[10] Madison, however, did not believe that the judiciary should be truly independent, but rather beholden to the legislature rather than the executive. At the Convention, some sided with Madison that the legislature should choose judges, while others believed the president should choose judges. A compromise was eventually reached that the president should choose judges and the Senate confirm them.[6]:84

text: In a few areas, Madison's plan included provisions that had little support among the delegates. Few agreed with Madison that the legislature should be able to invalidate state laws, so the idea was dropped. While most thought there should be some mechanism to invalidate bad laws by congress, few agreed with Madison that a board of the executive and judges should decide on this. Instead, the power was given solely to the executive in the form of the veto. Many also thought this would be useful to protect the executive, whom many worried might become beholden to an imperial legislature.[6]:141 Also, during the deliberations, the New Jersey Plan was introduced, although it was more of a protest to the excessive national character of the Virginia plan, and was not seriously considered.[6]:230 The office of Vice President was also included later in the deliberations, mainly to provide the president a successor if he was unable to complete his term but also to provide presidential electors with an incentive to vote for at least one out of state candidate in addition to a "favorite son" from their own state or region.

text: The early debate[edit]

text: Each state was allowed to cast a single vote either for or against a proposal during the debates in accordance with the majority opinion of the state's delegates.[5]:83 Throughout the Convention, delegates would regularly come and go, with only 30–40 being present on a typical day.[5]:83 Consequently, if a state's delegates were equally divided in their views on a given proposal, or if too few of the state's delegates were in attendance to establish a quorum for the delegation when votes were being cast on a particular proposal, that state's delegation had essentially no effect on the outcome of the vote on the proposal. Thus, for example, after two of New York's three delegates abandoned the Convention in mid July with no intention of returning, New York was left unable to vote on any further proposals at the Convention, although Hamilton would continue to periodically attend and occasionally to speak during the debates.[5]:83

text:
All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and well born, the other the mass of the people. The voice of the people has been said to be the voice of God; and however generally this maxim has been quoted and believed, it is not true in fact. The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right. Give therefore to the first class a distinct, permanent share in the government. They will check the unsteadiness of the second, and as they cannot receive any advantage by a change, they therefore will ever maintain good government. Can a democratic assembly, who annually revolve in the mass of the people, be supposed steadily to pursue the public good? Nothing but a permanent body can check the imprudence of democracy. Their turbulent and uncontroling disposition requires checks.

—Alexander Hamilton, quoted in Notes of the Secret Debates of the Federal Convention of 1787 by Robert Yates

text: The first area of major dispute was the manner by which the lower house would be apportioned. A minority wanted it to be apportioned so that all states would have equal weight, though this was never seriously considered. Most wanted it apportioned in accordance with some mixture of property and population.[6]:117 Though there was discussion on how to calculate property for this purpose, the issue of property was later dropped because of its difficulty, and an assumption that property would closely correlate to population.

text: Most accepted the desire among the slave states to count slaves as part of the population, although their servile status was raised as a major objection against this. The Three-Fifths Compromise assessing population by adding the number of free persons to three-fifths of "all other persons" (slaves) was agreed to without serious dispute.[6]:119 In 1783, when attempting to assess a national taxation system, the Confederation Congress had considered a three fifths ratio, which did not achieve unanimity.[6]:119[17] This compromise resulted in a large coalition of states, including the small slave states of South Carolina and Georgia, backing the Virginia plan and thus expanding the power of the primary coalition. That the lower house was to be elected directly by the voters was also accepted without major dispute.[6]:119

text: More contentious than the lower house was the question of the upper house. Few agreed with Madison that its members should be elected by the lower house. James Wilson suggested election by popular vote versus election by state legislature, but his proposal was shot down 10–1 by the delegates.[18] Most delegates didn't question the intelligence of the voters,[citation needed] rather what concerned them was the slowness by which information spread in the late 18th century.[6]:122

text: At the time of the Convention, they noted that local newspapers said little of current events, and what little they had was sketchy and dated. Local papers even said little about the meeting of the Convention.[citation needed] Alexander Hamilton proposed extending the term in office for senators to life, considering earlier proposals of four and seven years inefficient to enable the "rich and well born" to have a "distinct, permanent share in the government," which could "check the imprudence of democracy."[16] Moreover, Hamilton proposed that senators not be elected directly by the general public, but by "electors" chosen for that purpose.

text: Besides the problems of direct election, the new Constitution was seen as such a radical break with the old system, by which delegates were elected to the Confederation Congress by state legislatures, that the Convention agreed to retain this method of electing senators to make the constitutional change less radical.[6]:122 The more difficult problem was the issue of apportionment. The Connecticut delegation offered a compromise, whereby the number of representatives for each state in the lower house would be apportioned based on the relative size of the state's population, while the number of representatives in the upper house would be the same for all of the states, irrespective of size. The large states, fearing a diminution of their influence in the legislature under this plan, opposed this proposal. Unable to reach agreement, the delegates decided to leave this issue for further consideration later during the meeting.

text: The delegates couldn't agree on whether the executive should be a single person, or a board of three. Many wished to limit the power of the executive and thus supported the proposal to divide the executive power between three persons.[6]:134 The possible problems of this system, in addition to the knowledge that George Washington would probably be the first president,[citation needed] calmed the fears enough so that the proponents of a singular executive could accumulate a large coalition.[6]:134 This issue came up occasionally after the matter was settled, but was never again seriously doubted.

text: Another issue concerned the election of the president. Few agreed with Madison that the executive should be elected by the legislature. There was widespread concern with direct election, because information diffused so slowly in the late 18th century, and because of concerns that people would only vote for candidates from their state or region. A vocal minority wanted the national executive to be chosen by the governors of the states.[6]:136

text: The issue was one of the last major issues to be resolved, and was done so in the electoral college. At the time, before the formation of modern political parties, there was widespread concern that candidates would routinely fail to secure a majority of electors in the electoral college. The method of resolving this problem therefore was a contested issue. Most thought that the house should then choose the president, since it most closely reflected the will of the people. This caused dissension among delegates from smaller states, who realized that this would put their states at a disadvantage. To resolve this dispute, the Convention agreed that the house would elect the president if no candidate had an electoral college majority, but that each state delegation would vote as a bloc, rather than individually.[6]:136

text: As the Convention was entering its second full month of deliberations, it was decided that further consideration of the prickly question of how to apportion representatives in the national legislature should be referred to a committee composed of one delegate from each of the eleven states that were present at that time at the Convention. The members of this "Grand Committee," as it has come to be known, included Elbridge Gerry, Oliver Ellsworth, Robert Yates, William Paterson, Gunning Bedford, Jr., George Mason, William Davie, John Rutledge, Abraham Baldwin, and Benjamin Franklin. In its report to the Convention on July 5, the committee offered a compromise. The large states had opposed the Connecticut Compromise, because they felt it gave too much power to the smaller states. The Grand Committee's proposal added the requirement that revenue bills originate in the lower house and not be subject to modification by the upper house (although this Origination Clause would later be modified so that revenue bills could be amended in the upper house, or Senate).[6]:199 With this modification, the Convention in a close vote adopted the compromise on July 16. Nationalist delegates remained bitterly opposed, however, until on July 23 they succeeded in further modifying the compromise to give members of the Senate individual voting power, rather than having votes taken by each state's representatives en bloc, as had occurred in Congress under the Articles of Confederation.[19] This accomplished the nationalist goal of preventing state governments from having a direct say in Congress's choice to make national laws.[20] The final document was thus a mixture of Madison's original "national" constitution and the desired "federal" Constitution that many of the delegates sought.[6]:199

text: The first draft[edit]

text: The Convention adjourned from July 26 to August 6 to await the report of the Committee of Detail, which was to produce a first draft of the Constitution. It was chaired by John Rutledge, with the other members including Edmund Randolph, Oliver Ellsworth, James Wilson, and Nathaniel Gorham.

text: Though the committee did not record minutes of its proceedings, three key surviving documents offer clues to the committee's handiwork: an outline by Randolph with edits by Rutledge, extensive notes and a second draft by Wilson, also with Rutledge's edits, and the committee's final report to the Convention.[21]:168 From this evidence it is thought that the committee used the original Virginia Plan, the decisions of the Convention on modifications to that plan, and other sources, such as the Articles of Confederation, provisions of the state constitutions, and even Charles Pinckney's plan, to produce the first full draft,[6]:269–70[21]:165 which author David O. Stewart has called a "remarkable copy-and-paste job."[21]:165

text: Randolph adopted two rules in preparing his initial outline: that the Constitution should only include essential principles, avoiding minor provisions that would change over time, and that it should be stated in simple and precise language.[6]:270

text: Much of what was included in the committee's report consisted of numerous details that the Convention had never discussed but which the committee correctly viewed as uncontroversial and unlikely to be challenged; and as such, much of the committee's proposal would ultimately be incorporated into the final version of the Constitution without debate.[21]:169 Examples of these details included the Speech and Debate Clause, which grants members of Congress immunity for comments made in their jobs, and the rules for organizing the House of Representatives and the Senate.

text: However, Rutledge, himself a former state governor, was determined that while the new national government should be stronger than the Confederation government had been, the national government's power over the states should not be limitless; and at Rutledge's urging, the committee went beyond what the Convention had proposed. As Stewart describes it, the committee "hijacked" and remade the Constitution, altering critical agreements the Convention delegates had already made, enhancing the powers of the states at the expense of the national government, and adding several far-reaching provisions that the Convention had never discussed.[21]:165

text: The first major change, insisted on by Rutledge, was meant to sharply curtail the essentially unlimited powers to legislate "in all cases for the general interests of the Union" that the Convention only two weeks earlier had agreed to grant the Congress. Rutledge and Randolph worried that the broad powers implied in the language agreed on by the Convention would have given the national government too much power at the expense of the states. In Randolph's outline the committee replaced that language with a list of 18 specific "enumerated" powers, many adopted from the Articles of Confederation, that would strictly limit the Congress' authority to measures such as imposing taxes, making treaties, going to war, and establishing post offices.[6]:273–74[21]:170–71 Rutledge, however, was not able to completely convince all of the members of the committee to accept the change. Over the course of a series of drafts, a catchall provision (the "Necessary and Proper Clause") was eventually added, most likely by Wilson, a nationalist little concerned with the sovereignty of individual states, giving the Congress the broad power "to make all Laws that shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof."[6]:274[21]:171–72 Another revision of Wilson's draft also placed eight specific limits on the states, such as barring them from independently entering into treaties and from printing their own money, providing a certain degree of balance to the limits on the national government intended by Rutledge's list of enumerated powers.[6]:274–75[21]:172 In addition, Wilson's draft modified the language of the Supremacy Clause adopted by the Convention, to ensure that national law would take precedence over inconsistent state laws.[21]:172

text: These changes set the final balance between the national and state governments that would be entered into the final document, as the Convention never challenged this dual-sovereignty between nation and state that had been fashioned by Rutledge and Wilson.[21]:172

text: Another set of radical changes introduced by the Committee of Detail proved far more contentious when the committee's report was presented to the Convention. On the day the Convention had agreed to appoint the committee, Southerner Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, of South Carolina, had warned of dire consequences should the committee fail to include protections for slavery in the Southern states, or allow for taxing of Southern agricultural exports.[6]:269, 275[21]:173 Pinckney and his fellow Southern delegates must have been delighted to see that the committee had included three provisions that explicitly restricted the Congress' authority in ways favorable to Southern interests. The proposed language would bar the Congress from ever interfering with the slave trade. It would also prohibit taxation of exports, and would require that any legislation concerning regulation of foreign commerce through tariffs or quotas (that is, any laws akin to England's "Navigation Acts") pass only with two-thirds majorities of both houses of Congress. While much of the rest of the committee's report would be accepted without serious challenge on the Convention floor, these last three proposals would provoke outrage from Northern delegates and slavery opponents.[6]:275[21]:173–74

text: The final report of the committee, which became the first draft of the Constitution, was the first workable constitutional plan, as Madison's Virginia Plan had simply been an outline of goals and a broad structure. Even after it issued this report, the committee continued to meet off and on until early September.

text: Further modifications and concluding debate[edit]

text: Another month of discussion and relatively minor refinement followed, during which several attempts were made to alter the Rutledge draft, though few were successful. Some wanted to add property qualifications for people to hold office, while others wanted to prevent the national government from issuing paper money.[21]:187 Madison in particular wanted to push the Constitution back in the direction of his Virginia plan.

text: One important change that did make it into the final version included the agreement between northern and southern delegates to empower Congress to end the slave trade starting in 1808. Southern and northern delegates also agreed to strengthen the Fugitive Slave Clause in exchange for removing a requirement that two-thirds of Congress agree on "navigation acts" (regulations of commerce between states and foreign governments). The two-thirds requirement was favored by southern delegates, who thought Congress might pass navigation acts that would be economically harmful to slaveholders.[21]:196

text: Once the Convention had finished amending the first draft from the Committee of Detail, a new set of unresolved questions were sent to several different committees for resolution. The Committee of Detail was considering several questions related to habeas corpus, freedom of the press, and an executive council to advise the president. Two committees addressed questions related to the slave trade and the assumption of war debts.

text: A new committee was created, the Committee on Postponed Parts, to address other questions that had been postponed. Its members, such as Madison, were delegates who had shown a greater desire for compromise and were chosen for this reason as most in the Convention wanted to finish their work and go home.[21]:207 The committee dealt with questions related to the taxes, war making, patents and copyrights, relations with Indian tribes, and Franklin's compromise to require money bills to originate in the House. The biggest issue they addressed was the presidency, and the final compromise was written by Madison with the committee's input.[21]:209 They adopted Wilson's earlier plan for choosing the president by an electoral college, and settled on the method of choosing the president if no candidate had an electoral college majority, which many such as Madison thought would be "nineteen times out of twenty".

text: The committee also shortened the president's term from seven years to four years, freed the president to seek re-election after an initial term, and moved impeachment trials from the courts to the Senate. They also created the office of the vice president, whose only roles were to succeed a president unable to complete a term of office, to preside over the Senate, and to cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate. The committee transferred important powers from the Senate to the president, for example the power to make treaties and appoint ambassadors.[21]:212 One controversial issue throughout much of the Convention had been the length of the president's term, and whether the president was to be term limited. The problem had resulted from the understanding that the president would be chosen by Congress; the decision to have the president be chosen instead by an electoral college reduced the chance of the president becoming beholden to Congress, so a shorter term with eligibility for re-election became a viable option.

text: Near the end of the Convention, Gerry, Randolph, and Mason emerged as the main force of opposition. Their fears were increased as the Convention moved from Madison's vague Virginia Plan to the concrete plan of Rutledge's Committee of Detail.[21]:235 Some have argued that Randolph's attacks on the Constitution were motivated by political ambition, in particular his anticipation of possibly facing rival Patrick Henry in a future election. The main objection of the three was the compromise that would allow Congress to pass "navigation acts" with a simple majority in exchange for strengthened slave provisions.[21]:236 Among their other objections was an opposition to the office of vice president.

text: Though most of their complaints did not result in changes, a couple did. Mason succeeded in adding "high crimes and misdemeanors" to the impeachment clause. Gerry also convinced the Convention to include a second method for ratification of amendments. The report out of the Committee of Detail had included only one mechanism for constitutional amendment, in which two-thirds of the states had to ask Congress to convene a convention for consideration of amendments. Upon Gerry's urging, the Convention added back the Virginia Plan's original method whereby Congress would propose amendments that the states would then ratify.[21]:238 All amendments to the Constitution, save the 21st amendment, have been made through this latter method.

text: Despite their successes, these three dissenters grew increasingly unpopular as most other delegates wanted to bring the Convention's business to an end and return home. As the Convention was drawing to a conclusion, and delegates prepared to refer the Constitution to the Committee on Style to pen the final version, one delegate raised an objection over civil trials. He wanted to guarantee the right to a jury trial in civil matters, and Mason saw in this a larger opportunity. Mason told the Convention that the constitution should include a bill of rights, which he thought could be prepared in a few hours. Gerry agreed, though the rest of the committee overruled them. They wanted to go home, and thought this was nothing more than another delaying tactic.[21]:241

text: Few at the time realized how important the issue would become, with the absence of a bill of rights becoming the main argument of the anti-Federalists against ratification. Most of the Convention's delegates thought that states already protected individual rights, and that the Constitution did not authorize the national government to take away rights, so there was no need to include protections of rights. Once the Convention moved beyond this point, the delegates addressed a couple of last-minute issues. Importantly, they modified the language that required spending bills to originate in the House of Representatives and be flatly accepted or rejected, unmodified, by the Senate. The new language empowered the Senate to modify spending bills proposed by the House.[21]:243

text: Drafting and signing[edit]

text: Once the final modifications had been made, the Committee of Style and Arrangement was appointed "to revise the style of and arrange the articles which had been agreed to by the house." Unlike other committees, whose members were named so the committees included members from different regions, this final committee included no champions of the small states. Its members were mostly in favor of a strong national government and unsympathetic to calls for states' rights.[21]:229–30 They were William Samuel Johnson (Connecticut), Alexander Hamilton (New York), Gouverneur Morris (Pennsylvania), James Madison (Virginia), and Rufus King (Massachusetts). On Wednesday, September 12, the report of the "committee of style" was ordered printed for the convenience of the delegates. For three days, the Convention compared this final version with the proceedings of the Convention. The Constitution was then ordered engrossed on Saturday, September 15 by Jacob Shallus, and was submitted for signing on September 17. It made at least one important change to what the Convention had agreed to; King wanted to prevent states from interfering in contracts. Although the Convention never took up the matter, his language was now inserted, creating the contract clause.[21]:243

text: Gouverneur Morris is credited, both now and then, as the chief draftsman of the final document, including the stirring preamble. Not all the delegates were pleased with the results; thirteen left before the ceremony, and three of those remaining refused to sign: Edmund Randolph of Virginia, George Mason of Virginia, and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. George Mason demanded a Bill of Rights if he was to support the Constitution. The Bill of Rights was not included in the Constitution submitted to the states for ratification, but many states ratified the Constitution with the understanding that a bill of rights would soon follow.[23] Shortly before the document was to be signed, Gorham proposed to lower the size of congressional districts from 40,000 to 30,000 citizens. A similar measure had been proposed earlier, and failed by one vote. George Washington spoke up here, making his only substantive contribution to the text of the Constitution in supporting this move. The Convention adopted it without further debate. Gorham would sign the document, although he had openly doubted whether the United States would remain a single, unified nation for more than 150 years.[21]:112 Ultimately, 39 of the original 55 delegates ended up signing, but it is likely that none were completely satisfied. Their views were summed up by Benjamin Franklin, who said,

text: I confess that There are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them. ... I doubt too whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution. ... It therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies ...[24]

text: Rhode Island never sent delegates, and two of New York's three delegates did not stay at the Convention for long. Therefore, as George Washington stated, the document was executed by "eleven states, and Colonel Hamilton."[21]:244 Washington signed the document first, and then moving by state delegation from north to south, as had been the custom throughout the Convention, the delegates filed to the front of the room to sign their names.

text: At the time the document was signed, Franklin gave a persuasive speech involving an anecdote on a sun that was painted on the back of Washington's Chippendale chair.[25] As recounted in Madison's notes:

text: Whilst the last members were signing it Doctor. Franklin looking towards the Presidents Chair, at the back of which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a few members near him, that Painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising from a setting sun. I have said he, often and often in the course of the Session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting: But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun.[25][26]

text: The Constitution was then submitted to the states for ratification, pursuant to its own Article VII.[27]

text: Proposed plans[edit]

text: Several plans were introduced, with the most important plan being that of James Madison (the Virginia Plan). The Convention's work was mostly a matter of modifying this plan. Charles Pinckney also introduced a plan, although this wasn't considered and its exact character has been lost to history. After the Convention was well under way, the New Jersey Plan was introduced though never seriously considered.[6]:230 It was mainly a protest to what some delegates thought was the excessively radical change from the Articles of Confederation.[6]:230 Alexander Hamilton also offered a plan after the Convention was well under way, though it included an executive serving for life and therefore the delegates felt it too closely resembled a monarchy.[6]:137 Historians are unsure how serious he was about this, and some have speculated that he may have done it to make Madison's plan look moderate by comparison.[6]:137 The Connecticut Compromise wasn't a plan but one of several compromises offered by the Connecticut delegation. It was key to the ultimate ratification of the constitution, but was only included after being modified by Benjamin Franklin in order to make it more appealing to larger states.[6]:199

text: Virginia Plan[edit]

text: Prior to the start of the Convention, the Virginian delegates met and, drawing largely from Madison's suggestions, came up with what came to be known as the Virginia Plan, also known as the Large State Plan.[28] For this reason, James Madison is sometimes called the Father of the Constitution.[28] Presented by Virginia governor Edmund Randolph on May 29, 1787, the Virginia Plan proposed a very powerful bicameral legislature.[28] Both houses of the legislature would be determined proportionately.[28] The lower house would be elected by the people, and the upper house would be elected by the lower house.[28] The executive would exist solely to ensure that the will of the legislature was carried out and would therefore be selected by the legislature.[28] The Virginia Plan also created a judiciary, and gave both the executive and some of the judiciary the power to veto, subject to override.

text: New Jersey Plan[edit]

text: After the Virginia Plan was introduced, New Jersey delegate William Paterson asked for an adjournment to contemplate the Plan.[28] Under the Articles of Confederation, each state had equal representation in Congress, exercising one vote each.[28] The Virginia Plan threatened to limit the smaller states' power by making both houses of the legislature proportionate to population. On June 14 and 15, 1787, a small-state caucus met to create a response to the Virginia Plan. The result was the New Jersey Plan, otherwise known as the Small State Plan.[28]

text: Paterson's New Jersey Plan was ultimately a rebuttal to the Virginia Plan, and was much closer to the initial call for the Convention: drafting amendments to the Articles of Confederation to fix the problems in it.[28] Under the New Jersey Plan, the existing Continental Congress would remain, but it would be granted new powers, such as the power to levy taxes and force their collection.[28] An executive branch was created, to be elected by Congress (the plan allowed for a multi-person executive).[28] The executives would serve a single term and were subject to recall on the request of state governors.[28] The plan also created a judiciary that would serve for life, to be appointed by the executives.[28] Lastly, any laws set by Congress would take precedence over state laws.[28] When Paterson reported the plan to the Convention on June 15, 1787, it was ultimately rejected, but it gave the smaller states a rallying point for their interests.[28]

text: Hamilton's plan[edit]

text: Unsatisfied with the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan, Alexander Hamilton proposed his own plan. It also was known as the British Plan, because of its resemblance to the British system of strong centralized government.[28] In his plan, Hamilton advocated virtually doing away with state sovereignty and consolidating the states into a single nation.[28] The plan featured a bicameral legislature, the lower house elected by the people for three years. The upper house would be elected by electors chosen by the people and would serve for life.[28] The plan also gave the Governor, an executive elected by electors for a life-term of service, an absolute veto over bills.[28] State governors would be appointed by the national legislature,[28] and the national legislature had veto power over any state legislation.[28]

text: Hamilton presented his plan to the Convention on June 18, 1787.[28] The plan was perceived as a well-thought-out plan, but it was not considered, because it resembled the British system too closely.[28] It also contemplated the loss of most state authority, which the states were unwilling to allow.

text: Pinckney's plan[edit]

text: Immediately after Randolph finished laying out the Virginia Plan, Charles Pinckney of South Carolina presented his own plan to the Convention. As Pinckney did not write it down, the only evidence of the plan are Madison's notes,[29] so the details are somewhat vague. It was a confederation, or treaty, among the thirteen states. There was to be a bicameral legislature made up of a Senate and a House of Delegates. The House would have one member for every one thousand inhabitants. The House would elect Senators who would serve by rotation for four years and represent one of four regions. Congress would meet in a joint session to elect a President, and would also appoint members of the cabinet. Congress, in joint session, would serve as the court of appeal of last resort in disputes between states. Pinckney did also provide for a supreme Federal Judicial Court. The Pinckney plan was not debated, but it may have been referred to by the Committee of Detail.[30]

text: Connecticut Compromise[edit]

text: The Connecticut Compromise, forged by Roger Sherman from Connecticut, was proposed on June 11.[28] In a sense it blended the Virginia (large-state) and New Jersey (small-state) proposals. Ultimately, however, its main contribution was in determining the apportionment of the Senate, and thus retaining a federal character in the constitution. Sherman sided with the two-house national legislature of the Virginia Plan, but proposed "That the proportion of suffrage in the 1st. branch [house] should be according to the respective numbers of free inhabitants; and that in the second branch or Senate, each State should have one vote and no more."[28] This plan failed at first, but on July 23 the question was finally settled.[28]

text: What was ultimately included in the constitution was a modified form of this plan. In the Grand Committee, Benjamin Franklin successfully proposed the requirement that revenue bills originate in the house. But the final July 16 vote on the compromise still left the Senate looking like the Confederation Congress. In the preceding weeks of debate, Madison, King, and Gouverneur Morris each vigorously opposed the compromise for this reason.[31] Then on July 23, just before most of the convention's work was referred to the Committee of Detail, Morris and King moved that state representatives in the Senate be given individual votes, rather than voting en bloc, as they had in the Confederation Congress. Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut, a leading proponent of the compromise, supported their motion, and the Convention adopted it.[19] As the personally powerful senators were to receive terms much longer than the state legislators who appointed them, they became substantially independent. The compromise nonetheless continued to serve the self-interest of small-state political leaders, who were assured of access to more seats in the Senate than they might otherwise have obtained.[20]

text: Slavery[edit]

text: Among the most controversial issues confronting the delegates was that of slavery. Slavery was widespread in the states at the time of the Convention.[21]:68 At least a third of the Convention's 55 delegates owned slaves, including all of the delegates from Virginia and South Carolina.[21]:68–69 Slaves comprised approximately one-fifth of the population of the states;[32]:139 and apart from northernmost New England, where slavery had largely been eliminated, slaves lived throughout all regions of the country.[32]:132 The majority of the slaves (more than 90%),[32]:132 however, lived in the South, where approximately 1 in 3 families owned slaves (in the largest and wealthiest state, Virginia, that figure was nearly 1 in 2 families).[32]:135 The entire agrarian economy of the South was based on slave labor, and the Southern delegates to the Convention were unwilling to accept any proposals that they believed would threaten the institution.

text: Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise[edit]

text: Whether slavery was to be regulated under the new Constitution was a matter of such intense conflict between the North and South that several Southern states refused to join the Union if slavery were not to be allowed. Delegates opposed to slavery were forced to yield in their demands that slavery practiced within the confines of the new nation be completely outlawed. However, they continued to argue that the Constitution should prohibit the states from participating in the international slave trade, including in the importation of new slaves from Africa and the export of slaves to other countries. The Convention postponed making a final decision on the international slave trade until late in the deliberations because of the contentious nature of the issue. During the Convention's late July recess, the Committee of Detail had inserted language that would prohibit the federal government from attempting to ban international slave trading and from imposing taxes on the purchase or sale of slaves. The Convention could not agree on these provisions when the subject came up again in late August, so they referred the matter to an eleven-member committee for further discussion. This committee helped work out a compromise: Congress would have the power to ban the international slave trade, but not for another twenty years (that is, not until 1808). In exchange for this concession, the federal government's power to regulate foreign commerce would be strengthened by provisions that allowed for taxation of slave trades in the international market and that reduced the requirement for passage of navigation acts from two-thirds majorities of both houses of Congress to simple majorities.[6]:318–29

text: Three-Fifths Compromise[edit]

text: Another contentious slavery-related question was whether slaves would be counted as part of the population in determining representation of the states in the Congress, or would instead be considered property and as such not be considered for purposes of representation.[33] Delegates from states with a large population of slaves argued that slaves should be considered persons in determining representation, but as property if the new government were to levy taxes on the states on the basis of population.[33] Delegates from states where slavery had become rare argued that slaves should be included in taxation, but not in determining representation.[33] Finally, delegate James Wilson proposed the Three-Fifths Compromise.[28] This was eventually adopted by the Convention.

text: Delegates[edit]

text: The states had originally appointed seventy representatives to the Convention, but a number of the appointees did not accept or could not attend, leaving fifty-five delegates who would ultimately craft the Constitution.[34]

text: Almost all of the fifty-five delegates had taken part in the Revolution, with at least twenty-nine having served in the Continental forces, most in positions of command.[35] All but two or three had served in colonial or state government during their careers.[6]:65 The vast majority (about 75%) of the delegates were or had been members of the Confederation Congress, and many had been members of the Continental Congress during the Revolution.[21]:25 Several had been state governors.[6]:65[35] Just two delegates, Roger Sherman and Robert Morris, would be signatories to all three of the nation's founding documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution.[35]

text: More than half of the delegates had trained as lawyers (several had even been judges), although only about a quarter had practiced law as their principal means of business. There were also merchants, manufacturers, shippers, land speculators, bankers or financiers, two or three physicians, a minister, and several small farmers.[6]:65–68[35] Of the twenty-five who owned slaves, sixteen depended on slave labor to run the plantations or other businesses that formed the mainstay of their income. Most of the delegates were landowners with substantial holdings, and most, with the possible exception of Roger Sherman and William Few, were very comfortably wealthy.[6]:66–67 George Washington and Robert Morris were among the wealthiest men in the entire country.[35]

text:
Connecticut

Oliver Ellsworth*
William Samuel Johnson
Roger Sherman

Delaware

Richard Bassett
Gunning Bedford, Jr.
Jacob Broom
John Dickinson
George Read

Georgia

Abraham Baldwin
William Few
William Houstoun*
William Pierce*

Maryland

Daniel Carroll
Luther Martin*
James McHenry
John Francis Mercer*
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer

Massachusetts

Elbridge Gerry*
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
Caleb Strong*

New Hampshire

Nicholas Gilman
John Langdon

New Jersey

David Brearley
Jonathan Dayton
William Houston*
William Livingston
William Paterson

New York

Alexander Hamilton
John Lansing, Jr.*
Robert Yates*

North Carolina

William Blount
William Richardson Davie*
Alexander Martin*
Richard Dobbs Spaight
Hugh Williamson

Pennsylvania

George Clymer
Thomas Fitzsimons
Benjamin Franklin
Jared Ingersoll
Thomas Mifflin
Gouverneur Morris
Robert Morris
James Wilson

South Carolina

Pierce Butler
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
John Rutledge

Virginia

John Blair
James Madison
George Mason*
James McClurg*
Edmund Randolph*
George Washington
George Wythe*

Rhode Island Rhode Island did not send delegates to the Convention.

text: (*) Did not sign the final draft of the U.S. Constitution. Randolph, Mason, and Gerry were the only three present in Philadelphia at the time who refused to sign.

text: Several prominent Founders are notable for not participating in the Constitutional Convention. Thomas Jefferson was abroad, serving as the minister to France (nonetheless, Jefferson, in a letter to John Adams, would describe the delegates approvingly as a gathering of "demi-gods").[36]:13 John Adams was in Britain, serving as minister to that country, but he wrote home to encourage the delegates. Patrick Henry refused to participate because he "smelt a rat in Philadelphia, tending toward the monarchy." Also absent were John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Many of the states' older and more experienced leaders may have simply been too busy with the local affairs of their states to attend the Convention,[6]:65 which had originally been planned to strengthen the existing Articles of Confederation, not to write a constitution for a completely new national government.


document_title: Joseph J. McCarthy

question_text: who said i would rather have a medal of honor than be president

root

text: Joseph J. McCarthy

text: Marine Corps Service[edit]

tag: p

text: Joseph Jeremiah McCarthy (August 10, 1911 – June 15, 1996) was a mustang officer in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, who served during World War II and the Korean War. He was also the Superintendent of Ambulances in the Chicago Fire Department,[1] however, with respect for his wartime heroics, firefighters continued to address him by his wartime military rank of "Captain."[2]

text: Historian Bill D. Ross would write about him in 1985:

text: McCarthy first enlisted in the Marine Corps on February 20, 1937 in Chicago and served for four years. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he re-enlisted and returned to active duty in February 1942. In June of that year, he was discharged with the rank of first sergeant in order to accept a commission in the Marine Corps Reserve.

text: McCarthy joined the 4th Marine Division shortly thereafter, and went overseas in January 1944. While deployed, he took part in the Roi-Namur, Saipan-Tinian, and Iwo Jima campaigns. He was awarded the Silver Star for heroism as a rifle company commander on Saipan in 1944. He received the Purple Heart with Gold Star for wounds received in action on Saipan and Iwo Jima.

text: On Iwo Jima McCarthy was the Company Commander of G Co 2nd Battalion 24th Marines. He landed on yellow beach 2 alongside the 23rd Marines. On D plus 3 the 24th RCT relieved the 25th. His Battalion moved and was supported by the blue beaches. On February 21, 1945, as a Captain, he earned the Medal of Honor while leading an assault team across exposed ground to wipe out positions holding up the advance of his company at airfield No. 2. "I was scared all the time," McCarthy said later. "Any man tells you he wasn't scared was an imbecile. But you dealt with it."[4]It is believed that a Seabee heavy weapons platoon provided the fire support he needed that day. (Fig. 1)

text: President Harry S. Truman presented the Medal of Honor to McCarthy in ceremonies at the White House, held on October 5, 1945. As Truman presented the Medal, he told McCarthy, "I'd rather have one of these than be President."[5]

text: Released from active duty following the war, he continued to serve in the Marine Corps Reserve, eventually being promoted to the grade of lieutenant colonel.[6]

text: "I would hope and pray there never be another Medal of Honor issued," he said in a 1992 interview. "I hope and pray there's never any more wars."

text: Medal of Honor citation[edit]

text: The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to

text:
CAPTAIN JOSEPH J. McCARTHY
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

text: After the War[edit]

text: In 1949 McCarthy drove from Maine to North Carolina visiting the families of 26 Marines that had been killed on Iwo Jima. He told each family that their man had been just as brave as he was, just not as lucky.

text: McCarthy was the Grand Marshal of the City of Chicago's Saint Patrick's Day Parade in 1959.[9]

text: McCarthy retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 1971 and from the Chicago Fire Department in 1973. Thereafter, he and his wife split their time between their homes in Wisconsin and Delray Beach, Florida. His wife, Anita, died in 1978. The couple had no children.

text: The building that houses the Headquarters of the 2nd Battalion 24th Marines in Chicago is named in his honor. Lt. Col. McCarthy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery[2] following a funeral mass at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.[10]

text: Of note[edit]

text: His military record lists his year of birth as 1911,[11] but it is inscribed as 1912 on his headstone.

tag: ul


document_title: Premier League records and statistics

question_text: most total goals in a premier league season

text: Premier League records and statistics

text: League records[edit]

text: Titles[edit]

text:
Most titles: 13, Manchester United[1]
Most consecutive title wins: 3, Manchester United twice (1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09)[1]
Biggest title-winning margin: 18 points, 1999–2000; Manchester United (91 points) over Arsenal (73 points)[2]
Smallest title-winning margin: 0 points and 8 goal difference – 2011–12; Manchester City (+64) over Manchester United (+56). Both finished on 89 points, but Manchester City won the title with a superior goal difference, the only time that goal difference has determined the Premier League.[3]

text: Wins[edit]

text:
Most wins in a season (38 games): 30, Chelsea (2016–17)[4]
Fewest wins in a season (38 games): 1, Derby County (2007–08)[5]
Fewest home wins in a season (19 games): 1, joint record:[5]

Sunderland (2005–06)
Derby County (2007–08)

Most home wins in a season (19 games): 18, joint record:[6]

Chelsea (2005–06)
Manchester United (2010–11)
Manchester City (2011–12)[7]

Most away wins in a season (19 games): 15, Chelsea (2004–05)[8]
Fewest away wins in a season (19/21 games): 0, joint record:[5][9][10]

Leeds United (1992–93)
Coventry City (1999–2000)
Wolverhampton Wanderers (2003–04)
Norwich City (2004–05)
Derby County (2007–08)
Hull City (2009–10)

Most consecutive wins: 14, Arsenal (between 10 February 2002 and 24 August 2002)[5][11][12]
Most consecutive wins in a season (38 games): 13, joint record:[13]

Arsenal (2001–02)
Chelsea (2016–17)

Most consecutive games without a win: 32, Derby County (2007–08)[5]
Most consecutive games without a win from beginning of season: 16, Queens Park Rangers (between 18 August 2012 and 8 December 2012)[14]
Most consecutive home wins: 20, Manchester City (between 5 March 2011 and 21 March 2012)[15]
Most consecutive away wins: 11, Chelsea (between 6 April 2008 and 7 December 2008)[16]

text: Losses[edit]

text:
Fewest losses in a season (38 games): 0, Arsenal (2003–04)[17]
Longest unbeaten run: 49 games, Arsenal (7 May 2003 – 24 October 2004)[18]
Most losses in total: 336, Everton[19]
Fewest home losses in a season (19 games): 0, joint record:

Manchester United (1995–96, 1999–2000, 2010–11)[20][21][22]
Arsenal (1998–99, 2003–04, 2007–08) [23][24][25]
Chelsea (2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2014–15)[25][26][27][28][29]
Liverpool (2008–09)[30]
Manchester City (2011–12)[7]
Tottenham Hotspur (2016–17)

Most consecutive losses over more than one season (38 games): 20, Sunderland (2002–03, 2005–06)[31]
Fewest away losses in a season (19 games): 0, Arsenal (2001–02, 2003–04)[24][32]
Most consecutive home games undefeated: 86, Chelsea (20 March 2004 – 26 October 2008)[33]
Most consecutive away games undefeated: 27, Arsenal (5 April 2003 – 25 September 2004)[34]

text: Draws[edit]

text:
Most draws in a season (42 games): 18 – joint record:

Manchester City (1993–94)[35]
Sheffield United (1993–94)[35]
Southampton (1994–95)[35]

Most draws in a season (38 games): 17 – joint record:

Newcastle United (2003–04)[35]
Aston Villa (2006–07 & 2011–12)[35]
Sunderland (2014–15)[35]

Most home draws in a season: 10 – joint record:

Sheffield Wednesday (1996–97)[35]
Leicester City (1997–98 & 2003–04)[35]
Manchester United (2016–17)[35]

Most away draws in a season: 10, Newcastle United (2003–04)[35]
Fewest draws in a season: 3, Chelsea (1997–98 & 2016–17)[35]
Fewest home draws in a season: 0 – joint record:

Manchester City (2008–09)[35]
Manchester United (2012–13)[35]
Chelsea (2016–17)[35]

Fewest away draws in a season: 1 – joint record:

Bolton Wanderers (1995–96)[35]
Queens Park Rangers (1995–96 & 2014–15)[35]
Barnsley (1997–98)[35]
Chelsea (1997–98)[35]
Bradford City (1999–2000)[35]
Everton (2000–01)[35]
Ipswich Town (2000–01)[35]
Portsmouth (2005–06 & 2007–08)[35]
Burnley (2009–10)[35]
Liverpool (2011–12)[35]
Newcastle United (2013–14)[35]
Queens Park Rangers (2014–15)[35]

Most consecutive draws: 7 – joint record:

Norwich City (1993–94)[35]
Southampton (1994–95)[35]
Manchester City (2009–10)[35]

Most draws in total: 277, Everton[19]

text: Attendances[edit]

text:
Highest attendance, single game: 76,069 Manchester United v. Blackburn Rovers (at Old Trafford, 31 March 2007)[36]
Lowest attendance, single game: 3,039, Wimbledon v. Everton (at Selhurst Park, 26 January 1993)[36][37]

text: Goals[edit]

text:
Most goals scored in a season: 103, Chelsea (2009–10)[38]
Fewest goals scored in a season: 20, Derby County (2007–08)[39]
Most goals conceded in a season (42 games): 100, Swindon Town (1993–94)[40]
Most goals conceded in a season (38 games): 89, Derby County (2007–08)[41]
Fewest goals conceded in a season: 15, Chelsea (2004–05)[42]
Best goal difference in a season: 71, Chelsea (2009–10)[42]
Most goals scored in a season by a relegated team: 55, Blackpool (2010–11)[43]
Most goals scored at home in a season: 68, Chelsea (2009–10)[42]
Fewest goals scored at home in a season: 10, Manchester City (2006–07)[44]
Most goals conceded at home in a season (21 games): 45, Swindon Town (1993–94)[45]
Most goals conceded at home in a season (19 games): 43

Derby County (2007–08)[45]
Wolverhampton Wanderers (2011–12)[45]

Fewest goals conceded at home in a season (21 games or 19 games): 4, Manchester United (1994–95)[45]
Most goals scored away in a season: 48, Liverpool (2013–14)[45]
Fewest goals scored away in a season: 8

Middlesbrough (1995–96)[45]
Southampton (1998–99)[45]
Sheffield United (2006–07)[45]
Derby County (2007–08)[45]

Most goals conceded away in a season (21 games): 59, Ipswich Town (1994–95)[45]
Most goals conceded away in a season (19 games): 55, Wigan Athletic (2009–10)[45]
Fewest goals conceded away in a season: 9, Chelsea (2004–05)[45]
Fewest failures to score in a match in a season: 0 (scored in every game), Arsenal (2001–02)[46]
Most goals scored in total: 1,856, Manchester United[19]
Most goals conceded in total: 1,231, Tottenham Hotspur[19]
Largest goal deficit overcome to win: 3

Leeds United 4–3 Derby County (8 November 1997)[47]
West Ham United 3–4 Wimbledon (9 September 1998)[48]
Tottenham Hotspur 3–5 Manchester United (29 September 2001)[49]
Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–3 Leicester City (25 October 2003)[50]

Largest goal deficit overcome to draw: 4, Newcastle United 4–4 Arsenal (5 February 2011)[51]

text: Points[edit]

text:
Most points in a season: 95, Chelsea (2004–05)[52]
Fewest points in a season: 11, Derby County (2007–08)[53]
Most points in a season without winning the league: 89, Manchester United (2011–12)[54]
Fewest points in a season while winning the league: 75, Manchester United (1996–97)[55]
Most points in a season while being relegated:

42 games: 49, Crystal Palace (1992–93)[56]
38 games: 42, West Ham United (2002–03)[56]

Fewest points in a season while surviving relegation: 34, West Bromwich Albion (2004–05)[57]

text: Player records[edit]

text: Appearances[edit]

text:
Most Premier League appearances: 632, Ryan Giggs (Manchester United, 15 August 1992 to 6 May 2014)[58]
Oldest player: John Burridge, 43 years and 162 days (for Manchester City v. Queens Park Rangers, 14 May 1995)[59]
Youngest player: Matthew Briggs, 16 years and 65 days (for Fulham v. Middlesbrough, 13 May 2007)[60]
Most consecutive Premier League appearances: 310, Brad Friedel (14 August 2004 until 7 October 2012)[61]
Most seasons appeared in: 22, Ryan Giggs (every season from 1992–93 to 2013–14)[62]

text: Goals[edit]

text:
First Premier League goal: Brian Deane (for Sheffield United v. Manchester United, 15 August 1992)[63]
Most Premier League goals: Alan Shearer (260)[64]

text:
Most goals scored away from home: Wayne Rooney (91)[citation needed]
Most Premier League goals at one club: Wayne Rooney (183, for Manchester United)[65]
Oldest goalscorer: Teddy Sheringham, 40 years and 268 days (for West Ham United v. Portsmouth, 26 December 2006)[66]
Youngest goalscorer: James Vaughan, 16 years and 271 days (for Everton v. Crystal Palace, 10 April 2005)[67]

text:
Most consecutive Premier League matches scored in: 11, Jamie Vardy (for Leicester City, 29 August to 28 November 2015)[68]
Most seasons scored in: 21, Ryan Giggs (every season from 1992–93 to 2012–13)[69]

text:
Rank
Name
Goals
Games
Goals per game
Playing position
First goal
Last goal

1
 Alan Shearer
260
441
0.59
Forward
1992–93
2005–06

2
 Wayne Rooney
200
463
0.43
Forward
2002–03
2017–18

3
 Andy Cole
187
414
0.45
Forward
1993–94
2006–07

4
 Frank Lampard
177
609
0.29
Midfield
1997–98
2014–15

5
 Thierry Henry
175
258
0.68
Forward
1999–2000
2011–12

6
 Robbie Fowler
163
379
0.43
Forward
1993–94
2006–07

7
 Jermain Defoe
158
468
0.34
Forward
2001–02
2016–17

8
 Michael Owen
150
326
0.46
Forward
1996–97
2012–13

9
 Les Ferdinand
149
351
0.42
Forward
1992–93
2004–05

10
 Teddy Sheringham
146
418
0.35
Forward
1992–93
2006–07

tag: table

text:
Most goals in a season (42 games): 34, joint record:[71]

Andrew Cole (Newcastle United, 1993–94)
Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers, 1994–95)

text:
Most goals in a season (38 games): 31, joint record:[72]

Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers, 1995–96)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, 2007–08)
Luis Suárez (Liverpool, 2013–14)

Most Premier League goals in a calendar year: 36, Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers, 1995)[73]
Number of teams scored against in a season: 17, joint record:

20-team league: [74]

Ian Wright (Arsenal, 1996–97)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal, 2011–12)

22-team league:

Andrew Cole (Newcastle United, 1993–94)
Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers, 1994–95)

Most goals in a debut season: 30, Kevin Phillips (Sunderland, 1999–2000)[75]
Most Premier League hat-tricks in a season: 5, Alan Shearer (38 games) (Blackburn Rovers, 1995–96)[76]
Most Premier League hat-tricks: 11, Alan Shearer[77]
Most goals in a game: 5, joint record:[78]

Andrew Cole (for Manchester United v. Ipswich Town, 4 March 1995) W 9–0
Alan Shearer (for Newcastle United v. Sheffield Wednesday, 19 September 1999) W 8–0
Jermain Defoe (for Tottenham Hotspur v. Wigan Athletic, 22 November 2009) W 9–1
Dimitar Berbatov (for Manchester United v. Blackburn Rovers, 27 November 2010) W 7–1
Sergio Agüero (for Manchester City v. Newcastle United, 3 October 2015) W 6–1

text:
Most goals in one half: 5, Jermain Defoe (for Tottenham Hotspur v. Wigan Athletic, 22 November 2009) W 9–1[79]
Fastest goal: 10 seconds, Ledley King (for Tottenham Hotspur v. Bradford City, 9 December 2000)[80]
Most goals scored by a substitute in a game: 4, Ole Gunnar Solskjær (for Manchester United v. Nottingham Forest, 6 February 1999)[81]
Most consecutive away league matches scored in: 9, Robin van Persie (for Arsenal, 1 January 2011 to 22 May 2011)[82]
Most consecutive seasons to score at least 30 Goals: 3 (1993–1996), Alan Shearer (all for Blackburn Rovers) [83]
Most consecutive seasons to score at least 25 Goals: 4 (1993–1997), Alan Shearer (1993–1996 for Blackburn Rovers, 1996–1997 for Newcastle United)[84]
Most consecutive seasons to score at least 20 Goals: 5 (2001–2006), Thierry Henry (all for Arsenal)[84]
Most consecutive seasons to score at least 10 Goals: 11 (2004–2015), Wayne Rooney (all for Manchester United)[85]
Most consecutive seasons to score at least 1 Goal: 21 (1992–2013), Ryan Giggs (all for Manchester United)[69]
Fastest Premier League hat-trick: Sadio Mané, 2 minutes 56 seconds (for Southampton v. Aston Villa, 16 May 2015)[86]
Highest number of different clubs to score for: 7:

Craig Bellamy (for Coventry City, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool, West Ham United, Manchester City, Cardiff City)[87]

Most own goals: 10, Richard Dunne[88]
Most own goals in a season: 4, Martin Škrtel (2013–14)[89]
Most Hat-tricks against a single club: 3, Luis Suárez (for Liverpool v. Norwich City)[90]
Most Goals in a calendar month: 10 (December 2013), Luis Suárez (for Liverpool)[91]

text: Assists[edit]

text:
Rank
Player
Assists

Most assists (career)

1
 Ryan Giggs
162

2
 Cesc Fàbregas
107

3
 Frank Lampard
102

4
 Wayne Rooney
101

5
 Dennis Bergkamp
94

6
 Steven Gerrard
92

7
 David Beckham
80

8
 Teddy Sheringham
76

9
 James Milner
75

10
 Thierry Henry
74

text:
Most Premier League assists in a season: 20, Thierry Henry (Arsenal, 2002–03)[93]
Most consecutive Premier League matches assisted in: 7, Mesut Özil (for Arsenal, 26 September to 21 November 2015)[94]
Most assists in a single Premier League match: 4, joint record:[95]

Dennis Bergkamp (for Arsenal v. Leicester City, 20 February 1999)
José Antonio Reyes (for Arsenal v. Middlesbrough, 14 January 2006)
Cesc Fàbregas (for Arsenal v. Blackburn Rovers, 4 October 2009)
Emmanuel Adebayor (for Tottenham Hotspur v. Newcastle United, 11 February 2012)
Santi Cazorla (for Arsenal v. Wigan Athletic, 14 May 2013)
Dušan Tadić (for Southampton v. Sunderland, 18 October 2014)[96]

text: Goalkeepers[edit]

text:
Rank
Player
Clean
sheets

Most clean sheets (career)

1
 Petr Čech
192

2
 David James
169

3
 Mark Schwarzer
152

4
 David Seaman
142

5
 Nigel Martyn
138

6
 Pepe Reina
134

 Edwin van der Sar

8
 Tim Howard
132

 Brad Friedel

10
 Peter Schmeichel
129

text:
Most clean sheets in one season: 21, joint record:

Petr Čech (for Chelsea, 2004–05)[97]
Edwin van der Sar (for Manchester United, 2008–09)[98]

Longest consecutive run without conceding a goal: 14 games (1,311 minutes), Edwin van der Sar (for Manchester United, 2008–09)[99]
Goalscoring goalkeepers (excluding own goals):

Peter Schmeichel (Everton 3–2 Aston Villa, 20 October 2001)[100]
Brad Friedel (Charlton Athletic 3–2 Blackburn Rovers, 21 February 2004)[101]
Paul Robinson (Tottenham Hotspur 3–1 Watford, 17 March 2007)[102]
Tim Howard (Everton 1–2 Bolton Wanderers, 4 January 2012)[103]
Asmir Begović (Stoke City 1–1 Southampton, 2 November 2013)[104]

text: Disciplinary[edit]

text:
Most red cards: 8, joint record:[58]

Duncan Ferguson
Patrick Vieira
Richard Dunne

Most yellow cards for a player: 103, Gareth Barry[70]
Most yellow cards for a single team in one game: 9 (Tottenham Hotspur v. Chelsea, 2 May 2016)[105]
Fouling record: 782, Kevin Davies (since 2000–01, the first season for which reliable records are available)[106]
Longest ban: 12 matches, Joey Barton. After being dismissed for violent conduct, Barton was found guilty of two further separate counts of violent conduct after his dismissal vs Manchester City, 23 May 2012[107]

text: Youngest players to score[edit]

text: This is a list of the top 10 youngest players to score a goal in the Premier League.[108]

text:
Player
Date
Team
Age
Opposition

1
James Vaughan
10-Apr-2005
Everton
16 years 274 days
Crystal Palace

2
James Milner
26-Dec-2002
Leeds United
16 years 360 days
Sunderland

3
Wayne Rooney
19-Oct-2002
Everton
16 years 364 days
Arsenal

4
Cesc Fabregas
25-Aug-2004
Arsenal
17 years 113 days
Blackburn Rovers

5
Michael Owen
06-May-1997
Liverpool
17 years 148 days
Wimbledon

6
Andy Turner
05-Sep-1992
Tottenham
17 years 166 days
Everton

7
Federico Macheda
05-Apr-2009
Manchester United
17 years 226 days
Aston Villa

8
Raheem Sterling
20-Oct-2012
Liverpool
17 years 312 days
Reading

9
Mikael Forssell
20-Feb-1999
Chelsea
17 years 335 days
Nottingham Forest

10
Danny Cadamarteri
20-Sep-1997
Everton
17 years 338 days
Barnsley

text: Match records[edit]

text: Scorelines[edit]

text:
Biggest home win: 9–0, Manchester United v. Ipswich Town (4 March 1995)[109]
Biggest away win: 1–8, Nottingham Forest v. Manchester United (6 February 1999)[109]
Biggest aggregate win: 12–1, joint record:

Blackburn Rovers 7–0 Nottingham Forest (18 November 1995) & Nottingham Forest 1–5 Blackburn Rovers (13 April 1996)
Tottenham Hotspur 9–1 Wigan Athletic (22 November 2009) & Wigan Athletic 0–3 Tottenham Hotspur (21 February 2010)

Biggest loss by reigning champions: 1–6, joint record:[110]

Manchester United 1–6 Manchester City (23 October 2011), after Manchester United had won the 2010–11 competition
Leicester City 1–6 Tottenham Hotspur (18 May 2017), after Leicester City had won the 2015–16 competition

Highest scoring: 7–4, Portsmouth v. Reading (29 September 2007)[111]
Highest scoring draw: 5–5, West Bromwich Albion v. Manchester United (19 May 2013)[112]
Highest scoring in the first half: 7 goals, joint record:

Blackburn Rovers 3–4 Leeds United (14 September 1997 — final score; 3–4)[113]
Bradford City 4–3 Derby County (21 April 2000 — final score; 4–4)[114]
Reading 3–4 Manchester United (1 December 2012 — final score; 3–4)[115]

Most individual goal scorers in one game: 9, joint record:

Tottenham Hotspur 4–5 Arsenal (13 November 2004)[116]
Portsmouth 7–4 Reading (29 September 2007)[117]

Most individual goal scorers in one game for the same team: 7, joint record:

Chelsea 8–0 Aston Villa (23 December 2012)[118]
Manchester City 7–0 Norwich City (2 November 2013)[119]
Southampton 8–0 Sunderland (18 October 2014)[120]

text: All-time Premier League table[edit]

text: The all-time Premier League table is a cumulative record of all match results, points and goals of every team that has played in the Premier League since its inception in 1992. The table that follows is accurate as of the start of the 2017–18 season. Teams in bold are part of the 2017–18 Premier League. Numbers in bold are the record (highest either positive or negative) numbers in each column.[121]

text:
Pos.
Club
Seasons
Pld
Win
Draw
Loss
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Relegated
Avg
Pts
Best
Pos.

1
Manchester United
25
962
604
209
149
1856
847
1009
2021
13
5
3
1

80.84
1

2
Arsenal
25
962
525
247
190
1698
911
787
1822
3
6
5
7

72.88
1

3
Chelsea
25
962
516
241
205
1645
925
720
1789
5
4
4
2

71.56
1

4
Liverpool
25
962
478
243
241
1601
986
615
1677

3
5
6

67.08
2

5
Tottenham Hotspur
25
962
400
247
315
1406
1231
175
1447

1
1
2

57.88
2

6
Everton
25
962
349
277
336
1259
1207
52
1324

1

52.96
4

7
Aston Villa
24
924
316
275
333
1117
1186
−69
1223

1

1
1
50.96
2

8
Newcastle United
22
844
322
217
305
1168
1140
28
1183

2
2
1
2
53.77
2

9
Manchester City
20
772
327
190
255
1173
925
248
1171
2
2
2
1
2
58.55
1

10
West Ham United
21
806
265
209
332
964
1146
−182
1004

2
47.81
5

11
Blackburn Rovers
18
696
262
184
250
927
907
20
970
1
1

1
2
53.89
1

12
Southampton
18
696
222
187
287
855
966
−111
853

1
47.39
6

13
Leeds United
12
468
189
125
154
641
573
68
692

1
2
1
57.67
3

14
Middlesbrough
15
574
165
169
240
648
794
−146
661[122]

4
44.01
7

15
Sunderland
16
608
153
159
296
612
904
−292
618

4
38.63
7

16
Fulham
13
494
150
136
208
570
697
−127
586

1
45.08
7

17
Bolton Wanderers
13
494
149
128
217
575
745
−170
575

3
44.23
6

18
Leicester City
11
422
130
118
174
516
610
−94
508
1

3
46.18
1

19
West Bromwich Albion
11
418
106
115
197
444
640
−196
433

3
39.36
8

20
Stoke City
9
342
109
97
136
363
457
−94
424

47.11
9

21
Coventry City
9
354
99
112
143
387
490
−103
409

1
45.40
11

22
Sheffield Wednesday
8
316
101
89
126
409
453
−44
392

1
49.00
7

23
Wimbledon
8
316
99
94
123
384
472
−88
391

1
48.88
6

24
Charlton Athletic
8
304
93
82
129
342
442
−100
361

2
45.13
7

25
Norwich City
8
316
89
92
135
365
510
−145
359

1

4
44.88
3

26
Crystal Palace
8
312
86
78
148
329
456
−127
336

4
42.00
10

27
Wigan Athletic
8
304
85
76
143
316
482
−166
331

1
41.38
10

28
Queens Park Rangers
7
278
81
65
132
339
431
−92
308

3
44.00
5

29
Birmingham City
7
266
73
82
111
273
360
−87
301

3
43.00
9

30
Portsmouth
7
266
79
65
122
292
380
−88
293[123]

1
41.90
8

31
Swansea City
6
228
74
57
97
278
327
−49
279

46.50
8

32
Derby County
7
266
68
70
128
271
420
−149
274

2
39.10
8

33
Nottingham Forest
5
198
60
59
79
229
287
−58
239

1

3
47.80
3

34
Ipswich Town
5
202
57
53
92
219
312
−93
224

2
44.80
5

35
Hull City
5
190
41
48
101
181
323
−142
171

3
34.20
16

36
Watford
4
152
34
35
83
144
254
−110
137

2
34.25
13

37
Wolverhampton Wanderers
4
152
32
40
80
156
281
−125
136

2
34.00
15

38
Sheffield United
3
122
32
36
54
128
168
−40
132

2
44.00
14

39
Reading
3
114
32
23
59
136
186
−50
119

2
39.67
8

40
Burnley
3
114
26
25
63
109
190
−81
103

2
34.33
16

41
Oldham Athletic
2
84
22
23
39
105
142
−37
89

1
44.50
19

42
Bournemouth
2
76
23
19
34
100
134
−34
88

44.00
9

43
Bradford City
2
76
14
20
42
68
138
−70
62

1
31.00
17

44
Blackpool
1
38
10
9
19
55
78
−23
39

1
39.00
19

45
Barnsley
1
38
10
5
23
37
82
−45
35

1
35.00
19

46
Cardiff City
1
38
7
9
22
32
74
−42
30

1
30.00
20

47
Swindon Town
1
42
5
15
22
47
100
−53
30

1
30.00
22

48
Brighton & Hove Albion
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

00.00

49
Huddersfield Town
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

00.00

text: League or status at 2017–18:

text:
2017–18 Premier League

2017–18 EFL Championship

2017–18 Football League One

2017–18 Football League Two

Defunct: by a 2007 agreement, neither Milton Keynes Dons nor AFC Wimbledon regards itself as custodian of Wimbledon F.C.'s statistics.[124][125]

text: Managers[edit]

text:
Most Premier League winner's medals: 13, Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) – 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013
Winner of Premier League Manager of the Month Award: 27, Sir Alex Ferguson
Most consecutive Premier League Manager of the Month Awards: 3, Antonio Conte[126]
Most promotions to the Premier League: 4, Steve Bruce (Birmingham City in 2001–02 and 2006–07 and Hull City in 2012–13 and 2015–16)[127]
Most relegations from the Premier League: 3, Dave Bassett (Sheffield United in 1993–94, Nottingham Forest in 1996–97, and Leicester City in 2001–02)[128]
Longest-serving manager: Sir Alex Ferguson, 21 years (Manchester United, 1 July 1992 to 30 June 2013)[129]
Shortest-serving manager (excluding caretakers): Les Reed, 41 days (Charlton Athletic, 14 November 2006 to 24 December 2006)[130]


document_title: British colonization of the Americas

question_text: where did the english establish the first successful settlement in the western hemisphere

text: British colonization of the Americas

text: North America[edit]

text: Pre-British colonization of North America[edit]

text: English colonies in North America[edit]

text: A number of English colonies were established under a system of Proprietary Governors, who were appointed under mercantile charters to English joint stock companies to found and run settlements.

text:
Between 1584 and 1589, the English attempt to establish Roanoke Colony failed, and in 1590 the colony was found abandoned.
In 1607, Jamestown, Virginia  was founded by the London Company (also known as the Virginia Company).
In Newfoundland, a chartered company known as the Society of Merchant Venturers established a permanent settlement at Cuper's Cove, from 1610.
St. George's, Bermuda was founded by the Virginia Company, in 1612.

text: In 1664, England took over the Dutch colony of New Netherland (including its capital of New Amsterdam) which England renamed the Province of New York. With New Netherland, the English also came to control the former New Sweden (in what is now Delaware), which the Dutch had conquered earlier. This later became part of Pennsylvania after that was established in 1680.

text: Scottish colonies in North America[edit]

text: The Kingdom of Scotland tried unsuccessfully to establish a colony at Darién, and the Scottish colonization of Nova Scotia (New Scotland) lasted from 1629 to 1632. Thousands of Scotsmen also participated in English colonization before the two countries were united in 1707.

text: British colonies in North America[edit]

text: The Kingdom of Great Britain acquired the French colony of Acadia in 1713 and then Canada and the Spanish colony of Florida in 1763. After being renamed the Province of Quebec, the former French Canada was divided into two Provinces, the Canadas, consisting of the old settled country of Lower Canada (today Quebec) and the newly settled Upper Canada (today Ontario).

text: In the north, the Hudson's Bay Company actively traded for fur with the indigenous peoples, and had competed with French, Aboriginal, and Métis fur traders. The company came to control the entire drainage basin of Hudson Bay, called Rupert's Land. The small part of the Hudson Bay drainage south of the 49th parallel went to the United States in the Anglo-American Convention of 1818.

text: Thirteen of Great Britain's colonies rebelled in the American Revolutionary War, beginning in 1775, primarily over representation, local laws and tax issues, and established the United States of America, which was recognised internationally with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on 3 September 1783.

text: Great Britain also colonised the west coast of North America, indirectly via the Hudson's Bay Company licenses west of the Rocky Mountains: the Columbia District and New Caledonia fur district. Most of these were jointly claimed as the Oregon Country by the United States from 1818 until the 49th parallel was established as the international boundary west of the Rockies by the Oregon Treaty of 1846. The Colony of Vancouver Island, founded in 1849, and the Colony of British Columbia, founded in 1858, were combined in 1866 under the name Colony of British Columbia, and joined the Confederation in 1871. British Columbia was expanded with the inclusion of the Stikine Territory in 1863; and upon joining Confederation the Peace River Block, formerly part of Rupert's Land, was added.

text: In 1867, the colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada (the southern portion of modern-day Ontario and Quebec) combined to form a self-governing dominion, named Canada, within the British Empire (the term "kingdom" was avoided so as to not provoke the United States). Quebec (including what is now the southern portion of Ontario) and Nova Scotia (including what is now New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island) had been ceded to Britain by the French. The colonies of Prince Edward Island and British Columbia joined over the next six years, and Newfoundland joined in 1949. Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory were ceded to Canada in 1870. This area now consists of the provinces of Manitoba (admitted after negotiation between Canada and a Métis provisional government in 1870), Saskatchewan, and Alberta (both created in 1905), as well as the Northwest Territories, the Yukon Territory (created 1898, following the start of the Klondike Gold Rush), and Nunavut (created in 1999).

text: List of English and British colonies in North America (in rough chronological order)[edit]

text:
Roanoke Colony, founded 1586, abandoned the next year. Second attempt in 1587 disappeared (also called the Lost Colony).
Cuttyhunk Island, established as a small fort and trading post by Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602, abandoned after one month.
Virginia Company, chartered 1606 and became the Virginia Colony in 1624
London Company
Jamestown, Virginia, founded 1607 (briefly abandoned in 1610)
Bermuda, islands located in the North Atlantic, first settled in 1609 by the London Virginia Company; administration passed in 1615 to the Somers Isles Company, formed by the same shareholders. Known officially as the Somers Isles, they remain today a British overseas territory.
Citie of Henricopolis, founded in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy Jamestown site and destroyed in the Indian massacre of 1622.
Plymouth Company
Popham Colony, founded 1607, abandoned 1608
Society of Merchant Venturers (Newfoundland)
Cuper's Cove, founded 1610, abandoned in the 1620s
Bristol's Hope, founded 1618, abandoned in the 1630s
London and Bristol Company (Newfoundland) The massacre of Jamestown settlers in 1622. Soon the colonists in the South feared all natives as enemies.
New Cambriol, founded 1617, abandoned before 1637
Renews, founded 1615, abandoned in 1619[1]
St. John's, Newfoundland, chartered by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583; seasonal settlements ca. 1520;[2] informal year-round settlers before 1620.[3][4]
Plymouth Council for New England
Plymouth Colony, founded 1620, merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691
Ferryland, Newfoundland, granted to George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore in 1620, first settlers in August 1621[5]
Province of Maine, granted 1622, sold to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1677
South Falkland, Newfoundland, founded 1623 by Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland
Province of New Hampshire, later New Hampshire settled in 1623, see also New Hampshire Grants
Dorchester Company Colony, (Dorchester Company planted an unsuccessful fishing colony on Cape Ann at modern Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1624)
Salem Colony, later Salem, Massachusetts, settled in 1628, merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony the next year
Massachusetts Bay Colony, later part of Massachusetts, founded 1629
New Scotland, in present Nova Scotia, 1629–1632
Connecticut Colony, later part of Connecticut founded 1633
Province of Maryland, later Maryland, founded in 1634 The Treaty of William Penn with the Indians. Penn's Treaty was never violated.
New Albion, chartered in 1634, failed by 1649–50, not to be confused with Nova Albion on the Pacific coast (see next section)
Saybrook Colony, founded 1635, merged with Connecticut in 1644
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, first settled in 1636
New Haven Colony, founded 1638, merged with Connecticut in 1665
Gardiners Island, founded 1639, now part of East Hampton, New York
Province of New York, captured 1664
Province of New Jersey, captured in 1664
divided into West Jersey and East Jersey after 1674, each held by its own company of Proprietors.
Province of Pennsylvania, later Pennsylvania, founded 1681 as an English colony, although first settled by Dutch and Swedes
Delaware Colony, later Delaware, separated from Pennsylvania in 1704
Province of Carolina
Province of North Carolina, first permanent English settlements in the late 1600s (nearly a century after the failed Roanoke Colony; see Albemarle Settlements), became a separate colony in 1710–12.
Province of South Carolina, first permanent English settlement in 1670, became a separate colony in 1710–12.
Province of Georgia, later Georgia; first settled in about 1670, formal colony in 1732
Nova Scotia, site of abortive Scottish colony in 1629; British colony 1713, but this did not permanently include Cape Breton Island until 1758.
Province of Quebec, which had been called Canada under French rule. Canada was by far the most settled portion of New France. Britain gained complete control of French Canada in 1759–1761, from the events within the North American theater of the Seven Years' War; France ceded title with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. Became Canada East in the Province of Canada, which also included Ontario (Upper Canada) as Canada West, from 1841 to 1867.
East Florida and West Florida, acquired from Spain in 1763 in exchange for returning Cuba, taken from Spain in 1761; the Floridas were recovered by Spain in 1783. Backwoods areas almost unaffected by the Stamp Act Crisis of 1765, which unified the thirteen colonies that formed the United States, not much for abstract principles, and grateful to the crown, they declined to send representatives to the Continental Congress or to participate in any way in the independence movement. After the Second Spanish period, they were acquired by the United States in 1821.
Island of St. John, separated from Nova Scotia 1769, renamed Prince Edward Island in 1798
New Brunswick, separated from Nova Scotia in 1784

text:
Ontario, separated from Quebec in 1791 as the Province of Upper Canada until 1841, when it became Canada West in the Province of Canada.
Province of Canada combined the colonies of Quebec (Lower Canada) and Ontario (Upper Canada) from 1841 to 1867.
Colony of Vancouver Island, founded by the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Victoria in 1843. Received royal charter for the Island as a colony in 1849, and merged with the colony of British Columbia in 1866.
Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands, founded in 1852, merged with the Colony of Vancouver Island in 1863.
Colony of British Columbia, also called the Mainland Colony or the Gold Colony, founded in 1858 from the New Caledonia fur district and the remnant of the Columbia fur district north of the 49th parallel (see below). The colony was expanded with the addition of most of the Stikine Territory (also called Stickeen Territory) and the Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands in 1863.
Colony of British Columbia, formed in 1866 from a merger of the Vancouver Island and Mainland Colonies.  The name British Columbia was chosen for the newly merged colony despite the opposition from Vancouver Island colonists.

text: Non-colonial British territories in North America[edit]

text:
Rupert's Land, territory of the Hudson's Bay Company, founded in 1670 and transferred to the new Dominion of Canada in 1867 as the Northwest Territories
Columbia District, the trading district of the Columbia Department of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1821 to the Oregon Treaty of 1846, by which most of the Columbia District was formally annexed to the United States.  HBC lands south of the 49th parallel were guaranteed by the Oregon Treaty but ownership and compensation issues were not fully resolved until 1861.
New Caledonia, fur district.  First created in 1805 as part of North West Company for operations, administered by Hudson's Bay Company following the two companies' forced merger in 1821, until incorporated as the part of the Colony of British Columbia in 1858, by which time the term "New Caledonia" had come to refer to the whole of the British Columbia mainland, not just the original fur district in what is now its Central Interior.
Stikine Territory, also called Stickeen Territories, founded in 1862 in response to the Stikine Gold Rush to prevent an American takeover.
North-Western Territory, a Hudson's Bay Company trading area covering lands north and northwest of Rupert's Land and, after 1863, north of the Stikine Territory's original boundary at the 62nd parallel.  Its remnant was incorporated at the Yukon Territory after the part of it south of the 60th parallel was amalgamated to British Columbia.
Nova Albion, never incorporated or settled, exact location unknown, claimed by Sir Francis Drake and one of the precedents for the British claims to the Pacific Northwest during the Oregon boundary dispute.
the southeastern Alaska Panhandle was leased from the Russian Empire, from 1839 to 1867, until the lease was ignored by both the Russians and Americans and, subsequently, by the Canadian and the British imperial governments, despite British Columbia's protests.

text: Central and South America, Caribbean[edit]

text: English and later British Caribbean colonies[edit]

text: In order of settlement or founding:

text:
Saint Kitts – The island was settled by Sir Thomas Warner in 1623. The following year the French also settled part of St Kitts. After they massacred the Caribs, the British and French turned on each other and St Kitts changed hands between the two several times before the Treaty of Paris (1783) gave the island to Britain. It became independent as part of Saint Kitts and Nevis in 1983.
Barbados – The island was claimed for the British Empire in 1625, and later settled in 1627 as a proprietary colony of Anglo-Dutchman William Courten. It became an independent nation in 1966.
Nevis – The island was permanently settled in 1628. It became independent as part of Saint Kitts and Nevis in 1983.
Providencia Island – part of an archipelago off the coast of Nicaragua, this island was settled in 1630 by English Puritans. The colony was conquered by the Spanish and became extinct in 1641. The island is today administered by Colombia. Providence Island colony was a sister colony to the more well known Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Antigua – The island was settled in 1632. It became independent as part of Antigua and Barbuda in 1981.
Barbuda – The island was settled about 1632. It became independent as part of Antigua and Barbuda in 1981.
Montserrat – The island was settled in 1632. It was occupied by the French in 1664–68 and 1782–84. It remains a British territory.
Bahamas – The islands were settled from 1647. They became independent in 1973.
Anguilla – The island was settled in 1650. Its government was united with St Christopher (St Kitts) from 1882 until 1967, when it declared its separation. It was brought back under British administration in 1969. It remains a British territory.
Jamaica – The island was conquered from Spain in 1655. It became independent in 1962.
British Virgin Islands – The islands were settled from 1666. They remain a British territory.
Cayman Islands – The islands were acquired from Spain in 1670. They remain a British territory.
Turks and Caicos Islands – The islands were first permanently settled in the 1750s. They remain a British territory. A linen market in the West Indies, circa 1780
Dominica – The island was captured from the French in 1761. The French occupied it again from 1778 to 1783. Dominica became independent in 1978.
Trinidad and Tobago – The island of Tobago was captured in 1762. The island of Trinidad was captured from the Spanish in 1797. The two governments were joined in 1888. They became independent in 1962.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Saint Vincent was colonised in 1762. France captured it in 1779 but returned it to Britain in 1783. The islands were part of the British colony of the British Windward Islands from 1871 to 1958. The nation gained full independence in 1979.
Grenada – The island was conquered from France in 1762. The French reoccupied it from 1779 to 1783. It became independent in 1974.
Saint Lucia – The island was captured from the French in 1778, but returned in 1783. In 1796 and in 1803 it was captured again, but permanently annexed by Britain in 1814. Saint Lucia became independent in 1979.

text: English and later British Central and South American colonies[edit]

text:
Belize – from 1638 English adventurers used Belize as a source of logwood, a tree used to make a wool dye. The area was claimed by Spain but they had not settled it or been able to control the natives. The Spanish destroyed the British colony in 1717, 1730, 1754 and 1779. The Spanish attacked a final time in 1798, but were defeated. The colony was known as British Honduras from the 19th century until 1973, when its name changed to Belize. Guatemalan claims to Belize delayed independence, but full independence was granted in 1981.[6]
Mosquito Coast (Nicaragua's Caribbean coast) – This area was first settled by the English in 1630. It was briefly assigned to Honduras in 1859, along with the Bay Islands north of the country, then ceded to Nicaragua in 1860; the area was disputed until a treaty of 1965 divided the Mosquito Coast for each country.[clarification needed][citation needed]
British Guiana – The English began colonies in the Guiana area in the early 17th century. In the Treaty of Breda, the Dutch gained control of these colonies. Britain later controlled various colonies in the area. Britain ceded Suriname in exchange for New Amsterdam. The Congress of Vienna (1815) awarded the settlements of Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo in the Guiana region to Great Britain; they were united as British Guiana in 1831. It became independent as Guyana in 1966. Currently, Venezuela claims sovereignty over half of Guyana's territory.
Falkland Islands – The British first established a presence on the Falkland Islands in 1765 but were compelled to withdraw for economic reasons related to the American War of Independence in 1774.[7] The islands continued to be used by British sealers and whalers, although the settlement of Port Egmont was destroyed by the Spanish in 1780. Argentina attempted to establish a colony in the ruins of the former Spanish settlement of Puerto Soledad, which ended with the British return in 1833. The islands have been under British control ever since, save for a brief Argentine occupation during the Falklands War of 1982.