On July 16, 1787, the Connecticut Compromise was approved by delegates at the Constitutional Convention, resolving a weeks-long impasse between large and small state delegations regarding representation in the legislature. With this critical issue settled, delegates resumed discussion of the remaining resolutions from the amended Virginia Plan.

By late July, the Convention established the Committee of Detail and selected its members: Oliver Ellsworth (1745–1807), Nathaniel Gorham (1738–1796), Edmund J. Randolph (1753–1813), John Rutledge (1739–1800), and James Wilson (1742–1798). Charged with the responsibility to “prepare and report the Constitution,” the Committee worked to organize and refine the various proposals debated earlier in the Convention.

While the Committee worked, the Convention adjourned, agreeing to reconvene by August 6 to review the Committee’s report. The two-week adjournment, referred to as the Four-Act Drama’s intermission, provided a pause in Convention proceedings to consolidate deliberations into a cohesive framework.

While the Convention made crucial progress throughout the late summer, some delegates remained uncertain about the direction of the proposed government and its eventual reception by the public. When the Convention reconvened, the Committee of Detail’s report became the focus of the proceedings, marking the next phase of the delegates’ work.