The Constitutional Compromises

The Constitutional Compromises

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Let the compromising begin!

During the summer of 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention debated on what type of legislative body the new national government of the United States would have. Edmund Randolph of Virginia proposed what would be called the Virginia Plan. This plan called for a bicameral (two house) legislature. Membership in both houses would be proportion to the state's population. Small states opposed this plan because they had smaller populations and would have a smaller representation in the government. Large states favored this plan because they would have a greater say in the government.

Poll

Who wrote the Virginia Plan?

• William Patterson

• Edmund Randolph

Multiple Choice

The Virginia Plan proposed a __________ or two house legislature.

• bicameral

• unicameral

Multiple Choice

The Virginia Plan was favored by ___________ states because they believed they would have more ________________ in the government.

• large, representation

• large, personal rights

• small, representation

• small, personal rights

The Virginia Plan

https://youtu.be/4ISLQFMiNc8

Poll

TRUE OR FALSE? The Virginia Plan proposed a government that got its power from the people.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Poll

TRUE OR FALSE? The Virginia Plan believed in a strong federal government with no power for the state governments.

• TRUE

• FALSE

The compromising continues...

In response to the VA Plan, smaller populated states responded with a plan of their own. William Patterson of New Jersey proposed the New Jersey Plan. Under this plan, there would be a unicameral or one house legislature where each state would have equal representation regardless of its population size. Large states opposed this plan because it was a repeat of the weak Congress that existed under the Articles of Confederation. Small states favored this plan because it treated all states equally.

Poll

Who wrote the New Jersey Plan?

• Edmund Randolph

• Wiliam Patterson

Multiple Choice

The New Jersey Plan proposed a _______________ with equal ____________.

• unicameral, representation

• bicameral, representation

• unicameral, personal rights

• unicameral, personal rights

Poll

The New Jersey Plan was favored by the __________ states.

• larger

• smaller

The New Jersey Plan

Podcast https://files.civiced.org/podcasts/60SecondCivics/60SecondCivics-Episode3920.mp3

Poll

TRUE OR FALSE? The New Jersey Plan followed the structure of the Articles of Confederation.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Poll

TRUE OR FALSE? The New Jersey Plan proposed EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL branches of governement.

• TRUE

• FALSE

And then... there was a GREAT COMPROMISE

The debate went on for weeks and became deadlocked. Some states threatened to withdraw from the convention. Finally, a committee consisting of one delegate from each state was formed to create a compromise. This became known as the GREAT COMPROMISE. It created a bicameral legislature. In the upper house, each state would have equal representation, meaning two senators per state. The lower house would have representation based on population, mean one representative for every 30.000 people.

Poll

The GREAT COMPROMISE favored ______.

• Large States

• Both

• Small States

Multiple Choice

The GREAT COMPROMISE ....

• created a bicameral legislature with one house based on population and one house based on equal representation

• created a unicameral house with equal representation

• created a bicameral house with both houses based on population

The GREAT COMPROMISE

https://youtu.be/pgEj6QCX63I

Poll

TRUE OR FALSE? The Great Compromise was basically about determining states rights.

• TRUE

• FALSE

The issue of slavery

The three-fifths compromise was an agreement between the Southern and Northern states reached during the convention. Under this compromise. only three-fifths of the slave population was counted for the purpose of taxation and representation in Congress. Counting slaves as part of the population rather than as property would give the southern states more political power.

Poll

The three-fifths compromise settled the issue of ....

• representation of landowners in a state

• representation of slaves in a state

Multiple Choice

What did the three-fifths compromise decide?

• slaves would not be counted for the purpose of representation and taxation

• three-fifths of the slave states could count their slaves for the purpose of representation and taxation

• three-fifths of the slaves in each slave state would be counted for the purpose of representation and taxation

The Three-Fifths Compromise

https://youtu.be/qeAM4xr8Jyo

Poll

The three-fifths compromise benefitted the ________________ states.

• large

• small