Constitutional Compromises

Constitutional Compromises

What compromises were made agreed upon in order to create our Constitution?

Constitutional Convention 1787

*Philadelphia – May 29th

*7 Original intent was to rewrite the Articles of Confederation

*12 out of 13 states participated (Rhode Island not there)

*Decided to make new constitution

* A new, stronger central government would be created

* George Washington was in charge of the convention

Multiple Choice

The main purpose of the Constitutional Convention was to write a brand new constitution.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which state refused to send a delegate?

• North Carolina

• Rhode Island

• New York

• Massachusetts

Issues of Concern

• How much power would be given to the federal government?

• Structure of the government?

• Slavery?

• Representation in government

• How should the president be chosen?

Virginia Plan

*Called for 3 branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial

*Legislative branch (law makers) split into two houses (Bicameral): House of Representatives and Senate.

* Representation in both houses would be based on population.

*Who would not like this plan? ____

*Author~ James Madison

New Jersey Plan

*Called for three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial

*Called for a one house legislature to be called Congress ( unicameral)

*Each state would have equal votes in Congress regardless of their size.

*Who would not like this plan?____

Author-William Paterson

#1~ The Great Compromise

*aka. The Connecticut Compromise

*Called for three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial

*A two house legislature(bicameral)

 House of Representatives – representation based on population

  Senate – every state has two senators

*Author~ Roger Sherman

Multiple Choice

Which plan wanted to have representation based on population?

• Virginia Plan

• New Jersey Plan

Multiple Choice

Coming into the Great Compromise, which state wanted one hous(unicameral) and each state would only have one vote?

• New Jersey

• Virginia

Multiple Choice

The Great Compromise called for a house of representatives and a Senate which is called

• unicameral

• one camel

• bicamel

• bicameral

Multiple Choice

The Connecticut Compromise wanted a bicameral system where

• representative was based solely on population

• each state would get 2 votes

• each state would get 2 votes in the Senate and the House would be based on population

#2~ The 3/5 Compromise

Issue:   Southern states wanted slaves counted as population (large amount of slaves) The North rejected idea. If enslaved people are counted, Southern states would have more votes and power in the House of Representatives 

Compromise: every 5 slaves would be counted as 3 freed men towards representation and taxes

Called: 3/5 Compromise

*As a result of the 3/5 Compromise, Southern states with large slave populations had disproportionate representation.

* For example, in 1793 slave states had 47 of the 105 members of the House of Representatives, but would have had only 33 had the seats been assigned based on free populations.

*The 3/5 Compromise was overturned by the 13th and 14th amendments after the CiviL War

#3~The Commerce and Slave Trade Act

Issue:   The federal government wanted the power to regulate interstate and foreign trade. Southern states feared a high export tax and an end to slavery.

Compromise: Federal gov't got the power to regulate trade in exchange for no export tax and the federal government couldn't touch the slave trade for 20 years.

#4~ The Electoral College

Issue: Most framers of the constitution thought the average person was not smart enough to choose a president. Only a small number of the population voted anyway. They were worried that the slow diffusion of info would lead to uneducated votes and citizens would only vote for candidates from their own state or region.

Solution: Electoral College – Representatives of each state (called electors) chose the President. All names were put on one ballot. The person with the most electoral votes was president and the person that came in second was vice president. Worked until 1804

#5~ The Bill of Rights

• A group named the Anti-Federalists refused to sign or ratify the Constitution unless a Bill of Rights was added. or

• The North Carolina delegates were one of the groups that refused to sign the Constitution unless their rights were protected.

• The Anti-Federalists believed the Constitution gave the federal government way too much power and they were fearful to be put back in the same position as they had been with Britain and its monarch.

• The Federalists believed that the new federal government needed to be strong in order for the nation to be successful. It would stay in check or balancing by sharing its power with the states.

Multiple Choice

Which compromise included the agreement that Congress could not do anything about the importation of slaves until 1808 and agreed that Congress is given control over commerce(trade)?

• 3/5 compromise

• electoral college

• Commerce and Slave Trade

Multiple Choice

What was the main issue for the Great Compromise?

• Do enslaved people count towards representation?

• Should we stop bringing enslaved people into the colonies?

• Can the government control imports and exports?

• How do we determine representation for each state?

Multiple Choice

What was the main issue for the Three Fifths Compromise?

• How do we determine representation for each state in each house?

• Do enslaved people count towards population and representation?

• Should we stop bringing enslaved people into the US?

• Can the government place tariffs on imports and exports?

Multiple Choice

Which group benefited most by the 3/5 Compromise?

• Eastern states

• Western states

• Northern states

• Southern states

Multiple Choice

The Founding Fathers believed this compromise would protect the election process from corruption and faction influence.

• 3/5 Compromise

• Electoral College Compromise

• Connecticut Compromise