Convention & Compromise

Convention & Compromise

by Ray Fortune

​Reasons for Change

• Shay’s Rebellion - showed the federal government was too weak.

• Leaders met to create a stronger government

​Constitutional Convention

• ​Stronger national government was needed

• May 1787 – Constitutional Convention begins in Philadelphia, PA

Foundations of the New Government

Early documents taught leaders to limit power and protect rights.

Magna Carta (1215)
- King must follow the law
- Limited government's power

English Bill of Rights (1689)
- Listed basic rights for citizens
- Government must protect people's rights

Mayflower Compact (1620)
- People agree to self govern

​Key People

George Washington - Elected president of the Constitutional Convention

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​James Madison - the author of the Constitution; AKA "Father of the Constitution"

Multiple Select

The Constitutional Convention was held in the year _____ in ________.

• 1776

• 1787

• Boston

• Philadelphia

Multiple Choice

What was the original purpose of the Constitutional Convention?

• To rewrite the Declaration of Independence

• To revise the Articles of Confederation

• To write the Treaty of Paris

• To elect the first president

Fill in the Blanks

_____ _____ is known as the "Father of the Constitution."

​New Jersey Plan (Small States Plan)

• ​Three Branches

  • ​Executive

  • ​Legislative

  • ​Judicial

• ​Legislature

  • ​One house with equal votes per state

• ​Other powers

  • ​levy taxes & import duties

  • ​regulate trade

  • ​state laws were inferior to national laws

​Virginia Plan (Large States Plan)

• 3 ​Branches

  • ​Legislative

  • ​Executive

  • ​Judicial

• Two house ​Legislature

  • House of Representatives & Senate

  • ​Representation in both based on population

• ​Other powers

  • ​Regulate interstate trade

  • ​Strike down unconstitutional laws

  • ​Use the military to enforce laws

​The Great Compromise

• ​Created a two house congress
  - House of Representatives - based on population
  - Senate - 2 votes per state

Multiple Select

The _________ suggested a one house legislature with each state receiving one vote and favored states such as New York, Connecticut & Delaware (There may be more than correct answer).

• New Jersey Plan

• Large states plan

• Small states plan

• Virginia Plan

Fill in the Blanks

Disagreements over how representation should be handled in the legislature were settled by the _____ _____.

Multiple Choice

The Great Compromise addressed disagreements over federal representation by -

• creating a bicameral legislature

• enumerating the powers of the central government

• giving veto power to the executive

• establishing three branches of government

​North vs South: Slavery

• Southerners wanted enslaved people to count for representation

• Northerners opposed this because they had no rights.

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• Northerners wanted Southerners to pay taxes on enslaved people since Southerners considered them property.

​

• This dispute threatened to end the convention

​3/5 Compromise

• ​To end the argument delegates decided:

• 5 enslaved people would equal 3 people for taxation and representation

Fill in the Blanks

Which section of the country refused to support the Constitution without being allowed to count at least a portion of their enslaved population for votes?

Fill in the Blanks

A portion of the slave population was counted for purposes of taxation and representation.

The statement above describes the _____ ________.

​Antifederalists

• ​Opposed the new constitution

​

• States should have more power

​

• Wanted a “bill of rights” to protect them from the federal government

​

• Led by Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, and George Mason

​Federalists

• ​Supported the new Constitution

​​

• Supported a strong federal government

​

• Believed a Bill of Rights wasn’t needed; states would protect the rights of the people

​

• Led by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, & John Jay

​Federalist and Antifederalist Papers

Multiple Select

With which of the following arguments would the authors of The Federalist Papers most likely have agreed?

• A bill of rights should be included in the Constitution before it is ratified.

• Having a stronger central government will make the country more stable and prosperous

• The Three-Fifths Compromise will result in fair and equal representation.

• A stronger government was necessary to protect the rights of the people

Multiple Choice

- The Constitution dos not contain a bill of rights to protect individual liberties.

- The Constitution should give more power to the states.

Statements such as the ones above would have most likely been made by a -

• Anti-federalist

• Federalist

• Loyalist

• Patriot

Multiple Select

At least two of the people below were leaders of the Federalists during the debate over ratification of the Constitution. Which ones are they?

• Alexander Hamilton

• George Washington

• James Madison

• John Jay

• Patrick Henry

​Ratification!

• ​9 out of 13 states must ratify (approve) the Constitution for it to become the “Law of the Land”