Lesson - Unit 2-8: How was the Philadephia Convention organized?

Lesson Purpose

In this lesson, you will learn about some:

●

important Framers who attended the Philadelphia
Convention

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decisions that were made at the beginning of the
convention

Lesson Objectives

When we finish this lesson, you should be able to explain:

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the purpose of the Philadelphia Convention, and

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what decisions the Framers made before writing the
Constitution.

Lesson Vocabulary

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Framers

●

Philadelphia Convention

Who were the Framers?

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The delegates to the
Philadelphia Convention
are known as the
framers of the United
States Constitution.

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They are called the
Framers because they
organized and wrote, or
“framed," our
Constitution.

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Many of the Framers
had been leaders during
the American
revolution.

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About 3/4 had served in
Congress.

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Most were leaders in
their states.

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The delegates were not
chosen from all parts of
the American
population.

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Some were rich, but
most were not.

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There were no poor
people, no indentured
servants, and no young
people.

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All the Framers were
men. Their average age
was 42.

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There were no women
among the delegates.

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There were no women
among the delegates.

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There were no black
men or slaves.

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There were no Native
Americans.

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Poor farmers, such as
those who took part in
Shays’ Rebellion, were
not present, nor were
the citizens of Rhode
island.

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People in Rhode Island
were so much against
changing the Articles of
Confederation that they
refused to send any
delegates!

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Three important
delegates to the
convention were George
washington, James
madison, and Benjamin
franklin.

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George Washington was
from Virginia. He was
probably the most
respected man in the
country.

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As Commander in Chief
of the American army
during the revolution,
he was a great hero to
most people.

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By 1787, He had retired
to his plantation and
would have liked to
remain there.

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His friends urged him to
attend the convention.
They said his support
was necessary to get a
new constitution
accepted by the people.

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Because Washington
thought a stronger
national government
was necessary, he went
to Pennsylvania.

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James Madison is often
called the “Father of the
Constitution.”

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His ideas about
government greatly
influenced the other
delegates.

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He had already
developed a written
plan for a new
government that he
brought to
Pennsylvania.

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It was known as the
Virginia plan, and it
called for a strong
national government.

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He helped put together
compromises that
solved some of the
disagreements among
the Framers.

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Madison took notes
during the meetings.

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Much of what we know
about the Philadelphia
Convention is based on
his notes.

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Benjamin Franklin
attended the convention
as a delegate from
Pennsylvania. He was 81
years old and in poor
health.

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Like Washington, he was
highly respected by
Americans.

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Franklin had been a
printer, inventor, and
writer.

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He had also helped our
country develop good
relations with other
nations.

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At the convention, he
encouraged the
delegates to cooperate
with each other and
work hard to settle their
differences.

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His support of the
Constitution was
important to the other
delegates.

Who were were some important Founders who were not at the
convention?

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At the time of the
Philadelphia Convention,
Thomas Jefferson and
Thomas Paine were in
France.

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Jefferson had written the
Declaration of
Independence.

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Paine had written
Common Sense, an
important book that
helped get support for the
Revolution.

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John adams, a leader
during the revolution, was
in Great Britain.

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After the convention,
Henry worked hard to
convince the people to
reject the Constitution.

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Other well-known
Americans refused to go
to the convention.

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Patrick Henry of
Virginia was one of
them. He feared that the
delegates would try to
create a strong national
government.

What decisions did the delegates make at the start of the
convention?

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At the start of the convention, the Framers agreed on four things.

1.

George Washington would serve as president of the convention.

2.

Each state, large or small, would have one vote at the
convention.

3.

They would not do what Congress had asked them to do. They
would not try to improve the Articles of Confederation. The
Articles had too many weaknesses. They decided to write an
entirely new constitution.

4.

They would keep their discussions private. They decided that
whatever was said at the meeting would remain a secret for 30
years.

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There were good reasons
for secrecy.

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The Framers believed they
needed to speak freely.

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If people told others what
they said, they would not
feel as free to discuss their
ideas.

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They would be less likely
to change their minds
during debate.

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Once the Framers
reached these
agreements, it was time
to get down to work.

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It was time to create the
Constitution.

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The Framers wanted the
people to accept the new
constitution.

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They feared that the
people might not if they
knew all the
disagreements the
Framers had during the
writing.