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

Multiple Choice

Which of these states would benefit most from basing state representation on total population?

• Pennsylvania

• Rhode Island

• Delaware

• Georgia

Multiple Choice

Which state would benefit most from having equal state representation?

• Maryland

• Rhode Island

• North Carolina

• New York

Multiple Choice

Which state would benefit least from counting enslaved people toward state representation?

• Maryland

• South Carolina

• Massachusetts

• Virginia

Multiple Choice

Which state would benefit most from counting enslaved people toward state representation?

• New Hampshire

• Rhode Island

• Massachusetts

• Virginia

Open Ended

What is a compromise? Choose one of the Constitutional compromises that we looked at today. Explain the issue and what compromise was made.

Constitutional Convention

​The Constitutional Convention

​In 1787, 55 delegates from 12 of the 13 states (every state except Rhode Island) attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

​

They met to amend (make changes to) the Articles of Confederation. However, in order to amend the Articles of Confederation all 13 states would have to agree. Only 12 states showed up so this was impossible. They eventually decided to scrap the Articles of Confederation and make a new constitution 

Multiple Choice

Which of the following was the original purpose of the Constitutional Convention?

• To create a new constitution

• To revise the Articles of Confederation

• To form a national army 

• To strengthen the power of the states

Multiple Choice

Why did they have to change their goals to making a new constitution instead of revising the Articles of Confederation?

• They didn't have enough states at the convention to get the 100% approval needed to amend the Articles of Confederation

• No one at the Convention liked the Articles of Confederation

• They didn't have enough time to revise the Articles of Confederation

​Vocabulary

The men who wrote the Constitution are referred to by  several different names. These include:

Delegates - A representative sent to a conference. 

Framers - A person who shapes a concept or plan. 

Founding Fathers - The men who created the U.S. government 

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a name that describes  the men who attended the Constitutional Convention?

• Delegates

• Framers of the Constitution

• Founding Fathers

• Parliament

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the Constitutional Convention?

• A secretive meeting that created a new government for the United States

• A public meeting that all U.S. citizens were invited to attend to create a new government

• A meeting between Great Britain and the U.S. to discuss the terms of the end of the Revolution

​Framers of the Constitution

• ​All delegates at the Constitutional Convention were white men, most were very wealthy and well-educated and more than half were lawyers and had previous government experience.

• More than half of the delegates were slave owners.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the framers of the Constitution?

• Average Americans

• Wealthy, well educated and powerful

• Loyalists

• Poor and uneducated 

​Framers of the Constitution

• The delegates included some well-known patriots such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams did not attend because they were in other countries handling important business for the U.S. 

• However, some famous patriots intentionally did not come such as Patrick Henry. There were many Americans who did not want the Articles of Confederation to be changed.

Multiple Choice

All Americans supported the idea of replacing the Articles of Confederation with a new form of government

• True

• False

President of the Convention

• George Washington was chosen to be the president of the convention because he was respected by many and viewed as a unifying person.

Father of the Constitution

• James Madison took many notes at the convention, and would eventually go on to write most of the Constitution. This is why he is called “The Father of the Constitution” today. 

Multiple Choice

George Washington was the president of the Constitutional Convention

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

John Adams was known as the "Father of the Constitution" because of the large role he played in writing the Constitution

• True

• False

​Compromise at the Constitutional Convention

• ​The delegates at the Constitutional Convention had many different ideas on how the new government should be set up. The debates lasted for 3 months!

• ​The only way for them to be able to create a Constitution that could be passed by a majority of states was to work together and make compromises

A compromise is when two different sides disagree but come to a middle ground where they can both get something they want.​

​Turn & Talk

​What is an example of a compromise that you have made with someone or that you have seen happen?

​

​Remember in order for it to be a true compromise, both sides must get some of what they want (both sides meet in the middle)

Open Ended

What compromises have already been made by the delegates writing the Constitution?

3/5th compromise

Quotes on Slavery at the Convention

• "While there remained one acre of swamp-land uncleared of South Carolina, I would raise my voice against restricting the importation of [slaves.] … without them South Carolina would soon be a desert waste." Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, South Carolina Ratifying Convention

Multiple Choice

What is Pinckney's argument in favor of slavery?

• Southerners need people to do their work.

• It's important to bring religion to African people.

• People in slavery don't mind doing work for free.

Quotes on Slavery at the Convention

“[if we allow the Southern plan for Congress] …the inhabitant of a state who goes to the coast of Africa and …tears away his fellow creatures from their dearest connections and [curses] them to the most cruel slavery shall have more votes in a Government for protection of the rights of mankind.” Gouverneur Morris, New York

Multiple Choice

What does Morris say is wrong about the southern plan for representation?

• It's unfair to kidnap people to boost your population and representation in a "democratic" government.

• It's unfair to count everyone in the population.

• Everyone should get to vote.

Conflicting Plans

• South wanted to count the entire population (more people = more representatives in Congress)

  ​

• North wanted to count the free population (if some people aren't allowed to be citizens, they shouldn't be counted to give the South more power)

Overview of the 3/5th Compromise

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-3/apush-the-constitutional-convention-and-debates-over-ratification/v/constitutional-compromises-the-three-fifths-compromise

Multiple Choice

How many enslaved people "equaled" 3 free people in the population under the 3/5ths Compromise?

• 5

• 3

• 1

What does this look like for states?

• In 1790, each state got ONE representative for every 30,000 people

• 3/5th of the enslaved population was included in this count

Northern States

• Pennsylvania - population 433,661 (3,707 enslaved people)

  ​

• Under the Northern Plan 429,954 (free) / 30,000 = 14.33 representatives

• Under Southern Plan 433,661 / 30,000 = 14.45 representatives

• Under the Compromise 429,954 (free) + 2,224 (fraction of enslaved population) / 30,000 = 14.4 representatives

​

Little change in numbers of representatives for northern states​

Southern States

• South Carolina- population 247,073 (104,094 enslaved people)

  ​

• Under the Northern Plan - 142,979 (free) / 30,000 = 4.77 representatives.

• Under Southern Plan - 247,073 / 30,000 = 8.24 representatives

• Under the Compromise 142,979 (free) + 62,456 (fraction of slave) / 30,000 = 6.84 representatives

  ​

  Changes in number of representatives for the southern states.

Poll

Do you think the 3/5th Compromise was fair?

• No, because it still gave the South more power than the North

• No, because it is still counting people were weren't treated like citizens

• Yes, because it was a little of what both sides wanted

• Yes, because it was the only way to get the Constitution approved