3.2 Constitutional Convention

The
Constitutional
Convention

Unit 3-3

Open Ended

Tell me something you remember about yesterday's lesson:

Multiple Choice

Which of the following powers were granted to Congress under the Articles of Confederation?

• The power to tax

• The power to create currency

• the power to declare war and make peace treaties

• The power to raise an army

Multiple Choice

What weakness in the Articles of Confederation was revealed by Shays' Rebellion?

• The national government had no ability to regulate trade between states

• The national government had no power to broker peace treaties between states

• 
  The national government had no ability to respond to a national crisis.

Lesson Overview

• Students Will Be Able To-
• Identify the ideals of government the delegates of the Constitutional Convention shared and disagreed upon.
• Explain how the Framers of the Constitution compromised among factions.

Vocabulary-
• Annapolis Convention
• Bicameral
• Democracy
• Factions
• Federalism
• Framers
• Great Compromise
• New Jersey Plan
• Power of the Purse
• Slave Trade Clause
• Three-Fifths Compromise
• Unicameral
• Virginia Plan

Essential Question- How did the Framers of the Constitution compromise among factions to determine the structure of a new government?

Background Info...Setting the stage

• They gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation

• They all agreed to meet in secret and posted armed guards at the doors and sealed all the windows and doors.

• Point to Ponder- It was hot and humid in Philadelphia and people did not bath regularly

• They wanted to be able to debate in secret and not have the influence of the public

• They would become known as the Framers- because they created the framework of the US Government

From the AOC to the Constitution

• Remember that the Articles of Confederation were like a rough draft

• Major Issue was that it created a weak National Government

• Combine a weak economy and the problems like Shay's Rebellion and a new idea was needed


• The Annapolis Convention was a meeting to fix the weaknesses of the AOC with regard to commerce and trade

• All the states were required to agree to any changes made
• Only 5 States Sent delegates- Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and New York

​

• Alexander Hamilton and James Madison suggested a Constitutional Convention be held

• Decided to meet in Philadelphia in May of 1787

The Annapolis Convention = Failure

Multiple Choice

What was the outcome of the Annapolis Convention?

• 
  a recommendation to revise the Articles of Confederation

• 
  the passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

• 
  an agreement resolving trade disputes between Maryland and Virginia

The Delegates at the Convention

• 55 Total delegates took part in the Constitutional
Convention (only 39 would sign the Constitution)

• They were Revolutionary War Veterans, Political
Leaders and former members of the Continental
and Confederation Congress

• However, they were not representative of their states-
• Largely wealthy
• Well educated
• Landowners and Professionals
• All were white males

• Most people in their states would not meet this description

Fundamental Beliefs of the Delegates

They did all agree on certain things as they met for the convention:
• Establishing a Democracy- a system in which people are sovereign and make rules for governing themselves

• Influenced by the Enlightenment thinkers- Locke and Hobbes

• The idea of creating a Republic- a system where people elect representatives to make laws

• The idea of Federalism- a system
of shared power among national
and state governments

Creating a Brand-New Government

• 12 of the 13 States sent Delegates (Rhode
Island said no and thought that would end
the Convention)
• The AOC said that all 13 States had to
approve changes
• The delegates that did attend ignored the
purpose of amending and worked on
creating instead

• James Madison from Virginia – called the
"Father of the Constitution" with his role as
primary author
• All the delegates agreed to have George
Washington be the president of the Convention
• Factions were already starting, Factions-
organized, dissenting political groups

Multiple Choice

Why did Rhode Island refuse to participate in the Constitution Convention

• To stop an attempt to change the Articles of Confederation

• As a protest in support of a stronger central government

• To avoid creating factions at the convention

• To encourage Madison to propose a new form of government

Proposal for a New Government (Virginia Plan)

• On the first day the Virginia Plan was proposed
• Virgina Plan- creates a strong central government with three branches, including a
legislature with two chambers

• Many delegates agreed with this because-

• The legislative branch makes the laws

• The executive branch carries them out

• The Judicial branch interprets them

These were all weaknesses
of the Articles of
Confederation

• Believed that dividing and separating the power would be more balanced and
less likely to have one person with all the power

• The Virginia Plan also called for representation to be based on population of the states

• Great if you were a large state, not so good if you were small

​

• New Jersey Plan- wanted a unicameral house with each state having equal numbers

• This plan largely sought to strengthen the Articles and not really change anything

Proposal for a New Government (New Jersey Plan)

If you put these
two plan together,
what does it sound
like?

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The Great Compromise

• Roger Sherman led the committee to find an agreement between small and large states
• Agreed to become:
• Bicameral- two houses:
Upper Chamber-Senate
Lower Chamber-House of Representatives

• Senate- 2 Reps per state (50x2=100)
• House of Representatives- Reps are based on
population (more people equals more reps)

• The Lower Chamber (House of Rep) would have the Power of the Purse- the ability to start all bills for raising money

• So, this balanced the power of both large and small states

Slavery and Representation

• 25 out of the 55 delegates at the Convention were slave owners at this time

• Other delegates worked to abolish slavery (stop It) however they were in the minority

• Strong factions formed between Northern and Southern states over slavery

• In the end a compromise was reached that allowed the Constitution to be written but did not solve the slavery debate

• Three-Fifths (3/5) Compromise- all enslaved people would be counted as 3/5 of a person for purposes of
population and representation

• Slave Trade Clause- allowed the continued importation of enslaved people till 1808

• Looking ahead in history this allowed slavery to remain and become the flashpoint for the Civil War

Essential Question- How did the Framers of the Constitution compromise among factions to determine the structure of a new government?

• The Confederation Congress failed to address national problems of commerce and trade at the Annapolis Convention and called for a meeting to revise the Articles of
Confederation.

• The delegates of twelve states met in Philadelphia in 1787 and immediately decided to create a new system of government.

• The Great Compromise resolved the concerns of large and small states by creating a bicameral legislature with the lower chamber representation based on population and the upper chamber representation equally divided among large and small states.

The Three-Fifths Compromise increased the representation of slave-holding states in the new government by adding 3/5 of the population of enslaved people to the state’s representation in the House of Representatives.

The slave trade clause allowed slavery to continue to exist where it was not abolished.

The Three-Fifths Compromise and the slave trade clause in the Constitution resolved the disagreement between Northern and Southern states and entrenched the practice of slavery in the United States which would not be resolved until the end of the Civil War.

Essential Question.... Continued