the constitutional convention · the constitutional convention creating a new government. important...

The Constitutional

Convention

Creating a new government

Important People at the

Convention:

George Washington:

Widely respected,

elected president

of the convention.

His presence

gave greater

importance to the

convention.

James Madison

Called the “Father

of the

Constitution, he

wrote the Virginia

Plan, and kept

careful notes of

the proceedings.

Benjamin Franklin

The oldest

delegate at 82, he

was a mediator,

and helped bring

about

compromises

Important People at the

Convention:

Edmund Randolph

Governor of Virginia, leader of the large states

Important People at the

Convention:

William Patterson

Delegate from

New Jersey,

leader of the small

states

Important People at the

Convention:

Roger Sherman

Delegate from

Connecticut, he

proposed the

Connecticut or

Great Compromise

Who was not there:

Thomas Jefferson & John Adams

(Both were abroad as ambassadors)

Patrick Henry

(Did not like the idea of the convention

(“I smell a rat”)

No women, native Americans, or African

slaves.

Were not part of the political process.

Pair Share

Who was president of the convention?

Who is called the “Father of the

Constitution?”

Explain two things he did to earn that

title?

Why is Roger Sherman important?

Why was Patrick Henry not at the

Convention?

Conflicts at the Convention:

Representation in government: The

framers agreed that they wanted a

republican form of government where

the people would elect

representatives to govern them.

Question: How should states be

represented in Congress?

Virginia plan

Two house congress, representation

based on population- more people,

more representatives

New Jersey Plan

One house congress, one vote per

state

The “Great Compromise”

Roger Sherman proposes a

compromise, the Connecticut or Great

compromise

Two house Congress

• House of Representatives- representation

based on population. (More people more

representatives)

• Senate - Equal representation- two

senators per state.

Conflict over counting

slaves a population

Should slaves be counted as part of

the population when determining

representation in the House of

Representatives?

Conflict over counting

slaves a population

The Southern states wanted to count

the slaves because it would increase

the number of representatives they

would have in Congress.

The Northern states were against

counting slaves because they had

very few.

3/5’s Compromise

3/5’s Compromise-

Three out of every five slave would

count.

Pair Share

What is a republican form of government?

Under the Virginia Plan how was

representation to be determined?

Why didn’t the small states like the Virginia

plan?

What plan do the small states favor? Why?

What is the agreement called which is

reached through compromise?

Pair Share

Explain what the compromise was.

What was the conflict between

Northern states and Southern states

over representation in congress?

How was it resolved?

Approval and Ratification

Convention approved the new

constitution and sent it to the states

for ratification.

9 of 13 states had to ratify the

Constitution for it to go into effect.

Approval and Ratification

Two groups:

Federalists were in favor of

ratification of the new

Constitution.

Anti-federalists were opposed to

it.

Approval and Ratification

Anti Federalist arguments:

No Bill of Rights to specifically

state people’s rights

Approval and Ratification

Federalist arguments:

Nation could not survive without a

strong central government.

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton

and John Jay wrote a series of essays

called the “Federalist Papers”

supporting the Constitution.

Approval and Ratification

Federalists agreed to add a bill of

rights after the Constitution was

ratified.

June 1788, New Hampshire

became the 9th state to ratify the

Constitution and it went into

effect.

Pair Share

Once the Constitution was completed

what was the next step?

What were the people called who

favored the new constitution?

What were the people called who

were against it?

Why were some people against the

Constitution?

What did Federalists do to try and get

the Constitution ratified?

What did the Federalists agree to in

order to get the Constitution ratified?

The Constitution fixes the

weakness of the Articles of

Confederation

Government power:

Articles: States were more powerful

Constitution: National government

more powerful

Division of Power:

Articles: only congress

Constitution: Three Branches:

Legislative, Executive, and Judicial

Articles and Constitution

Trade and Taxes

Articles: Congress could not control trade or impose taxes

Constitution: Congress could control trade and impose taxes

Issuing money:

Articles: Both states and national government could issue money

Constitution: Only national government can issue money.

List four weakness of the Articles of

Confederation and tell how the

Constitution corrected them.