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