The Constitutional Convention Copy the following notes

The Constitutional Convention Copy the following notes.

The Constitutional Convention begins n n 1787 - Philadelphia Delegates from all the states invited to a convention to improve the Articles of Confederation, which were not working Only RI didn’t attend 55 Delegates attended

What Influenced the Framers? n English Parliamentary Traditions The Magna Carta (1215) n The English Bill of Rights (1689) n n Enlightenment Thinkers n John Locke n n Natural Rights Baron de Montesquieu n Separation of Powers

Debates, Decisions and Compromises n n Each state would have one vote on all questions. The delegates decided to keep all the sessions secret. This made it possible for the delegates to talk freely.

Leaders of the Convention n n George Washington was asked to preside (lead) over the convention. James Madison kept notes of the discussions and is often called “The Father of the Constitution. ” The men who wrote the Constitution are called the “Founding Fathers. ” All the participants in the Convention were wealthy, white, males.

The Founding Fathers

Issues that divided the Nation’s leaders n n n The power of the federal government. Would the states or the federal government have the most power? Representation in Congress (How many members on Congress would each state get? – small states wanted equal representation, large states wanted it to be determined by population of the states Slavery – How would slaves be counted? Would the slave trade continue?

The Virginia Plan n n Called for a new national government. Threw out the Articles of Confederation Three separate branches of government. – a legislative branch, executive branch, and judicial branch Representation in the legislative branch based on population of state Large states like the plan, small states don’t.

New Jersey Plan n n Legislature - has one house. Each state gets one vote. Small states like the plan, the large states hate it. There would have to be a compromise.

The Great Compromise aka the Connecticut Compromise n n n Legislature would have two houses (parts): House of Representatives and a Senate House - based on the population of state Senate - two senators per each state

Slavery n n n The Southern states refused to approve the Constitution unless slavery continued. It was a terrible compromise to make, but the Northern states had no choice if they wanted a Constitution This lead to two major compromises dealing with slavery 3/5 Compromise n Commerce and Slave Trade n

Slavery 3/5 ths Compromise n The Question, Property of Person n 3/5 Compromise - Made each slave worth 3/5 of a vote in deciding numbers in House of Representatives (making southern states happy) This also meant that each slave was worth 3/5 of a person in taxation (making northern states happy) Congress can not ban the slave trade until 1808.

Slavery Commerce and Slave Trade n US Government can not tax any exported good n Congress could not ban the slave trade until 1808 n This settled two major fights that the southern states wanted and really needed to sustain their way of life, but also gave the Northern states what they wanted… A New Government

Ratification n 9 out of 13 states had to ratify (approve) the Constitution 9 States had ratified the Constitution but New York and Virginia had yet to ratify meaning most states wanted to wait. Federalists-supporters of the Constitution n n James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay defended the Constitution in The Federalist Papers Anti-Federalists-opposed ratification n Lacked a bill of rights to protect individual freedoms

Adopting the Constitution n n June 21, 1788—New Hampshire (the 9 th state) ratified the Constitution June 25, 1788—Virginia ratified the Constitution June 26, 1788—New York ratified the Constitution November 1789— Constitution ratified by North Carolina May 1790—Constitution ratified by Rhode Island