Ch. 2-4 The Constitutional Convention

The Framers 12 of the 13 States send delegates to the Philadelphia Convention The 55 delegates that attended became known as the Framers of the Constitution “Never before, or since, has so remarkable a group been brought together in this country” Many had fought in the Revolution

39 were members of Continental Congress or Congress of the Confederation 31 had attended college in a time when there weren’t many colleges Average age was 42 George Washington was 55, Ben Franklin was 81 Jefferson was in Paris

Organization & Procedure Framers met in the summer of 1787 at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall George Washington unanimously elected president of the convention They determined that each state was to have one vote on all matters, the majority would win

Working in Secrecy – Kept their deliberations secret to avoid outside pressures James Madison’s brilliance and depth of knowledge led his colleagues to hold him in great respect – Contributed the most to the Constitution – Considered the “Father of the Constitution”

A Momentous Decision – Philadelphia Convention was originally called to amend the Articles of Confederation – The purpose was redefined to creating a new government – This new constitution would replace the Articles

The Virginia Plan Largely the work of Madison Legislature – Congress would be bicameral – Representation based on state population or contributions of the states (House of Rep) – The higher House (Senate) to be appointed – Congress would choose executives and judges

The New Jersey Plan Supported by smaller states Unicameral House – Equal number of delegates from each state – More than one executive chosen by Congress – Wanted to give govt power to tax & regulate trade The major disagreement b/t the two was how the states should be represented. Population or financial contributions or equal states

Compromises Representation was critical Larger states could dominate the gov’t Smaller states feared they would not have a say 3 Compromises were reached

Connecticut Compromise – aka “The Great Compromise” – 2 Houses in Congress – Lower House: delegates elected based on state population – Upper House: 2 delegates from each state appointed by State legislators

Three-Fifths Compromise Slavery issue; “Should slaves count toward state population?” – Northern states wanted to count slaves for tax purposes – Southern states wanted them to count for population The compromise was that every 5 slaves would be counted as 3 people for both taxes and representation

Commerce & Slave Trade Compromise Dealt with economics the convention had agreed that Congress had power to regulate foreign & interstate trade – Southern states feared it would affect slave trade – Southerners insisted Congress forbidden to tax exports from any state Congress forbidden to act on the slave trade for 20 yrs

Ratifying the Constitution Sept. 17, 1787 the Constitution is signed but states would need to approve it Required 9 of 13 states to ratify (approve) Debate over ratification divides the people Federalists – favored the Constitution Led by many founders Favored a strong central govt – Needed to protect & solve problems Anti-Federalists – opposed the Constitution Primary concern was states’ rights Feared too much power from federal govt No Bill of Rights a major concern

Progress toward ratification Federalists promise to add Bill of Rights Many smaller states ratified quickly but… Virginia & New York had not (why were they so important?) The two largest states They were essential for the economy Virginia finally ratified w/ the influence of Washington & Madison

New York ratified w/ the help of The Federalist – A series of published essays defending the new Constitution – Written by Hamilton, Madison, & John Jay A New Nation New York city is temporary capital George Washington is President John Adams – VP