Drafting the Constitution

The Philadelphia Convention All 13 states sent delegates to Philadelphia “for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation” Delegates were all white, college- educated males Far wealthier than average Americans Well acquainted w/ laws, politics Helped write their state constitutions

Key issues Delegates disagreed sharply on fundamental purpose Some wanted to revise the Articles Others wanted to draft an entirely new Constitution 1780s- Americans generally distrusted govt., feared officials would abuse their power even if elected New constitution should be based on a system of checks and balances

Key Issues- Representation Should larger states have more representatives in Congress than smaller states? Roger Sherman of Connecticut proposed the Connecticut Plan- became known as the Great Compromise Provided for a two-house Congress Senate- every state has equal representation House of Representatives- each state represented according to size of its population (changes with every census)

Key Issues- Slavery Should slaves be counted in the state populations? Three-Fifths Compromise- each slave counted as three-fifths of a person for determining a state’s level of taxation and representation in the H.o.R. Should the slave trade be allowed? Slaves would be imported for another 20 years (until 1808); Congress would vote on the issue then

Key issues- Trade Commercial Compromise- allowed Congress to regulate interstate and foreign commerce Could place taxes on foreign imports but could not place taxes on exports out of America

Key Issues- The Presidency Debated over president’s term of office Some argued president should hold office for life Delegates agreed president would serve 4 year terms Did not place a limit on how many terms Decided president would be elected by an electoral college Each state gets a number of electors equal to the number of representatives and senators it has Electoral college instituted because delegates feared direct voting of the president would lead to intimidation among voters and mob rule

Ratification September 17, 1787- after 17 weeks of debate, Philadelphia convention approved a draft of the Constitution At least 9 of the 13 states had to ratify (accept) the Constitution for it to become official Ratification fiercely debated between Federalists & Anti-Federalists Federalists- supporters of the Constitution; favored a strong central govt. Anti-Federalists- small farmers/groups of settlers who did not want a strong central govt. Federalist Papers – Series of 85 essays written by James Madison & Alexander Hamilton highly persuasive- got many people to agree with ratifying the Constitution

Ratification Federalists had to promise to add a bill of rights to the Constitution in order to win over Anti-Federalists June 1788- New Hampshire is the 9th state to ratify, meaning Constitution would become law Virginia and New York had not yet ratified If they failed to ratify, it would put the country’s political unity and national strength in jeopardy

Ratification Virginia most populous of all the states Virginia’s Federalists prevailed in a very close vote only after promising to add a bill of rights to the Constitution Virginia’s decision convinced New York to ratify as well 1789-1790- North Carolina and Rhode Island reverse their earlier objections; become last two states to ratify

Adding a Bill of Rights Anti-Federalists: “What was to stop a strong central government from abusing its power? Only by adding a bill of rights could individual Americans be protected from such” Federalists: “Government officials are elected by the people. Furthermore, creating a limited list might imply that rights left off that list can be abused/taken advantage of.” Federalists had to give in to Anti-Federalists demand for a bill of rights in order to get the Constitution passed into law

? What was the primary purpose of the Philadelphia Convention? What were the four key issues the delegates were split over? What was the Great Compromise? What was the major difference between Federalists & Anti-Federalists? What is the U.S. Bill of Rights?