Drafting the Constitution

Shay’s Rebellion Daniel Shay was a Massachusetts veteran from the Revolutionary War Because of the debt he owed he was facing debtor’s prison and the loss of his land He believed his financial problems was the result of the heavy taxation of the Massachusetts government

In 1787 Shay and other farmers protested that the courts should close When the courts refused he & 1,200 farmers marched to Spingfield State officials sent a militia to stop the uprising If 1,200 men gathered to fight the issue of taxes & debt then there must be a serious problem

Shay’s rebellion caused panic throughout the states The national government had no power to help the states stop the uprisings This threatened to undermine the reputation of the new nation “What a triumph for our enemies…to find we are incapable of governing ourselves”-George Washington

A Call to Order: The Constitutional Convention There were many problems and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation To find a solution, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton called a meeting in 1786 Only five states sent representatives to Maryland So they tried again for the next year to meet in Philadelphia

May 1787, twelve of the thirteen states (not Rhode Island) sent delegates to Philadelphia 55 men locked themselves in the courthouse to discuss these issues First they needed a presiding officer – they chose George Washington

The Great Compromise In the beginning the men just wanted to revise the Articles They quickly decided that the the foundation of the new government was too weak Might as well start from scratch!

First issue to be revised was the representation from each state in the national government Larger states wanted representation base on population Smaller states wanted equal representation A compromise was needed

James Madison drafted the Virginia Plan, favored larger states Virginia Plan proposed a bicameral legislature People would elect representatives to the lower house based on population The lower house would elect representatives to the upper house

This plan was unacceptable to the smaller states William Paterson drafted the New Jersey Plan This plane proposed a unicameral legislature where states would send one representative Different plans meant the delegates were in a deadlock and a compromise was still needed

Roger Sherman offered a solution to the problem and it took the name The Great Compromise Congress should be bicameral

Lower house or House of Representatives, state would send representatives based on population Upper house, or Senate each state would send two representatives Citizens of each state would chose the members of House of Representatives, but the state legislature would choose the members of the Senate This compromise was acceptable to both sides, and this became the structure for the national legislative branch

The Issue of Slaves and the Constitution The Great Compromise created a new problem If a legislative’s representation was based on population, they need to know how to count each state’s slaves Delegates from the southern states wanted to include their slave population

The delegates from the northern states did not want them to be counted The delegates agrees to a Three-fifths compromise Allowed states to count only three-fifths of the states slave population This agreement shows the attitude about the country’s slaves, states that an African slave was worth only 60% compared to a free, white male

Slavery was important to southern economies Delegates from southern states did not want any power given to the national government that would threaten the shipping or use of slaves Congress wanted the right to regulate foreign trade Southern states worried that if congress could regulate foreign trade, they might prohibit slave trade

In order to compromise, the southern states agreed to regulate interstate trade if Congress agreed not to interfere with slave trade for 20 years

Decision Time for Delegates at the Constitutional Convention Time to create something new! Few concepts that would frame the government Limited government and separation of powers Instead of a confederation where power comes from the individual states, the delegates decided on federalism

Federalism is a form of government where power is shared between the national level and the state government National government would be given power to control foreign affairs, provide national defense, regulate trade between states and coin money

Since these powers are specifically in the Constitution, they are called delegated or enumerated powers Powers at the state level are called reserved powers These include providing and supervising education, establishing marriage laws, and regulate trade within a state Both the national and state levels of government would have the power to tax, borrow money and pay debts

Delegates wanted to avoid an abusive national leader They separated the power within the national government by establishing three different branches Legislative to make national laws Executive branch to enforce laws Judicial branch to interpret meaning of laws Delegates created a system of checks and balances to prevent one branch for becoming more powerful than another

Electing the President of the United States of America At the Constitutional Convention, delegates worried that the people were unable to effectively vote for the president To smooth out these concerns, the delegates created the electoral college

Instead of tabulating the votes in a popular election (man with most votes wins), the Electoral College would vote for the general population Each state would choose a number of electors (equal to number of representatives and senators) & those electors would cast their vote for president

The Constitution of The United States of America After the debates, arguments and compromises were over, the Constitutional Convention adjourned September 17, 1787 Now the states had to decide if it was an effective and fair form of government Each state legislature received a copy and it was their turn to debate the ideas of government Country waited anxiously while the thirteen colonies decided whether or not to submit their approval