The Constitutional Convention APGoPo - Hamer Unit 1

Creating the Constitution

The Articles of Confederation Confederation = Alliance Tons of problems No executive or judicial branches One state, one vote 2/3 vote for a law pertaining to money or foreign policy; unanimous vote for amendments Shackled and weak Congress No power to regulate commerce States’ had own navigation and tariff laws No power to enforce taxation of states No power to raise an army Representatives were frequently absent Still a landmark government for the times and a necessary stepping stone on the way to the Constitution

Problems under the Articles National credit abroad was decreasing Interest on the public debt was growing at home Some states were refusing to pay their share to the federal government Some states were starting to print depreciated paper currency Some states were setting up tariffs against other states Shays’ Rebellion

Constitutional Convention 1787 Leaders were appointed by the state legislatures who were, themselves, voted on by men meeting property requirements “Double distillation” produced a select group of propertied men and leaders Jefferson called them demigods Even though they were propertied, they reinforced ideas of republicanism

Constitutional Convention 1787 Met on May 25, 1787 in Philadelphia GW was selected as chairman Major players Ben Franklin James Madison: called Father of the Constitution for his contributions Alexander Hamilton: advocate of a strong central government NOT there: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine (all in Europe) Sam Adams and John Hancock (not chosen by Mass) Patrick Henry was elected by VA but said no Possibly good because those who were there were interested in compromise and fixing the problem Also not there: poor people, women, ethnic minorities

Constitutional Convention 1787 Fear had a seat at the convention as well Wanted republicanism without a “mobocracy” Washington said “we have, probably, had too good an opinion of human nature in forming our confederation” Wanted to strengthen America’s presence abroad to prevent against problems like with the Dey of Algiers and commerce with England The decision upon arrival was to throw out the old AOC and replace it with a new Constitution

Compromises at the Constitutional Convention

Big States vs. Little States – The Great Compromise Large State Plan of VA Bicameral Congress Membership in both houses based on population Small State Plan of NJ Unicameral Congress One state, one vote Solved by The Great Compromise Population membership in the House of Representatives Tax bills could only begin in the House Helped big states that would have to shoulder the tax burden Two senators per state in the Senate

Adding More Branches to the Federal Government

Executive Leadership – The Electoral College Inspired by popularly elected strong governor of Massachusetts Strong Independent executive as presidency Military commander in chief Power of appointment over domestic offices Power of veto over legislation Indirectly elected by Electoral College Took direct democracy away from the people “Leaving the choice to the people was like asking a blind person to choose colors” said one VA delegate

Judicial Branch Federal branch courts with the Supreme Court at the top President appointed Justices Approved by Senate

Who Counts for Representation? 3/5 Compromise and Slavery Should the southern slaves count as part of the population for representation? - South said yes, North said no The Three-Fifths Compromise said that 3/5 of the slaves would be counted for population AND taxation. The south had originally wanted them to count for population for representation but not taxation The Southern states, if represented equally, would have accounted for 33 of the seats in the House of Representatives. However, because of the Three-Fifths Compromise, the Southern states accounted for 47 seats in the House of Representatives of the first United States Congress of 1790 (http://constitution.laws.com/three- fifths-compromise) Many states (except GA and SC) wanted to end the international slave trade – Decision was that it would continue until the end of 1807

Conventioneers were in more agreement than usually mentioned Economically Sound money and protection of private property Politically Strong government, three branches, checks and balances Against direct democracy of the people: Federal judges appointed for life Electoral College Senators elected by state legislatures Yes democracy of the people: House of Representatives elected by the people (men with property/ Still republican

Ratifying the Constitution Federalists vs. Anti-federalists

What are the New Rules for Ratification of Amendments? Under AOC it would have taken unanimous approval RI would never approve SO… The Conventioneers said that once 9 of the 13 states approved (the new rule for amendment passage in the Constitution was ¾ of the states), the Constitution would become the law of the land in those states Appealing to the votes of the people

Federalism and The Federalists Federalism: Balance of power between the states and national government New plan for America to create a stronger central government without completely stripping the states of power Federalists were those who supported the new Constitutional government

Antifederalists Anti-federalists did not want or trust the new, larger and more powerful government Made up of a diverse group Fears were: Only aristocrats had drawn up the Constitution which means that it wasn’t democratic Sovereignty of states was being reduced Freedoms of the individuals weren’t protected Wanted Congressmen elected once a year (like in AOC) Upset about the 10 square mile federal capitol to be built Standing army No mention of god

The Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers The Federalists wrote 85 essays known as the Federalist Papers. These were published under a pseudonym, Publius – though most were probably written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay The Anti-Federalists also wrote, but they were not as organized and written by a more diverse group This year-long debate between August of 1787 and 1788 was known as an “out of doors” meaning that it was a debate that happened in newspapers and other writings. There were also “in doors” debates at the state ratifying conventions. The debate focused on convincing state delegates to ratify the Constitution (or not)

The Debate in the States Each state elected members to their own state ratifying conventions Massachusetts became the litmus test Originally an anti-federalist majority, but since the vote was between the Constitution and the AOC - which was the lesser of two evils??? Were assured by federalists that a Bill of Rights would be added by the first Congress Passed 187 to 168 On June 21, 1788 9 states had adopted it and it became law Not yet: RI, VA, NY, NC

Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist Strongholds

Different theories of the Constitution A Conservative Counterrevolution to the liberal Revolution Necessary in the Anatomy of a Revolution theory A second revolution by the minority Basically had seceded from the Confederation Only 1/4 of the adult white males had voted for delegates Because of property qualifications Estimates show that if there had been universal manhood suffrage, than the there would have been much more opposition and possibly defeat By expressing that all 3 branches represented the people and were at the same time limited by the other branches, Constitution balanced liberty and order

Write your theory Was the Constitution a natural continuation of the revolutionary process or a Conservative backlash against the Articles? Or was it something else?

Historiography Revolution or Counterrevolution Early in 1800’s seen as an extension of the Revolution In Early 1900’s seen as a conservative counterrevolution to protect the propertied elite 1950’s said that America just realized that it needed a stronger central government Wood in 1969 said that the Constitution was just the fruition of the ideas of republicanism