Creating the Constitution

Vocabulary Bicameral-consisting of two house of government Unicameral- consisting of one house of government Popular sovereignty- the idea that political authority belongs to the people Federalism- a system of government in which powers of government are shared between the national and state governments (federal system)

Background After events like Shays’s Rebellion it did not take long for people to begin to understand that the nation needed a stronger national government. By the mid 1780’s most leaders believed changes were needed They decided to hold another convention to determine the best way to go about making these changes

Constitutional Convention Purpose was to improve the Articles of Confederation Many of the same political leaders were at the convention, held in Philadelphia George Washington was the President of the Convention Once again, many issues divided the delegates Once again, the divide was much along the north-south border

Issues that divided the delegates… Some wanted to make small changes to the Articles Some wanted to change it completely Small and large states were divided on issues Small states wanted an equal voice with large states Large states wanted a larger voice

2 plans are proposed for the new government Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan Proposed by Edmund Randolph New federal constitution Supreme power to the central (national) government Bicameral legislature (2 houses) Delegates chosen by state population Big state plan Proposed by William Paterson Unicameral legislature (one house) All states get equal voice Small state plan

The GREAT COMPROMISE! Once again, just like always the delegates are able to come to a compromise Proposed by Roger Sherman from Connecticut The national government should consist of 2 houses (bicameral) One house has representation based on state population (pleasing the big states, like Virginia) And one house, everyone has an equal voice (pleasing the small states, like New Jersey)

Create a Venn Diagram and fill it in with information from your notes Virginia Plan The Great Compromise New Jersey Plan

How was representation determined under the Articles of Confederation How was representation determined under the Articles of Confederation?”—consider the original arrangement for representation in the unicameral (one-house) legislature under the Articles of Confederation. Article V  For the more convenient management of the general interests of the United States, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legislature of each state shall direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved to each state to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in their stead, for the remainder of the Year.  No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by more than seven Members; and no person shall be capable of being delegate for more than three years, in any term of six years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the United States, for which he, or another for his benefit receives any salary, fees or emolument of any kind.  Each State shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the states, and while they act as members of the committee of the states.  In determining questions in the United States, in Congress assembled, each state shall have one vote.  Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached or questioned in any Court, or place out of Congress, and the members of Congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests and imprisonments, during the time of their going to and from, and attendance on Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.  Public domain. Available from the Our Documents initiative: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=3&page=transcript.

What was the Virginia Plan? Madison’s Notes Tuesday May 29, 1787 Mr. RANDOLPH then opened the main business. He expressed his regret, that it should fall to him, rather than those, who were of longer standing in life and political experience, to open the great subject of their mission… [Mr. RANDOLPH] then proposed as conformable to his ideas the following resolutions, which he explained one by one. 1….the Articles of Confederation ought to be so corrected and enlarged as to accomplish the objects proposed by their institution; namely, "common defense, security of liberty and general welfare." 2.…the rights of suffrage in the National Legislature ought to be proportioned to the Quotas of contribution, or to the number of free inhabitants, as the one or the other rule may seem best in different cases. 3.…the National Legislature ought to consist of two branches [houses]. 4.…the members of the first branch of the National Legislature ought to be elected by the people of the several States…. 5...the members of the second branch of the National Legislature ought to be elected by those of the first, out of a proper number of persons nominated by the individual Legislatures…. 6.…each branch [house] ought to possess the right of originating Historical Context Edmund Randolph was a delegate from Virginia. Other Virginia delegates had more experience, but Randolph was selected to present the ideas of the Virginia delegation because he was such a good speaker. The Constitutional Convention was called to alter the Articles of Confederation, not to replace them. Under the Articles of Confederation, each state had one vote in the Congress regardless of its population. The Articles of Confederation had only one house in the legislature. The first branch refers to what we call today the House of Representatives. The second branch refers to the Senate. The 17th amendment led to people directly voting for their senators after 1913. The House of Representatives has sole authority to originate laws related

Our bicameral legislature today….. Representation based on state population Everyone has equal voice 2 senators per state

Three-fifths compromise ANOTHER compromise must be made They’ve agreed that one house will determine its representation based on population (House of Representatives) So the southern states argue that their slaves should count as population The northern states say “No way!” Another disagreement, another compromise

And so a compromise is made The three-fifths compromise states that three-fifths of a states slave population would be counted when determining representation

The Federal Constitution The federal and state governments share power under the governmental idea of federalism, but the final authority in all matters is the Constitution The state is responsible for any function not specifically given to the federal government The framers of the Constitution created a system of checks and balances to prevent any one branch from gaining too much power

Powers of the governments states national Local g’ments Education Create civil and criminal laws Establish foreign policy Declare war Establish post office Coin money Regulate trade

Shared powers Enforce laws Collect taxes Borrow money Set up courts

3 branches of the national government Legislative Judicial Proposes laws Made up of 2 houses House of Rep. Senate Interpreting laws Punishing criminals Settling disputes among states Supreme Court

Executive branch President Carries out laws

Who were the….. Federalist and Anti federalists? Supported the Constitution Against the Constitution Thought the Constitutional Convention should not have created a new gov. Too much power to central gov. Did not guarantee individual rights

What you need to do: P. 51 create a Venn Diagram of the state powers, federal powers and shared powers of the government P. 53 create a graph to organize the duties of each branch of government Get a study guide and work on it. The Bill of Rights protected the civil liberties of ALL Americans It was added because the anti-federalist thought the Constitution gave too much power to the central government

The Bill of Rights Proposed by James Madison 10 amendments added to the Constitution to protect citizens rights

Philadelphia George Washington 1. Where was the Cont. Convention held and who was the Pres. Of the Convention Philadelphia George Washington

What changes to the US government did the Virginia Plan suggest? Bicameral legislature Supreme power given to the national government Representation based on population

How did the New Jersey plan suggest the government be set up? More power to the states Unicameral legislature Equal voice in Congress

Under the GC the legislature would be bicameral What was the Great Compromise and how did it propose the states be represented in Congress? The Great Compromise combined the best of the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan Under the GC the legislature would be bicameral One house based on population One house based on equality Roger Sherman

What was the Three-fifths Compromise 3/5th of a slaves state pop would count toward representation How would slaves be counted

Federalism (federal system) The sharing of powers between the central government and the states

What is the final authority under the federal system? The Constitution

List the powers of- National government State Government Establish foreign policy Declare war Post office Coin money Regulate trade Local government Education Create civil and criminal law Shared Courts Enforce laws Collect taxes Borrow money

Why were the checks and balances added? To prevent any one branch of government from gaining too much power

What was the Bill of Rights and why was it added? The first 10 amendments the Constitution, added to protect the rights of individual citizens