The Constitutional Convention

I. Shays Rebellion A. 1786 Massachusetts – in order to pay off its debt, the state government placed a large tax on residents who owned land.

B. Unable to pay the tax, many farmers faced foreclosures. Everything would be taken and sold to pay off debt They pressure the state government for help, but get none.

3. Protest­ Daniel Shay led protest of 1500 farmers to surround county courthouse. 4. Governor called in militia­ 3 protestors killed, others sent to jail.

5. Big results: many in the country feared nation was on brink of disaster Because of limits in Articles of Confederation, the central government couldn’t do anything to help People began to ask for a more workable gov’t­ make changes to the Articles of Confederation

II. Constitutional Convention A. Soon after the meeting began, the framers decided to do more than revise the Articles of Confederation, they choose to write a new Constitution entirely.

B. 55 delegates from every state but Rhode Island showed up B. 55 delegates from every state but Rhode Island showed up. Many were in their 20’s and 30’s. Ben Franklin, the oldest was 81, and George Washington was named President of the convention.

C. The best prepared delegate was 36 year old James Madison from Virginia. 1. Served in Congress and the Virginia Legislature.

2. Collected the latest books on government and politics, and arrived a week early to prepare for the convention.

D. Divided We Stand c. Called for a strong national government with 3 branches: 1. Legislative Branch – passes the laws 2. Executive Branch – carries out the laws 3. Judicial Branch – interprets the laws. The Virginia Plan a. Put forth by James Madison and Edmund Randolph. b. Much was included in the new constitution.

d. Called for a bicameral, two house legislature, and both houses would be based on population. 1. This differed from the Articles of Confederation, and favored the larger states.

2. The New Jersey Plan Smaller states strongly objected to the Virginia Plan. b. William Patterson, from New Jersey, offered another plan. c. Called for 3 branches of government. d. Called for unicameral, one house legislature, and each state would get one vote, regardless of size.

3. The Great Compromise Put forth by Roger Sherman of Connecticut. (Connecticut Compromise) b. Sherman’s plan called for a 2 House, bicameral legislature. 1. House of Representatives – elected by the men who could vote, and would be based on population. Appealed to larger states.

2. Senate – chosen by the state legislature, and each state would get two votes. Appealed to smaller states. C. If states would not have compromised, the Convention might have broken up.

E. Three-Fifths Compromise 1. Should slaves be counted as part of a state’s population? It was an important question because it would affect the number of votes in the House of Representatives. 2. The South said they should count, but the North said since they couldn’t vote, they shouldn’t be counted.

3. They agreed that three-fifths of the slaves in any state would be counted. a. If a state had 5,000 slaves, then 3,000 of them would be counted.

III. Ratifying the Constitution Article VII of the Constitution states that to ratify the Constitution it would take 9 out of 13 states. But in reality, it would take the ratification of all 13 states

C. Federalists Supported the Constitution in its original form. Wanted a strong federal government and weak state governments Believed the Constitution protected individual rights without a Bill of Rights Prominent federalists included James Madison, Ben Franklin, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington

D. Anti-Federalists Wanted to revise the Articles of Confederation Feared a strong national government, so they supported keeping power with the states Advocated for a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties (rights) Prominent Anti-Federalists included John Hancock, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee

E. Timeline of Ratification Delaware would be the first to ratify on December 7, 1787. The 9th state to ratify was New Hampshire on June 21, 1788. But major states New York, Virginia, and North Carolina remained so most believed this new constitution would not work without them It would take the next two years to convince the rest of the states to ratify with Rhode Island being the last on May 29, 1790 Federalists promised to add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution