Critical Period in America leads to change
Critical Period The Revolutionary War ended in 1781 and America’s victory was confirmed by the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
Articles of Confederation weaknesses leads to problems States bickered with one another. States made agreements with foreign governments, an action prohibited by the Articles of Confederation. Many states organized their own military forces. Many states began creating their own currencies.
Movement for change Meetings took place at Mount Vernon and Annapolis to work out some of the issues, primarily trade disputes, between Maryland and Virginia. The meetings were so successful that by mid-February 1787 Congress had requested that the 13 states send representatives to Philadelphia “for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation… This meeting in Philadelphia became known as the Constitutional Convention.
All but Rhode Island 12 of 13 States sent delegates to Philadelphia, totaling 55 delegates in attendance. The “Framers” of the constitution included George Washington, James Madison, Edmund Randolph, George Mason, Ben Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton. They most likely met in the same room that the Declaration of Independence was signed in.
George Washington George Washington was unanimously elected president of the convention.
A new national government The framers quickly determined it would be best to establish a new national government that would consist of a supreme Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches.
The Virginia Plan 3 Branches Bicameral legislature with each house representation based either upon the state’s population or how much money it gave in support of the central government. Gave strong power to the central government including the power to enforce decisions.
The New Jersey Plan Smaller state’s response to the Virginia Plan Called for a Unicameral, one house, government with all states represented equally. Called for a weak central government that was based upon the state’s determining the fate of the central government.
Politics: The Art of Compromise The Connecticut Compromise- Congress would be composed of 2 houses. The smaller of the two, The Senate, where the states would be represented equally. The larger, The House of Representatives, would be based upon a state’s population. The Three-Fifths Compromise- Southerners wanted slaves counted in the population, Northerners did not. They settled on slaves being counted as 3/5 a person.