Bell Ringer: If you were a colonist who supported the independence of the colonies, what kind of government would you want to create as an independent nation?

In 1777, the Articles of Confederation loosely joined the 13 independent states After 10 years, the leaders decided the American national government needed to be stronger In Spring 1787 delegates from the states met in Philadelphia to fix the Articles; Rhode Island did not join

Characteristics of Delegates at the Constitutional Convention What kind of jobs/ professions did these men hold? (lawyers, governors, merchants, physicians, college presidents, planters) How many delegates attended? 55 Around what ages were most the delegates? 30-40 What three groups were not considered as part of the political process? Women, African Americans, native Americas

The First Decision The delegates chose George Washington to guide the convention Why did they choose him? He was respected for his leadership during the American Revolution

Key Decisions Made at the Convention Each state would have one vote no matter how many delegates represented that state A majority would decide an issue Kept the convention a secret Their job was to revise the Articles of Confederation but they decided to start over and build a new constitution

Compromising for the Constitution The delegates wanted a government plan that all states could accept

The Virginia Plan Had a president, courts, and congress with two houses State population would decide how many representatives were in each house Larger states would have more votes than smaller states Delegates from states with more people liked the plan MA, PA, VA, NY

The New Jersey Plan William Patterson created it Based on the Articles of Confederation Kept the Confederation’s one house congress Each state would have one vote but Congress could set taxes and regulate trade Instead of a strong president, a less powerful committee (Congress) would carry out laws Delegates from smaller states liked this plan because they would have the same power as larger states

Both Had a legislative Agreed they needed to create a new government

The Great Compromise Roger Sherman of Connecticut and a committee helped solve the debate between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan The committee decided the Congress would have two houses, a Senate and House of Representatives Each state would have two representatives in the Senate In the House the e# of seats would be based on the state’s population All accepted the committee’s plan Historians call Sherman’s plan the Connecticut Compromise or the Great Compromise

The Three-Fifths Compromise: In 1787 more than 550,000 African Americans were enslaved Most of them lived in southern states. The southern states wanted to count the enslaved people in their population so they would have more votes in the House of Representatives

The north had few enslaved persons so they argued enslaved persons did not have a vote because they were owned property The 3/5ths agreement is now this problem was solved It stated that enslaved persons would count as 3/5 of other persons in determining representative in Congress

It was also agreed Congress could regular trade between states and other countries North agreed Congress could not tax exports

Electoral College A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president It would be made up of electors named by each state It still exists today Voters in each state choose delegates

On September 17, 1787 the delegates met for the last time A committee headed by Gouverneur Morris had written down the Conventions ideas and the Constitution was ready to be signed The enxt step was to get the states approval Each state would set up a ratifying convention to vote “yes” or “no”

9 of the 13 states had to ratify the Constitution in order for it to become the law of the land

Fold a piece of paper in half On one side write “Federalist” and on the other write “Anti-federalist”

Federalist: *write the question and your answer Who were the federalists? What did the constitution create? Define federalism How did the federalist try to win support? Who were the main leaders of the Federalists? What were the federalist papers?

Anti-Federalist Who were the anti federalists? What did they argue? What did they believe? What weakness did the Antifederalists see?

Launching a new nation (add this to the bottom of your notes) Federalists agreed to create a bill of rights This helped win public support New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution In 1788 the Constitution was put into effect 1790-all states became one nation the USA

On the back: Bill of Rights: Federalists agreed to create a bill of rights This helped win public support New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the Consitutiton In 1788 the Constitution was put into effect 1790 all states became one nation: the USA