The constitutional convention The Birth of the United States Government

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia met between May and September of 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation.

Constitutional Compromises Compromise: an agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions. The Constitution is the result of many compromises

Virginia Plan The Virginia Plan favored the states with a large population Written by James Madison and proposed by Edmund Randolph, both Virginians Bicameral legislature: the lawmaking branch of the government would consist of two separate bodies States would have representation in each legislative house based on its population

New Jersey Plan Introduced by Edward Paterson of New Jersey Kept the one-vote-per-state representation in one legislative body like it was under the Articles of Confederation Small states favored it

Connecticut Plan or The Great Compromise It provided for a bicameral legislature House of Representatives: each state is represented according to population (VA plan) Senate: each state has two senators (NJ plan) Both houses must pass every law

The 3/5 Compromise Southern states wanted to include slaves in their population count for representation even though their slaves could not vote Northern states wanted to include only the voting population in the count Compromise: 3/5 of the slave population in each state would be counted for population purposes

The electoral College compromise Some delegates wanted the president to be elected directly through the people Others feared the people weren’t informed enough to make a wise decision. They wanted the state legislatures to elect the President It was finally agreed that the people would elect special electors from each state (electoral college) that would elect the president