Unit2, Section 1

Convention was a meeting to make changes to the Articles of Confederation Held in Philadelphia “for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation” Delegates wanted a more effective national government Began on May 25,

All states sent delegates except Rhode Island State legislatures appointed 74 delegates Only 55 showed up Of these, only 39 signed the Constitution 7 were former Governors 39 had served at a previous Confederation Congress 8 had signed the DOI 6 had signed the AOC

Washington’s attendance assured people that the Convention could be trusted He was also chosen to preside over the entire meeting An 81 year old Ben Franklin added his perspective To help Franklin, James Wilson read his speeches The final draft was written by Gouverneur Morris James Madison, of VA, took the notes we use as a history of the meeting Also called the “Father of the Constitution”

All states were given one vote A simple majority would approve (ratify) decisions No meetings could be held without at least 7 states attending Meetings were closed to the public They were kept private so delegates could speak freely

Original purpose was to revise the AOC Eventually they agreed to abandon the AOC and start from scratch All favored a limited, representative government All agreed to a separation of powers Powers divided into executive, legislative and judicial All agreed that the national government’s power should be strengthened

Madison came to the meeting with 15 resolutions called The Virginia Plan It included 3 principles: 1. Stronger, two chamber legislature (lower house chosen by the people, upper house chosen the lower) Legislature could block laws it thought against the Constitution 2. Strong executive chosen by legislature 3. National judiciary chosen by legislature Became the basis of the Constitution

Two weeks later William Patterson introduced counter- proposal called The NJ Plan Plan would keep the basics of the AOC: 1. One house legislature (one vote per state) 2. Congress could now impose taxes and handle trade 3. A weak executive of several leaders would be elected by the legislature 4. A national judiciary would be appointed by the executive

Patterson’s plan favored smaller states His plan was designed to amend the AOC, not replace them Small states wanted Congress to be represented equally, with equal votes Big states wanted Congress to be represented by population with proportional votes More votes for a state with a bigger population Eventually the NJ Plan was rejected

Roger Sherman and Connecticut played a key role in crafting a compromise Compromise Suggested: Legislature has 2 houses 1. A House of Representatives with states represented by population All revenue and spending would be controlled here 2. A Senate with equal representation 2 members per state Large states would have advantage in House, small states protected in the Senate

Deciding how to be represented in the House was tricky About 1/3 of the people in the south were slaves Southern states wanted them counted as people to give them more clout in the House But southerners did not want them counted when it came to levying taxes North wanted the opposite The 3/5s Compromise decided that enslaved Africans would count as 3.5s of a person

South favored slavery, the North did not South feared the North would interfere with their economy, such as agricultural trade agreements Agreed not to ban the slave trade until 1808 Gave Congress power to regulate commerce between the states, and with other countries Word “slave” does not appear in the Constitution Decided that each state would select an elector to choose the president He would serve a four year term

The Constitution was signed September 17, 1787 Afterwards the document was submitted to the states for ratification At least 9 states were needed to give approval This process took 2 years 2 groups materialized: 1. Federalists, who supported the Constitution and 2. Anti-Federalists, who did not

Favored the Constitution Composed of merchants and the wealthy Favored a strong central government Distrusted the common man Called themselves “Federalists” So they seemed like they favored shared powers Launched a propaganda campaign to convince people that they were right 85 essays were written called the Federalist Papers

Composed of inland farmers and lower classes Opposed to the Constitution without a Bill of Rights Distrusted the wealthy Favored more power to the states, individuals and a separation of powers Feared a large central government Didn’t want a United States but a States United