How the Constitution Was Written A Story

Not everyone had the right to vote Factions divided the country Elite men believed they had the right moral character to lead the country Once Upon A Time

Life wasn’t all bad The population was rising Trade was back up to prewar levels There was a Plan for settling the Northwest Territory

What was the expansion plan? Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Set up government for NW territory Outlawed slavery in NW territory Territory could apply for statehood when population reached 60,000 New states would have equal rights with original 13

But the Government was weak The Articles of Confederation had a lot of weaknesses No power to tax = no revenue No power to enforce treaties = no $, no army No executive, no judicial branches Laws needed 9 of 13 votes, Amendments needed 13!!!!!

Meanwhile A Border Dispute Between MD and VA led to some conversation- Annapolis Convention What’s wrong with the Articles of Confederation Maybe we should revise them???????

And in Mass.....a Rebellion The farmers were upset with the State, the banks, and the lawyers for taxing them and taking their land Daniel Shays led a rebellion

This made the people think.... Maybe we need a stronger government to prevent rebellions, strengthen the economy and provide an army

So...in May 1787 in Philly 55 Delegates met to revise the A.O.C. Quickly decided to start over = Constitutional Convention

But all was not happy go lucky The Delegates had different ideas about slavery, representation, role of government, etc. Arguments and debates went on for days

New Jersey Plan proposed Proposed by William Paterson Good for small states = One Legislative House with Equal reps 3 Branches of Gov’t

Then the Virginia Plan Proposed by Edmund Randolph and James Madison Good for the large states 2 Legislative houses = Representation based on population in both 3 Branches of Gov’t

Finally.....a Compromise The Great Compromise by Roger Sherman 3 Branches of Gov’t 2 Legislative Houses Representation in one house (House of Reps) based on Population Representation in the second house (Senate) equal among all states

But what about Slavery??? Some states wanted the Constitution to abolish the slave trade....Other states (south) said that was a state issue Slave Trade Compromise = Congress could regulate or outlaw the slave trade AFTER 1808 P.S. – Congress outlawed the slave trade in 1808

What about the slaves? Southerners wanted to count slave in population to increase representation in Congress - North said no! 3/5ths Compromise = 3/5ths of slaves in any state would be counted for taxation and representation purposes What message did this compromise send about Slavery?

So does it have a happy ending? Sort of of the 42 remaining delegates signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787 BUT - then 9 out of the 13 states had to RATIFY it at special conventions Everyone agreed that a stronger gov’t was needed, but some people thought the Const. was too strong

How did that go? The Federalists, led by Alex Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison wrote 85 essays in support of the Constitution and a strong Federal Gov’t. These became known as the Federalist Papers They said the Constitution was fine and it already protected state and individual rights

Who disagreed? The Antifederalists: Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Sam Adams They thought the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government and did not protect individual or states’ rights enough

Can’t they get along? The Bill of Rights, which listed individual freedoms, was the bridge that helped the Antifederalists agree to ratify the Constitution

Where did they get these ideas? Roman Republic – Independence and public service Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights John Locke – Natural Rights Baron de Montesquieu – French Thinker – suggested idea of separation of powers