Issues of the Constitutional Convention Philadelphia, 1787 Issues of the Constitutional Convention Philadelphia, 1787

The following slides correspond to parts II, III, and IV of your Character Viewpoint Analysis. Each slide has some information about the creation of the three branches of government. There are also basic arguments to help you generate ideas for the Constitutional Convention.

<The Legislative Branch of government is the body of elected representatives that makes laws.

II A(1). One or two houses?

one house (unicameral) one law-making body that meets as one group <efficient and not as time-consuming <easier to pass laws =

two houses (bicameral) one law-making body that meets as two groups <allows for more people in the government <one group can “check” the other =

II A(2). What should be the basis of representation?

equal representation- each state has the same number of representatives New Jersey Plan <favored by smaller states <small states would have power equal to large states

representation based on population- the number of representatives is based on a state’s population Virginia Plan <larger states would get more power, but they also have more people <favored by larger states

II B(1). Should slaves be counted as population?

Southern view Northern view Yes. This means Southern states would increase their population and thus would have more representatives in the legislature. No. Northerners do not want the Southern states to have more representatives.

II B(2). Should slaves be counted for taxation purposes?

Southern view Northern view No. They do not want to pay a property tax on their slaves. Yes. If the South considers slaves property, then they should pay taxes on their slaves as they would other taxable property.

II C. Who should regulate commerce (trade)?

Northern view Southern view The states should. They feared the national government would begin taxing their export crops and trying to interfere with the slave trade. The national government should have the power to tax and use money to benefit the whole country.

II D. Who should choose the legislature?

<the people- representatives are supposed to represent the people <the state legislatures- members of state governments know about government, so they would choose wisely <electors- knowledgeable representatives from each state choose the government

<You may also have any combination of the mentioned possibilities. <In the case of two houses, one house could elect the other. Note- Many of the members of the Constitutional Convention questioned the ability of the average person to make intelligent decisions, hence the options for government officials choosing the government.

II E. How many years should a term of office be?

advantagesadvantages short term (1-4 years) disadvantagesdisadvantages <more people in government <easier to remove incompetent people <more people in government <easier to remove incompetent people <less continuity, experience <takes time to get work done <less continuity, experience <takes time to get work done

long term (more than 4 years) advantagesadvantages disadvantagesdisadvantages <lawmakers gain experience <time to see programs through <not as much turnover in the government <lawmakers gain experience <time to see programs through <not as much turnover in the government <stuck with incompetent people longer <people in government can get too powerful <stuck with incompetent people longer <people in government can get too powerful

II F. How many terms of office can be served?

one term advantagesadvantages <more people in government <no one gets too powerful <incompetent people removed <more people in government <no one gets too powerful <incompetent people removed disadvantagesdisadvantages <competent people are removed <officials not held accountable to the vote of the people <competent people are removed <officials not held accountable to the vote of the people

more than one term advantagesadvantages <continuity <good people stay in government <always held accountable to the vote of the people <continuity <good people stay in government <always held accountable to the vote of the people disadvantagesdisadvantages <incompetent people can remain <a few can become too powerful <incompetent people can remain <a few can become too powerful

<The Executive Branch of government consists of the head of government, Cabinet, and appointees. Their job is to see that laws are executed, or carried out.

III A. How many executives?

one executive One executive means you have one head of government (who we call a president) who performs the outlined duties of the executive. <What would be some advantages of one executive? <What would be some disadvantages of only one executive?

more than one executive More than one executive means you have two or more individuals who perform the outlined duties of the executive. <What would be some advantages of more than one executive? <What would be some disadvantages of more than one executive?

III B. How should the executive be selected? The following options are similar to the legislative branch, but the situation is different. Remember that the Legislative branch has many people while the Executive branch has only a few.

<the people- executive are supposed to lead the people <the state legislatures- members of state governments know about government, so they would choose wisely <electors- knowledgeable representatives from each state chooses the government

<You may have any combination of the previous ideas. <the national legislature (what we call Congress) should elect the executive

III C. Powers of the executive The following is a partial list of possible powers with explanations.

<veto- forbid laws from being passed <make appointments- appoint people to certain government positions <negotiate treaties- make agreements with other countries <commander-in-chief of the military- the supreme commander of all military operations <declare war

Some things to think about when deciding executive powers: <Should any power be absolute, meaning that the executive has a power and must answer to no one? <Should there be some kind of check on these powers?

III D. How many years should a term of office be?

advantagesadvantages short term (1-4 years) disadvantagesdisadvantages <more people in government <easier to remove incompetent people <more people in government <easier to remove incompetent people <less continuity, experience <takes time to get work done <less continuity, experience <takes time to get work done

long term (more than 4 years) advantagesadvantages disadvantagesdisadvantages <executives gain experience <time to see program through <not as much turn-over in the government <executives gain experience <time to see program through <not as much turn-over in the government <stuck with incompetent people longer <people in government can get too powerful <stuck with incompetent people longer <people in government can get too powerful

III E. How many terms of office can be served?

one term advantagesadvantages <more people in government <no one gets too powerful <incompetent people removed <more people in government <no one gets too powerful <incompetent people removed disadvantagesdisadvantages <competent people removed <officials not held accountable to the vote of the people <competent people removed <officials not held accountable to the vote of the people

more than one term advantagesadvantages <continuity <good people stay in government <always held accountable to the vote of the people <continuity <good people stay in government <always held accountable to the vote of the people disadvantagesdisadvantages <incompetent people can remain <a few can become too powerful <incompetent people can remain <a few can become too powerful

<The Judicial Branch of government consists of the Supreme Court and lower courts. The Supreme Court interprets (decides if laws are fair) matters concerning the Constitution. Lower courts rule in civil and criminal cases.

IV A. What type of national court system should be created?

<Most delegates favored a Supreme Court. <However, there was disagreement on whether there should be inferior national courts, or if inferior courts should be handled within each state. <National power versus state power was again an issue.

IV B. How should justices be selected?

<There are many options on this issue such as the executive appointing justices, national legislature voting, state legislatures voting, executive nominating and legislature choosing, etc. <Decide if you want one of these ideas, a different idea, or a combination of these ideas.

IV C. How many years should a term of office be?

<Most delegates felt that Supreme Court justices should serve a life term. <Why might we want justices to serve for so long but not want other government officials in power for such a length of time?

IV D. How long should the justices serve?

<If the decision is for justices to serve for life, then it is not necessary to debate the number of terms. <If the decision is to have justices serve a certain number of years, then delegates need to decide how many terms.

Issues of the Constitutional Convention Philadelphia, 1787 Issues of the Constitutional Convention Philadelphia, 1787