Chapter 7 Section 2 “Here comes the Constitution”

A New Government The Constitutional Convention opened in May of Its goal was to revise the Articles of Confederation. Every state except Rhode Island sent delegates. The convention had 55 delegates. Eight of the men had signed the Declaration of Independence. Many of the other men were young men (in their 30’s) When the convention began, the men decided to keep the debates secret. They closed all the windows and barred all the doors. The convention took place in the middle of the summer, so it was extremely hot. Soon after the Constitutional Convention began, the delegates realized they would have to throw out the Articles of Confederation and start fresh with a totally new government.

James Madison James Madison was the most prepared delegate at the Constitutional Convention. He had ideas on how to structure the government. He is known as the Father of the Constitution.

Two Rival Plans Two plans were proposed. The Virginia Plan was the first. It called for three branches of government Legislative Branch – would make the laws Executive Branch – would carry out the laws Judicial Branch – the court system that would interpret the laws The Virginia Plan also had a plan for the legislature (law making body). Under this plan, the legislature would have two houses. The number of representatives that each state got would be based of population. The bigger states would have the power in the legislature under this plan. Small states did not like this plan. The New Jersey Plan was the apposing plan. It was basically the same, but every state would get the same number of representatives regardless of population size. The fighting between these two plans went on and on and on. There was going to have to be a compromise. Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan

Great Compromise Virginia Plan Strong National Government 3 branches Legislative branch would have 2 houses with big states get more votes New Jersey Plan Strong National Government 3 Branches Legislative branch with 1 house and each state gets one vote

Virginia Plan Strong National Government 3 branches Legislative branch would have 2 houses with states with more people getting more votes. New Jersey Plan Strong National Government 3 Branches Legislative branch with 1 house and each state gets one vote The Great Compromise Strong National Government 3 branches 2 house legislature One house based on population (The House of Representatives) One house based on equal representation (Senate)

The Great Compromise The compromise was this: One house (the House of Representatives) would be based on population, and in the other house (the Senate) every state would get two senators no matter what the population was. This narrowly passed the Constitutional Convention and is known as the Great Compromise.

The Three-Fifths Compromise But what about slaves? Would they be counted as part of the state’s population. Northern states said no and southern states said yes. The result was the Three-Fifths Compromise. It said that three-fifths of all slave would be counted as part of the population. Over the last months of the convention, the delegates tackled issues like the court system, regulation of trade, the executive branch, and the raising of taxes. At last, in September of 1787, the delegates signed the Constitution. This was not the end, though. Now, at least nine states had to vote to ratify (accept) this new constitution. I wonder if this means we only have to do three- fifths of the work

Review Questions What did the Virginia and New Jersey plans have in common? How were they different? Why did small states oppose the Virginia plan? How was the conflict resolved? Explain the compromise reached between the north and south? What year was the Constitution signed?

Quick Write (Thomas Jefferson/James Madison) had a bigger impact on our country because..