1. All were white males, well to do and educated.
In May of 1787, delegates of America's early leaders met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They wanted to amend the Articles of Confederation because it only established a loose union of the 13 states. These delegates would write a completely new constitution. They would create America's system of government. Where did there seem to be common ground amongst delegates at the Constitutional Convention?
All were white males, well to do and educated.
In general, they represented the interests of merchants and lawyers, planters, physicians, professors etc.
They believed they needed power to levy taxes, raise and support an army, regulate commerce and make and enforce laws.
They believed the Articles were beyond mending and that a new government needed to have the authority Congress lacked under the articles!
They believed in the principle of separating 3 areas = Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government to guard against abuses of power.
However, this is also where agreement ended!

2. Where was there room for conflict?
Sharp Divisions
Those representing states with small areas and small populations vs. those with large areas and large populations and/or potential for growth.
The “large” states included – Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, Georgia.
The “smaller” states included – Connecticut, New jersey, Delaware, and Maryland
The other main division was Slavery! The southern states, whose economies were reliant on slave labour, particularly Georgia and the Carolinas who faced a slave shortage, were determined to preserve the slave trade.
The northern economies were not as tied to slave labour.

3. One of the easiest decisions was the unanimous selection of George Washington as chairperson!
The delegates agreed that each could speak twice on a subject, each state would get one vote regardless of the number of delegates attending, decisions would be by majority vote and the convention was free to reconsider earlier votes.
The delegates kept the meetings secret to ensure they could freely speak their minds to the point where the doors were nailed shut and guards were posted outside.
Only Rhode Island did not attend because they were worried those attending would create a government that had too much power.

4. The Virginia Plan
On May 29, 1787 the Virginia delegation presented a proposal:
Replace the Articles completely!
Replace the loose confederation of states with a strong national government with the three branches with clearly defines roles for each.
Most agreed with the three branches and that there should be a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate.
The Judicial Branch should have a Supreme Court with lower courts.
The executive branch should be led by an elected official not a monarch and they settled on a four year term.
Delegates argued over who should choose representatives – the people or states legislatures.
The Compromise = voters elect the House, but state legislatures would choose Senators.
Second Question – how many representatives does each state have in Congress?
The Virginia Plan called for representation based on state population. This favours majority rule and larger states.
Of course small states protested but lost on both counts!

5. The New Jersey Plan
The plan gave Congress the power to levy taxes and regulate trade.
However, each state would have one vote in Congress regardless of population and members would be elected by state legislatures.
Smaller states threatened to quit if not given a fair share of power. Large states gave no ground on this issue!
After a few days of debate, the New Jersey Plan goes down in defeat.
They also voted against keeping The Articles of Confederation which meant of course there was no looking back!
Both sides dug in as small states wanted equal representation.

6. The Great Compromise
The meetings went on into July and unless the issue of who holds the power was resolved, the deadlock would remain.
Finally, on July 16, they worked out a deal or as it has come to be known – The Great Compromise (or the Connecticut Compromise because of the suggestion of delegate representative Roger Sherman from Connecticut).
Representation in the House would be based on state population, but each state would have equal representation (2) in the Senate!
Now that representation was resolved, the debate would now move to slaves in a state’s population.

7. Electing a President
The convention was still alive as a result of The Great Compromise but now the debate moved to how to elect a president.
The chief concerns amongst delegates were:
How could they ensure voter’s ability to make good decisions
Small states desire to have an equal say
Who would make the best choice – Congress, Voters or state legislatures.
The decision was that each state legislature would choose electors who would meet at an electoral college to choose the President and Vice President. Each state would have a s many electors as at had members of Congress.

8. Three-Fifths Compromise
While the debate between large and small state representation raged, division was brewing between Northern and Southern states.
The southern states wanted to count slaves as part of their population to get as many seats as possible in Congress.
The North argues that they couldn’t have it both ways, either slaves are citizens and entitled to political rights or they are property and can’t be counted!
However, the southern states did get it both ways! Southern support was needed so the delegates compromised.
Each slave would count as 3/5 of a person when counting a states population. This became known as The 3/5 Compromise.
The south also succeeded on the slave trade issue as well = Congress would regulate trade and tax imports, but could not tax exports or end the importing of slaves before 1808 (Act of 1807 prohibited importing new slaves)! Most northern delegates felt slavery would eventually wither away and that it was “better to let the southern states import slaves than to part with them.”
This would have terrible consequences years later!

9. Signing the Constitution
The major issues were complete:
Representation in Congress
Election of a President
Slavery
Also, division of power between national and state governments (who’s
responsible for what)
On September 17, 1787 the completed Constitution was read to the
convention and Ben Franklin urged all to sign – 39 signed while 3 refused
Still needed ratification by the states.

10. The Struggle for Ratification
Nine of the states were needed to ratify the Constitution for it to be accepted.
Supporters were called Federalists (argued a constitution was the only way to avoid chaos and disunion)
Opponents were called Anti-Federalists (largely b/c they felt it would weaken state governments and undermine liberties of the people specifically b/c it did not contain a Bill of Rights.
Mass. Convention is a good example of state fears – delegates weighed the need for better trade regulations and strength in foreign relations against possible threats to state sovereignty and individual rights and freedoms.
On June 21, 1788 New Hampshire ratified making the Constitution the “supreme law of the land” among the nine states that ratified.
The remaining four had 40% of the countries population and they were needed for the new government to succeed. Finally, Rhode Island ratified and all 13 were under the new constitution.

11. Ratification Dates by State
Delaware - December 7, 1787
Pennsylvania - December 12, 1787
New Jersey - December 18, 1787
Georgia - January 2, 1788
Connecticut - January 9, 1788
Massachusetts - February 6, 1788
Maryland - April 28, 1788
South Carolina - May 23, 1788
New Hampshire - June 21, 1788 (the Constitution became legal.)
Virginia - June 25, 1788
New York - July 26, 1788
North Carolina - November 21, 1789
Rhode Island - May 29, 1790 (ironically after first ten Amendment (aka The Bill of Rights) were passed by Congress on September 25, 1789)

12. King, McRae, Zola. The United States and Its People
King, McRae, Zola. The United States and Its People. Addison Wesley, 1995