1. Issues of the Constitutional Convention
A More Perfect Union
Issues of the Constitutional Convention
Philadelphia, 1787

2. 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.

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

4. II A(1). One or two houses?

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

6. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

14. II C. Who should regulate commerce (trade)?

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

16. II D. Who should choose the legislature?

17. 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

18. In the case of two houses, one house could elect the other.
You may also have any combination of the mentioned possibilities.
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.

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

20. short term (1-4 years)
advantages
more people in government
easier to remove incompetent people
disadvantages
less continuity, experience
takes time to get work done

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

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

23. one term
advantages
more people in government
no one gets too powerful
incompetent people removed
disadvantages
competent people are removed
officials not held accountable to the vote of the people

24. more than one term
advantages
continuity
good people stay in government
always held accountable to the vote of the people
disadvantages
incompetent people can remain
a few can become too powerful

25. The Executive Branch
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.

26. III A. How many executives?

27. 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?

28. 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?

29. 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.

30. 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

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

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

33. 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

34. 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?

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

36. short term (1-4 years)
advantages
more people in government
easier to remove incompetent people
disadvantages
less continuity, experience
takes time to get work done

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

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

39. one term
advantages
more people in government
no one gets too powerful
incompetent people removed
disadvantages
competent people removed
officials not held accountable to the vote of the people

40. more than one term
advantages
continuity
good people stay in government
always held accountable to the vote of the people
disadvantages
incompetent people can remain
a few can become too powerful

41. The Judicial Branch
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.

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

43. 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.

44. IV B. How should justices be selected?

45. 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.

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

47. 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?

48. IV D. How long should the justices serve?

49. 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.

50. Issues of the Constitutional Convention
A More Perfect Union
Issues of the Constitutional Convention
Philadelphia, 1787