1. The Constitutional Convention May 1787 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2. Philadelphia, PA Delegates gathered in secret at Independence Hall during the summer of 1787 It was a hot summer, but delegates didn’t dare open the windows for fear someone outside would hear and then people wouldn’t speak freely

3. Who was there? 55 delegates Well educated All states represented,except Rhode Island

4. George Washington Presided over meeting Gave the meeting greater significance Hardly spoke Helped recruit convention members

5. Benjamin Franklin Oldest delegate (80 years old) Like Washington, was well respected and added a positive presence to the meetings

6. Gouverneur Morris Powerful speaker and writer Wrote the Preamble Wrote final draft of Constitution Tried to get Constitutional Convention to ban slavery

7. James Madison Father of the Constitution His notes became the best record of what happened at the convention. Supporter of strong central government

8. Problem #1 How would federal government represent large and small states equally? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO71kjsPSYs Small states thought they had the best plan with EQUAL representation Large states thought they had the best plan with MORE representation

9. Edmund Randolph Governor of Virginia Proposed creating strong national government instead of rewriting Articles Introduced Virginia Plan to convention

10. William Paterson Presented the New Jersey plan, a plan that revised the Articles of Confederation

11. The Great Compromise Roger Sherman Proposed a compromise What would happen if you combined BOTH plans??! http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=fO71kjsPSYs

12. The Great Compromise Suggested by Roger Sherman Two-House legislature Lower House (House of Representatives) –Membership would be proportional to population of the state Upper House (Senate) –Each state would have two members

13. Problem #2 Slavery Issue Northern states wanted to ban slavery throughout the nation Southern states considered slavery essential to their economies It was agreed that Congress would not interfere with the slave trade until 1808

14. The 3/5 Compromise Southern states wanted slaves to be counted as population for the purpose of representation in the House of Representatives Northerners wanted slaves to be counted as property and taxed Compromise—slaves would be counted as 3/5 of a free person for the purpose of taxation AND representation

15. Ratification 9 out of 13 states had to ratify (approve) the Constitution Federalists-supporters of the Constitution –James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay defended the Constitution in The Federalist Papers Anti-Federalists-opposed ratification –Lacked a bill of rights to protect individual freedoms

16. Problem #3 Nature of the Presidency –1 person? –Several persons? –How would he be elected? By everyone? By State Legislatures?

17. Problem #4 How strong should the Federal Government be?

18. Problem #5 How much should populace be involved? –Populace = all people –Should they vote for Congress? –Should they vote for President? –Should they vote for representatives to make decisions for them The United States therefore is NOT a true democracy, but a REPUBLIC! – Why?

19. Adopting the Constitution June 21, 1788—New Hampshire (the 9 th state) ratified the Constitution June 25, 1788—Virginia ratified the Constitution June 26, 1788—New York ratified the Constitution November 1789— Constitution ratified by North Carolina May 1790—Constitution ratified by Rhode Island