1. The Framers, The Debates, The Result

2. The Constitutional Convention  Held in the summer of 1787  Purpose was the revision of the A of C  Meetings held in secret; Madison’s notes are all we have  Advantages? Criticisms?  Demographics of Delegates -55 delegates (none from RI) -33 Lawyers -half were college graduates -7 former governors, 7 plantation owners, 8 business leaders -age 26-81 (avg. age 43) -all male, all white  Notables who did not attend:  Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry (“smelt a rat”), Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Samuel Adams and, John Hancock.  How did the “problems” with certain state constitutions and Shay’s rebellion serve as a backdrop for the Convention?

3. Major Debates/Topics at the Convention  Opening: VA Plan  How did this set the tone for the convention?  How might the “council of revision” reflect an implicit call for the power of judicial review of legislative acts?  The Response: The NJ Plan  How was more in line with the original goal of the convention?  The NY Plan? Hamilton’s “2 cents”…  The Great Compromise (and the 3/5ths)?  How did these contribute to a “spirit of accommodation?”  The Executive: major arguments?  The Judiciary: the ugly stepchild?  Questions unanswered? Why?  Slavery, judicial review, Bill of Rights

4. The Structure of the Constitution  7 Articles, longest is the first (legislative)  Article I, II and III: Institutions of the National Government  Article IV: Relations Among the States  Article V: Amendment Process  Article VI: Supremacy Clause  Article VII: Ratification Process

5. The Ratification Debate  Document sent to states for ratification in fall of ‘87;  Why call for ratifying conventions instead of using state legislatures?  Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists  Who were they?  Why was one group more successful than the other?  The Federalist Papers  Originally drafted to influence ratification debate in NY  Authors:(Publius) Madison (26), Hamilton (51), John Jay (5)  Have become THE SOURCE of information about the Constitution, the minds of the Framers and arguments about every nook and cranny of the Constitution  Ratification in doubt without Bill of Rights; Federalists agree to propose in 1 st Congress

7. The Bill of Rights  The First 10 amendments to the Constitution  Added in 1791, under the Constitutional process for amending ( 2/3rds of Congress, 3/4ths of state legislatures)  Madison originally drafted and submitted 12 amendments to Congress; only 10 were proposed by Congress to the states  One of the “lost” amendments became #27  *Interestingly, Madison was originally against the idea of a Bill of Rights for the national Constitution.