1. Constitutional Convention & Compromises

2. Constitutional Convention 1786: Representatives from 5 states met at a convention in Annapolis, Maryland to discuss improving the Articles of Confederation. 1787: All the states ( except one) met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rhode Island did not attend the convention.

3. George Washington: Delegates elected Washington to serve as president and lead the discussions.

4. Constitutional Convention They first met to revise the Articles of Confederation but soon realized that they needed to completely start over. The delegates who were at the Constitutional Convention are referred to as Framers.

5. Virginia Plan James Madison developed the Virginia Plan. The plan called for a federal system of government. A federal system of government is one in which power that comes from the people is divided and shared between a central government and several governments of the states. The central government is called the federal government.

6. Virginia Plan Madison’s plan called for three parts or branches. Legislative branch: make laws Executive branch: enforce laws Judicial branch: explain the laws

7. Virginia Plan The Virginia Plan called for representation in the legislative branch to be based on each state’s population. The larger states would elect more representatives and have more power than the smaller states. Edmund Randolph (the lead delegate from Virginia) presented this proposal to the Constitutional Convention.

8. New Jersey Plan William Paterson proposed the New Jersey Plan. It called for the creation of a single national legislature in which each state would have the same number of representatives. This plan was designed to protect the political power of smaller states.

9. The Great Compromise Roger Sherman proposed a compromise. He proposed that the legislative branch be made up of two parts: the Senate and the House of Representatives.

10. The Great Compromise In the Senate each state would have the same number of representatives. In the House of Representatives each state’s population would determine its number of representatives.

11. Slavery Northern delegates opposed slavery. Southern delegates would not consider outlawing it.

12. Three-Fifths Compromise Southern states wanted slaves to be counted in their population to benefit them in the House of Representatives. The Southern states did not want slaves to be counted for taxes.

13. Three-Fifths Compromise Three-Fifths Compromise: States would count a portion (3/5) of their enslaved population both for representation and for taxes.