Constitutional Convention and Ratification CHAPTER 2

TODAY: Current events Lecture Formative Worksheet Exit Objective: You will be able to describe the time period leading up to creating our new government

WHAT WAS THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 12 states sent delegates to Philadelphia (all but Rhode Island)\ They are known as the Framers Many of the most famous names of the revolution were not there Patrick Henry, John Hancock Decided to make a NEW constitution (Government) The hard part was figuring out how to compromise There were a number of big issues needing to be fixed Representation Slavery

VIRGINIA PLAN  Written mostly James Madison  A major overhaul to the current system  Proposed a new government o 3 branches and a bicameral Congress o Representation based on state population. More people more representatives in congress o Congress chooses a National Executive and Judiciary

NEW JERSEY PLAN  Not as many changes proposed as the Virginia plan o Unicameral Congress o States are all represented equally in congress o The federal executive should be more than one person  Chosen by congress

GREAT COMPROMISE  Also known as the Connecticut Compromise o Because Connecticut delegate proposed it  Used parts of both the New Jersey and Virginia Plans o Bicameral Congress  House of Representatives based on states population  Senate based on every state has the same number  Three Branches of government

3/5 COMPROMISE  This dealt with how slaves should be counted in order to figure out representation  The Southern States were afraid the Northern States would get the most representation because they had a larger population of non-slaves.  It was decided that every 5 slaves would count as 3 white citizens

COMMERCE AND SLAVE TRADE ACT  Congress was given the power to regulate trade o The Southern States were worried the Northern States would try to regulate or stop slavery  It was decided that o Congress was forbidden to tax the export of goods from any state o Congress was forbidden to act on the slave trade for 20 years

DEBATE Which version of the Constitution we were going to have Two sides Federalist: liked the constitution as is Anti-Federalist: wanted the constitution to include more individual rights

WHO WERE THE FEDERALISTS? Most of these were men from the Constitutional Convention Madison and Hamilton They were really concerned with the weakness of the Articles of Confederation A whole new government was the only way to fix the problems

WHO WERE THE ANTI-FEDERALIST? Many of these men were not at the Constitutional Convention Hancock and Patrick Henry Found many problems with the version of the constitution Most important problems The amount of power given to the Central Government The absents of the Bill of Rights

RATIFICATION 9 states had to ratify the Constitution for it to be accepted NOT all of the states Delaware was the first Rhode Island was the last