1. Bell Work
How did Shay’s Rebellion inspire states to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention?
What do you think the plan was at this Convention?

2. The American Revolution
Unit 3
The American Revolution
Part 8
Creating the Constitution

3. 1787 – Economic instability & the fear created by Shay’s Rebellion led each state to send delegates to a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The stated goal was to amend the Articles of Confederation but some delegates wanted a completely new framework of government.
George Washington was chosen as presiding officer of the Convention. All meetings were closed to the public to ensure open debate but James Madison kept detailed records.

4. Those who wanted to create a new constitution w/ a strong national government were known as Nationalists. Among the Nationalists were George Washington, Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, & James Madison, AKA the Father of the Constitution.

5. Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up

6. Who goes first?
Youngest person goes first.

7. Question 1: Why Nationalist?
Why would these men favor a strong national or federal government?
Who did it benefit?

8. Question 2: Opposition
Why would some people oppose the Nationalist ideology?
What were they in favor of?

9. At the Convention two different plans were proposed.
The Virginia Plan proposed to replace the Articles of Confederation w/ a new document written mainly by Madison & based on the Virginia state constitution.

10. The Virginia Plan called for separate legislative, executive, & judicial branches. The legislature would be two houses - the 1st elected by the people & the 2nd elected by the 1st house.
The number of representatives from each state would be based on population in both houses, which would give larger states an advantage.

11. Issues?
What are the problems with this plan?

12. William Paterson countered the Virginia Plan w/ a proposal known as the New Jersey Plan, which was designed to preserve some power for smaller states.
The New Jersey Plan would modify the existing Articles of Confederation. Congress would have still have 1 house w/ states equally represented but would now have additional powers to raise taxes & regulate trade.

13. What do we do?
How can we compromise?

14. The Connecticut Compromise, AKA the Great Compromise, settled the debate by creating a bicameral legislature.
The House of Representatives would be based on each state’s population. Representatives would be elected by the people of each state.
The Senate would have two members from each state, elected by the state legislatures, to guarantee equal power to small states.

15. After the Great Compromise was reached, Northern & Southern states then argued over how population would be counted. Southern states wanted slaves included in population counts but Northern states refused since slaves could not vote.
The Three-Fifths Compromise settled the issue. Every five slaves would count as three free persons to determine the number of representatives a state would have in the House.

16. The new constitution was based on the idea of popular sovereignty as well as a division of powers. Dividing political power between a central national government & several state governments is known as federalism.

17. The Constitution also incorporated Montesquieu’s idea of Separation of Powers, which divided the federal, or central, government into 3 branches.
The executive branch is headed by the President & executes laws passed by Congress.
The legislative branch contains the two houses of Congress that make laws.
The judicial branch includes the federal courts which interpret laws.

18. You had one job…
Legislative
Executive
Judicial

19. The concept of checks & balances keeps one branch from becoming too powerful since each branch limits the others.
The president can veto, or reject, laws passed by Congress.
Congress can override a veto with a 2/3 majority in both houses. They can also impeach the president & remove him from office if there is suspicion he has committed a crime.
The judicial branch is appointed by the president for life & decides if laws are unconstitutional, or invalid.
The Constitution can be amended, or changed, but the process is difficult. 2/3 of both Houses of Congress must agree to the amendment, then 3/4 of the states have to ratify, or agree to, the amendment.

20. Public debate over the Constitution was dominated by two opposing groups.
Federalists supported the new Constitution. They were mostly large landowners, merchants, & coastal farmers who wanted a strong central government to protect property rights & trade.
Antifederalists feared a strong central government. They wanted state governments to retain more power in order to protect individual rights. They were mostly poorer farmers from the back country & laborers.

21. What would these become?

22. In order to create popular support, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, & John Jay wrote a collection of essays known as the Federalist Papers which argued in favor of the new Constitution. The essays were published in New York, a major state where many were undecided.
The Federalist is still used by judges, lawyers, & historians to understand the intent of the Framers, or writers of the Constitution.

23. Initially, Massachusetts & Virginia joined New York in opposition to the Constitution.
Federalists promised to include a Bill of Rights designed to guarantee individual rights & freedoms. This convinced the Massachusetts & Virginia legislatures to accept the Constitution. The Bill of Rights was later added as the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
New York finally agreed to the Constitution but only after nine other states had ratified it.

24. George Washington was elected as the first President under the new Constitution.
1790 – Rhode Island ratified the Constitution. It was the last state to do so.