1. Unit 1 Day 11 The Articles Fail Quote: “If men were Angels, no government would be necessary.” - James Madison
Essential Question(s): Under what circumstances should individuals stand up for what is just in the face of authority?
Specified Content: Articles of Confederation, Shays Rebellion, Constitutional Convention, Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan, Connecticut Compromise
State Standards: Strand 1 Concept 3 PO 4 (Analyze how the new national government was created)

2. The Articles Fail
Problems with the Articles of Confederation were evident during the war and now that the war was over the problems quickly increased and the government had no power to deal with them.

3. A rebellion in Massachusetts showed that we needed to re-write our government and in May a Constitutional Convention was convened in Philadelphia.

4. Most of the debate revolved around the make-up of Congress (Senate and representation), power of the Executive, and selection of judges.

5. Virginia will argue that representation should be based on population (Virginia Plan) while New Jersey thought it should be equal (New Jersey Plan).

6. Connecticut proposed a compromise (Connecticut Compromise); the Congress should be divided into 2 parts (House and Senate). House membership based on population, Senate 2 reps per state.

7. Activity
Write down the following questions on a separate sheet of paper:
Who, when, why?
Who does the government need to control first? Who does the government need to control second?
What is the problem with “men governing men”?

8. James Madison, Federalist #51 (2/8/1788)
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.”