1. Coach Kuntz United States History
Building A Government
Coach Kuntz
United States History

2. Shay’s Rebellion
-After the Revolution, the country was suffering from a depression (a period when business activity slows, prices and wages fall, and unemployment rises).
-During this time farmers were hit especially hard– They could not pay back loans that they had taken out on their farms.
-In 1786, 1,000 farmers led by Daniel Shay attacked courthouses and prevented the state from seizing their farms. This event became known as Shays Rebellion.
-The Massachusetts militia was sent to end the rebellion.
-Many Americans saw the rebellion as a sign that the Articles of Confederation did not work.
-A convention was called to REVISE the Articles of Confederation.

3. Founding Fathers Assemble!
-The Constitutional Convention opened on May 25, with the goal of revising the Articles of Confederation.
Notable people at the convention:
Benjamin Franklin
George Washington
Elected President of the Convention
Alexander Hamilton
Believed in a strong central government!
James Madison
His ideas on how to structure a democratic government influenced the other delegates.
He is often called the “Father of the Constitution”.

4. Two Plans
After the meeting began, the delegates realized that they would have to write an entirely new constitution. They disagreed what form the new government should take.
VIRGINIA PLAN
-Called for three branches of government
-The legislature would have two houses
-In each house, the number of seats would be awarded based on population.
-Larger states would have more representatives and more power than smaller states
NEW JERSEY PLAN
-Called for three branches of government
-The legislature would have one house
-Each state, regardless of population, would have only one vote in the legislature.
-Small states would be just as powerful as larger states.

5. Three Branches of Government
Legislative Branch- Passes the laws
Executive Branch- Carries out the laws
Judicial Branch- Decides if the laws are carried out fairly

6. Making A Deal THE GREAT COMPROMISE
-The legislature would have two houses
-In the House of Representatives, seats would be awarded based on population (satisfies the Virginia Plan)
-In the Senate, each state would have two senators, no matter the state’s size (satisfies the New Jersey Plan)
-This plan is called the Connecticut Plan or the Great Compromise

7. Slavery and the Constitution
-A new rivalry was forming: Northern states versus southern states.
-Northern states wanted to ban slavery but the southern states wanted to keep slavery.
-In order to get the Constitution approved and signed, northern states compromised to southern states in a few ways:
Northerners agreed that Congress could not outlaw the slave trade for at least 20 years.
Northerners agreed that no state could stop a runaway slave from being returned to an owner.
The Three-Fifths Compromise

8. The Three-Fifths Compromise
-Southern states argued that slaves should be included in the population count of the states.
This would give southern states more representatives in the House of Representatives
-Northern states argued that, since slaves could not vote, they should not be counted in the population.
-The states compromised and agreed to that three fifths of the slaves in any state could be counted in the population.

9. Signing the Constitution
-On September 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States was ready to be signed.
-In order to for the Constitution to go into effect, each state had to hold a convention to approve or reject the plan for the new government.
-9 of the 13 states had to approve the plan.