1. The Constitutional Convention
May 1787
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2. Who was there? 55 delegates
Lawyers, physicians, generals, governors, planters, and a college president
Well educated
All states represented,except Rhode Island

3. George Washington Presided over meeting
Gave the meeting greater significance
Would later become the first president of the United States

4. Benjamin Franklin Oldest delegate (80 years old)
Like Washington, was well respected and added a positive presence to the meetings

5. Gouverneur Morris Powerful speaker and writer Wrote the Preamble
Wrote final draft of Constitution
Tried to get Constitutional Convention to ban slavery

6. James Madison Father of the Constitution
His notes became the best record of what happened at the convention.
Supporter of strong central government

7. Edmund Randolph Governor of Virginia
Proposed creating strong national government instead of rewriting Articles
Introduced Virginia Plan to convention

8. William Paterson
Presented the New Jersey plan, a plan that revised the Articles of Confederation

9. Roger Sherman
Proposed a compromise to the New Jersey and Virginia plan which came to be known as The Great Compromise

10. Debates, Decisions and Compromises
Convention began by choosing George Washington to preside over meetings.
Each state would have one vote on all questions.
The delegates decided to keep all the sessions secret. This made it possible for the delegates to talk freely.

11. The Virginia Plan Proposed by Edmund Randolph
Two-house (bicameral) legislature
Members of the lower house elected by the people
Members of the upper house elected by the lower house
Number of representatives would be proportional to the population of each state

12. The New Jersey Plan Proposed by William Paterson
Kept Confederation’s One-House legislature
Gave Congress the power to tax and regulate trade
Congress would elect a weak executive branch consisting of more than one person

13. The Great Compromise Suggested by Roger Sherman Two-House legislature
Lower House (House of Representatives)
Membership would be proportional to population of the state
Upper House (Senate)
Each state would have two members

14. Slavery Issue
Northern states wanted to ban slavery throughout the nation
Southern states considered slavery essential to their economies
It was agreed that Congress would not interfere with the slave trade until 1808

15. The 3/5 Compromise
Southern states wanted slaves to be counted as population for the purpose of representation in the House of Representatives
Northerners wanted slaves to be counted as property and taxed
Compromise—slaves would be counted as 3/5 of a free person for the purpose of taxation AND representation

16. Ratification
9 out of 13 states had to ratify (approve) the Constitution
Federalists-supporters of the Constitution
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay defended the Constitution in The Federalist Papers
Anti-Federalists-opposed ratification
Lacked a bill of rights to protect individual freedoms

17. Adopting the Constitution
June 21, 1788—New Hampshire (the 9th state) ratified the Constitution
June 25, 1788—Virginia ratified the Constitution
June 26, 1788—New York ratified the Constitution
November 1789—Constitution ratified by North Carolina
May 1790—Constitution ratified by Rhode Island