1. writing the constitution

2. The Constitutional Convention
1. By 1787 most Americans could see that we needed a stronger government, so men from states met in the city of to fix the Articles of Confederation. 55 12
Philadelphia

3. Constitutional Convention
2.The goal of the was to the Articles of Confederation. However, they quickly realized it was too
. Instead they ended up writing a new
Constitutional Convention
improve
weak
Constitution

4. What is a Constitution?
a set of basic principles that determine the powers and duties of government.

5. How many representatives should each state get in Congress?
Virginia Plan (Big States)wanted
New Jersey Plan Small states wanted
representation in Congress to be based on population.
representation to be equal for all states.

6. The Great Compromise:
The Great Compromise- created 2 houses in Congress
a. The Senate – each state got 2
representatives.
b. The House of Representatives –
representation for each state is based
on the states population.

7. Should slaves be counted as part of the population when determining representation?
Free states wanted the number of slaves to determine taxes but not representation.
Slave states wanted to count slaves as part of the population so that they would have more representatives and more power in Congress.

8. How did they compromise?
The Three-fifths Compromise- three-fifths of a state’s slave population would count when determining representation.

9. 3 ways the new constitution was better than the old Articles of Confederation?
a. Stronger central government
b. Congress could pass laws
c. Had a president