Integrated Social Studies
Creating the Constitution – Guided Notes
I.
II.
Agreement and Disagreement

55 Delegates meet in _________________ in 1787 to ‘amend the Articles of Confederation.’

Many agreed with “Separation of Powers.”

Many agreed that power should be _________________.

Delegates were divided on how many _________________________ each state should have
in the national government.

Delegates were divided on how much power the national government should be given.
Getting Organized

__________________________ – George Washington is selected as presiding officer over
the convention.

Setting the Rules –
A. No information was to be given to the ______________; the doors and windows of
the hall were shut.
B. Each _________________ got one vote, regardless of the number of representatives
they brought.
C. All 55 delegates were given a chance to speak.
D. Delegates worked from 10 AM to 4 PM, _______________ days per week.
III.
IV.
Main Conflicts

State Power vs. National Power – which should be stronger?

Inability to tax or raise federal funds to pay debt.

Southern states refused to approve a Constitution unless ____________________ survived.
Madison’s – Virginia Plan

James Madison (Virginia) wanted –
A. Strong national government and legislative branch.
B. House of Representatives (directly elected)
C. Senate (chosen by the House of Representatives).
V.
VI.

______________________: Two house legislature.

A state’s ________________ would determine number of representatives.
New Jersey Plan

The “Small State Plan” or “Paterson Plan.”

Written by ________________________________ in opposition to the Virginia Plan.

Proposed a one-house legislature – ___________________________.

Each state gets one vote.

Small states in favor, but large states despise it. Why?
Reaching Compromise

The Great Compromise –
A. _________________________________ - Written by Roger Sherman.
B. 3 branches of government: executive, judicial, and a bicameral national legislature.
C. The number of representatives in the House is proportionate to the state’s
________________________________.
D. Each state would have an equal number of _________________________.
E. The bicameral legislature was thought to ensure fair laws were passed.
VII.
The New Branches

The __________________________________ proposed two new branches of the national
government.

Executive Branch – _______________________; _____________________.
VIII.

Judicial Branch – interpret laws, _____________________________________.

Only _____________________________ who owned property could vote.
What about Slavery?

The Three-Fifths Compromise –
A. The decision is made to count each slave as three-fifths of a white person when
deciding the state’s population for representation purposes.
B. ___________________________: It forbade Congress from voting against slave
trade until 1808.
C. ___________________________: It forced all states to return fugitive slaves to their
owner.
IX.
X.
XI.
Signature’s, please?

_________________________________________ – Constitution is signed.

39 delegates signed the compact.

Once the document was signed, it was presented to the states for ____________________.

9 states had to approve this new Constitution before it could become the new governing
document.
What Next?

In order to go into effect, the Constitution must be ratified, which means approved, by no
less than 9 of the 13 state conventions in America.

Everyone has an opinion and not everyone likes it. Churches, businesses, town squares, and
inns are all full of debates.

The two sides split into the _______________________, in favor of it, and the
_______________________________, opposed to the Constitution.
The Federalists

The __________________________ of the Constitution; they supported a strong federal or
national government.

Supported a strong national government to:
A. __________________________________________
B. __________________________________________
C. __________________________________________
D. __________________________________________
XII.
The Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the Constitution – Patrick Henry called it ______________________________.

Supported a ___________________ national government and strong state government to:
A. Allow politicians to be closer to their constituents
B. Protect people’s liberties
C. Limit abuses of power by federal governments
XIII.
XIV.

Feared the _______________________________________ that stated that the government
had the right to make laws as they see fit.

Felt that a Bill of Rights was needed.
The Federalist Papers

Collection of _____________________________.

Written in 1787-1788 in Response to Patrick Henry and other Anti-Federalists, such as:
Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.

These papers argued for the Constitution as a body which could protect the _____________
of every citizen.
Ratification

Between December 1787 and May 1790, all 13 states ratified or approved of the
Constitution.

The Constitution was officially adopted when the ninth state to ratify,
____________________________, approved on June 21, 1788. Still, over 40% of the
nation’s population lived in states where it was not ratified.
XV.

3 of the last 4 states to ratify were Virginia, New York, North Carolina. On May 29th, 1790,
Rhode Island became the final state to accept the Constitution.

The United States of America is born.
Preamble

XVI.
XVII.
“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish
justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general
welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our prosperity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Goals of the Government

To Form a more _________________________

To ______________________________

To Insure Domestic Tranquility

The Provide for the Common Defense

To Promote ____________________________

To Secure the Blessings of _________________________ to Ourselves and Our Posterity
The Articles

Article 1: The Legislative Branch

Article 2: The Executive Branch

Article 3: The Judicial Branch

Article 4: The States

Article 5: Amending the Constitution

Article 6: The Supremacy of the Constitution

Article 7: Ratification
XVIII.
Limited Government

___________________________ – the division of power between the states and the federal
or national government.

___________________________ – powers shared by the federal and state governments.

___________________________ – powers given to the National Government.

___________________________ – powers that the Constitution neither gives to Congress
nor denies to the states.

Separation of Powers –
A. Legislative – House of Representatives and the Senate.
B. Judicial – Federal Courts; Supreme Court most powerful.
C. Executive – One person; the President.

_________________________________ – the system that gives each branch of government
ways to limit the powers of the other two.

_____________________ – to accuse of wrongdoing.