Do Now
Please use all of the following terms below in a paragraph
to describe the United States of America after the
American Revolution…
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Articles of Confederation
Shay’s Rebellion
Legislative Supremacy
Congress
Debt
Week Government
The “Spark”
 Shays’ Rebellion
 A. o. C. is too weak
 Must be REVISED
 May 1787 - Congress
calls delegates from all
states to gather in
Philadelphia to help
improve the A. o. C.
 Rhode Island refuses.
Basics
 The Delegates
 74 delegates invited… 55
came… 39 signed
 Many Founders were skeptical
 Patrick Henry of VA
 State of RI
 Very HOT summer
 Convention was held in secret at
the Pennsylvania State House
(D. o. I. was signed there)
Problems and Debates
 REMEMBER!…
 Delegates were intelligent
 Represented different states
with different needs
 Had different beliefs
 LOTS OF DEBATING!
PROBLEMS? …
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Representation in Congress?
Slavery?
Taxes and Tariffs?
One Branch or Three?
Problem #1 - Representation
1. What was the problem that the Founders faced? Explain it.
2. Who created the Virginia Plan? Explain it.
3. Who created the NJ Plan? Explain it.
4. How would your group solve the problem?
The Problem
States disagreed on how
many representatives
EACH STATE should be
able to send to Congress.
The Sides - Population
“Large” States
“Small” States
 MA - Massachusetts
 NH – New Hampshire
 NY – New York
 CT - Connecticut
 PA - Pennsylvania
 NJ – New Jersey
 MD - Maryland
 DE - Deleware
 NC – North Carolina
 SC – South Carolina
 VA - Virginia
 GA - Georgia
Large States
 Representation should be based on population size.
 More people = More ideas = More representation!
 Known as PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
Example (every 30,000 people = 1 rep)
VA population of 700,000 = ___ reps
DE population of 60,000 = ___ reps
The Virginia Plan
 Created by James Madison
 Proposed by Edmund Randolph
 The “basics”
 Three branches
 Leg. has two houses
 Each house is based on
PROPORTIONAL representation
 Strong national government
Small States
 Feared larger states would control national government
 More People = More Votes = More Power!
 Wanted EQUAL REPRESENTATION
Example (equal representation for all states)
VA population of 700,000 = ___ reps
DE population of 60,000 = ___ reps
New Jersey Plan
 Proposed by William Paterson
 The “basics”
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Three branches
One House / Legislative
Based on EQUAL rep.
Strong national Government
The Connecticut Plan
 Roger Sherman of CT
 The “basics”
 Three branches
 Two-house Legislative Br.
 House of Reps = Proportional Rep
 Senate = Equal Rep (two per state)
 Known as the Great Compromise!
Problem #2 - Slavery
1. What was the problem that the Founders faced? Explain it.
2. What was the Northern position? Explain it.
3. What was the Southern position? Explain it.
4. How would your group solve the problem?
The Problem
States disagreed on how to count
SLAVES when counting
representatives for Congress.
The Sides – Person or Property
“Southern” States
“Northern” States
 MD - Maryland
 NH – New Hampshire
 VA - Virginia
 CT - Connecticut
 NC – North Carolina
 MA - Massachusetts
 SC – South Carolina
 NY – New York
 GA - Georgia
 NJ – New Jersey
 PA - Pennsylvania
 DE - Deleware
Northern States
 Industrial economy
 Traded with other nations
 DID NOT NEED SLAVES
 Position
 Slaves = Property
 No Reps
Southern States
 Agricultural society
 DEPENDED ON SLAVE LABOR
 Position
 Slavery was necessary
 Slaves count toward Reps
Other Problems…
 Representation…
 Future of Slave Trade?
 Future of Slavery?
 Runaway slaves?
 Import and Export Tariffs
[taxes] on trade
Solution
 The Three-Fifths Compromise
 Each slave counts as 3/5ths of a person towards
representation
 Slavery continues
 Fugitive Slave Clause – Runaways must be returned
 Congress can control trade BUT…
 Cannot create export taxes
 Cannot end slave trade for 20 years (until 1808)
Problem #3 – Chief Executive
1. What was the problem that the Founders faced? Explain it.
2. When it comes to electing the Chief Executive, what were
some different ideas that were proposed?
3. How would your group solve the problem?
The Problem
The states could not agree on how
many chief executives to have, and
how they would be elected.
Solution
 One Chief Executive
 Strong but limited
 Called the President
 Elected by a special
group of appointed
voters called the
ELECTORAL
COLLEGE