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Identify the key leaders at the Constitutional Convention
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Summarize the key issues and their resolution at the Constitutional
Convention
Compare the Virginia and New Jersey Plans
Explain the Great Compromise
Define the 3/5th Compromise
Describe the form of government established by the Constitution
Describe the debate over ratification of the Constitution, and the views
of the opposing sides.
Explain the purpose of the Bill of Rights, and identify the documents
that informed it.
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The Founding Fathers made two
attempts to establish a workable
government based on republican
principles
The failure of the Articles of
Confederation led to a new
Constitutional Convention
During the fall of 1787
Congressman met in
Philadelphia to address the
issues of the Articles of
Confederation.
They created a new form of
government.
 Key
leaders at the Convention:
 George Washington:
 President (chairman) of the Convention
 Quiet but very respected;
 Kept tempers cool
 James Madison: “The Father of the Constitution”
 Author of the Virginia Plan (three branches of govt)
 Kept detailed notes! Brilliant!
 Would later write the Bill of Rights
 Constitutional Compromises
They had to balance a lot of competing interests.
Constitutional Compromises:
Balancing Power Between Large and Small States
Virginia Plan:
New Jersey Plan:
• 2 houses of Congress (bicameral):
• House of Representatives
• Senate
• Representation determined by
population size in both houses
• 1 house of Congress (unicameral):
• House of Representatives only
• More people  more reps!
• Big states liked this!
• Representation determined by state:
equal representation (like the AoC)
• One state  one vote!
• Small states liked this!
The Great Compromise
How should states be represented in the govt?
• Also called Connecticut Compromise
• 2 houses of Congress (bicameral): House of Representatives and a Senate
• Senate:
House of Reps
Equal representation in Senate
- Representation based on pop
Each State gets two Senators
- More people  more reps!
Elected by the state legislature/assembly
- Reps elected by the people
ConstitutionalConstitutional
Convention – Compromises:
Conflicts and Compromises
Balancing Sectional (Regional) Interests of the States
Northern States:
• Slaves should NOT be
counted for
representation, but
SHOULD be counted
for taxation.
• This position was best
for the non-slavery
states (mostly
northern and
smaller).
Three-Fifths (3/5th)
Compromise
How should
population be
counted for
representation and
taxation?
• Count some of the slaves.
• For every 5 slaves, 3
would be counted for
population and taxation.
Southern States:
• Slaves SHOULD be
counted for
representation, but
they should NOT be
counted for taxation.
• This position was best
for the slave-holding
states (mostly
southern with large
#’s of slaves).
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Federal law is the supreme law of the land, as long as it
follows the Constitution. States have a lot of power to
govern themselves, but they can’t go against a Federal law.
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Popular Sovereignty (Rule by the people)
• Power comes from the people’s consent
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Limited Government
• Limited the powers of the Government to those
powers in the Constitution
 Separation
of Powers
• Three co-equal branches of government
• Legislative: Congress (makes the law)
 Senate and House of Representatives
• Executive: President (enforces the law)
• Judicial: Supreme Court (interprets the law)
 Checks
and Balances
• Each branch has some control over the others
• No branch can get too powerful
 Judicial
Review
• The courts (judicial branch) can declare laws
unconstitutional
• This was added a few years later; not in the
Constitution!
 Federalism
• Power is shared between levels of government:
the national government and the states
National
Govt
State
Govts
 What
was the location of the Constitutional
Convention?
 Who
presided over the convention as
chairman…why was he chosen?
 What
were the main issues discussed at the
convention?
 What
 What
did Great Compromise do?
are the basic principles of the
Constitution?
 Ratification
= Official approval
 Read the handout Ratifying the
Constitution and answer the questions
on the separate page.
 Before
the Constitution could be put into
practice, it must be ratified, or officially
approved by the states.
• Each state set up a convention to approve or
reject the Constitution
• Nine states had to accept the Constitution for
it to be ratified
• Debate over Constitution -- (Federalists and
Anti-federalists) – What were their arguments?
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Strong central government was good for solving
national issues:
Order and national security
Economic development
Commerce between states
Did NOT need a Bill of Rights, b/c the Constitution
already protected citizens.
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Separation of powers, checks & balances, and
federalism protected states and citizens from a govt
that was too powerful
Major Federalists:
George Washington
**Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay** (wrote
Federalist Papers to support ratification)
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Feared that a strong central government would take
away rights of citizens and states, and would favor the
rich and powerful
WANTED a Bill of Rights to protect individuals from power
of govt. Refused to ratify w/o it (NY & VA)
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Major Anti-Federalists: Patrick Henry, George Mason
* James Madison eventually agreed with them, and wrote
the Bill of Rights!
 After
the Federalists promise to add a Bill of
Rights, states begin to ratify the Constitution
(Delaware is 1st)
 Bill of Rights is written by James Madison (a
Federalist)
 Heavily influenced by two Virginia
documents:
• The Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) by George
Mason
• The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom (1786) by
Thomas Jefferson
 Review
• The VA Declaration of Rights and the VA
Statute of Religious Freedom
• The Bill of Rights
 How
did these two documents
influence the Bill of Rights and other
founding principles of the United
States?
 Crash
Course!
 Liberty Kids