U.S. History
Ms. Areces
Chapter 5 Guided Notes
Forming a Government
Section 3: Creating the Constitution
Constitutional Convention
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Constitutional Convention was held in May 1787 in
_____________________________________________________________________
o It was going to improve the ___________________________________________
o Many delegates were prominent Americans: Benjamin Franklin, James Madison,
George Washington (president of the convention)
o But many were absent: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry (chose not
to attend); also women, African Americans, and Native Americans did not have
the right to be there
Great Compromise
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Many of the delegates from the different states _____________________ on many things
o Issues: small and large states had different ideas about
_________________________, economic concerns with tariffs, _____________,
and the power of the _________________________________________________
Virginia Plan
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New Jersey Plan
After a _____________________ of debate, they still could not reach a decision
But finally, Roger Sherman (CT) proposed a compromise:
o The legislative branch would have ____________________________
 Each state would have ________________ representatives in the Senate &
the state’s ______________________________ would determine the
amount of representatives in the House of representatives
 This agreement pleased both the larger and smaller states
This became known as the __________________________________________________
U.S. History
Ms. Areces
Three-Fifths Compromise
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The debate over representation continued…
Southern delegates wanted _________________________________________________
to be counted in their population to have representatives (and more _________________)
in Congress
o Northerners thought that the number of slaves should determine
_____________—not representation
As a compromise, they came up with the
___________________________________________________________________
o Meaning ________________________ of a state’s slave population would count
when determining representation
Another issue was the _________________________________________________
o Some delegates wanted to ban slaves while others believed that slavery was
needed in the _________________________________ economies
 Many southerners said they would leave the Union if the Constitution
ended the slave trade
 There was also the issue of taxes on imports
The _____________________________________________________ allowed Congress
to charge import taxes but not export taxes, and allowed the importation of slaves until
the end of 1807
o But the words “_____________________” or “_________________” are not
used in the Constitution—instead it said “free Persons” and “all other Persons.”
The Living Constitution
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The Convention delegates wanted a
____________________________________________________, but they also wanted to
maintain popular sovereignty, the idea that political authority belongs
____________________________________________
They also wanted to balance the power of the central government with the power of the
states
o They created ___________________________________—the sharing of power
between a central government and the states that make up the country
o Under the Constitution, the states have whatever power that is
__________________________________________________________________
(i.e. local government, education, marriage, laws, etc.)
Constitution also balances the power among the __________________ branches
1. _____________________________ branch: Congress is responsible for
proposing and passing laws (made up of two houses)
2. _____________________________ branch: the President and the departments
that run the government makes sure that the law is carried out
3. _____________________________ branch: national courts are responsible for
interpreting the laws, punishing criminals, and settling disputes between states
U.S. History
Ms. Areces
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__________________________________ keep any branch from becoming too powerful
o Example:
o Congress has the power to pass bills into law, but the president can veto the law
o But then Congress can override the president’s veto with a 2/3 vote
o The Supreme Court can review laws passed by Congress and say that the law is
unconstitutional
The final draft of the Constitution was completed in September 1787
o Only 3 of the 42 delegates refused to sign
The signed Constitution was sent to Congress and then sent to the states for
_______________________________________
It was not a perfect document, but it protected the ideas of
__________________________________
Section 4: Ratifying the Constitution
Federalists and Antifederalists
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When the Constitution was made public, a huge ___________________ began among the
American people
___________________________________________ (people who opposed the
Constitution) thought that they should not have created a new government
o Others thought that the Constitution gave ___________________________
power to the central government
o They believed that the Constitution did not guarantee
_______________________________________________
o Many were _________________________________ and debtors
o Patriots like Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry were Antifederalists
_____________________________________ were supporters of the Constitution, like
James Madison, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton
o They believed the Constitution offered a _________________________________
of power
o Many were ___________________________ planters, farmers, and lawyers;
some were workers and craftspeople
The two groups debated over the approval of the Constitution by
_________________________________ and _________________________________
Federalist Papers
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One of the most popular defenses of the Constitution was a series of essays called the
_____________________________________________
o They were written anonymously under the name Publius—but were actually
written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
U.S. History
Ms. Areces
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o They tried to reassure Americans that the new federal government would
________________________________________________________________
o In No. 10, Madison argued that the ____________________________ of the U.S.
would prevent any one group from controlling the government
o The essays were widely printed in newspapers around the country
 They were finally collected and published as a book in 1788
Only 9 states had to pass the Constitution, but all the states had to ratify to ensure
_____________________________________________
o States held their own conventions to discuss the Constitution
December 7, 1787: ___________________________ became the first state to ratify the
Constitution
o It went into effect in June 1788 after New Hampshire became the 9th state to ratify
it
o Virginia and New York were hard to convince to ratify the Constitution with
intense debates and even riots
o ____________________________________ was the last to ratify it in May 1790
Bill of Rights
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Several states only ratified the Constitution because they were promised
________________________________________________________________________
o Antifederalists said that the Constitution did not protect individual freedoms
o Federalists said that the whole Constitution was already a bill of rights
James Madison encouraged the legislators to put together a bill of rights that would be
added to the Constitution as _________________________________, or official changes
o Amendments had to be approved by 2/3 majority of both houses in Congress and
the ratified by ¾ of the states before taking effect (guaranteed in
_____________________)
Legislators got ideas from the state ratification conventions, the Virginia Declaration of
Rights, the English Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence
Sept 1789: Congress proposed 12 amendments and sent them to the states for ratification
December 1791: the _____________________________________ was officially ratified
o 10 amendments intended to protect the rights of the citizens
The Constitution has allowed this country to survive for more than _____________ years