Name ____________________
Date ____________ Pd _____
APUSH (Unit 3, #3A)
The Creation and Ratification of the Constitution
I. Constitutional Reform
A.In 1770s, Americans feared tyranny; In the 1780s, their fears shifted to ordinary citizens lacking virtue
B. By 1787, Shays’ Rebellion helped expose the fatal flaws of the Articles of Confederation
II. The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, 1787
A. 55 delegates met in Philadelphia in May 1787 to discuss revising (not to replace) the Articles of Confederation
1. The delegates agreed that the Articles had to be replaced & that the procedures would take place in secret
2. The delegates did not know what the gov’t would look like but knew it would be built on 4 principles:
a. Limited government
b. Republicanism
c. Separation of powers/checks and balances
d. Federalism
3. Two proposals for a national gov’t were presented:
a. Madison’s Virginia Plan radically altered the Articles: bicameral legislature & strong president
b. William Patterson’s New Jersey Plan left the Articles intact but gave Congress power the to tax
4. Compromises
a. Roger Sherman’s Great Compromise resolved differences between the large & small states
b. Three-Fifths Compromise resolved differences between the North & South
c. Other compromises: Slavery would not be discussed until 1808, electoral college, 4-year presidential term
B. Key ideas of the Constitution: Congressional powers, presidential powers, judicial powers, supremacy clause
III. The Struggle for Ratification
A. The Philadelphia delegates knew that ratification of the Constitution would not be easy:
1. They had no authority to alter the Articles & they met in secret to do so
2. They fundamentally changed the relationship between states and the national government
B. Federalists & Anti-Federalists
1. Federalists supported the Constitution & used the Federalist Papers to argue for ratification
2. Anti-Federalists opposed ratification because it took too much power from the people & lacked a Bill of Rights
3. When Federalists agreed to add a Bill of Rights, all 13 states agreed to ratify the Constitution
4. The Constitution became official in 1789
5. Most Americans supported the new Constitution