CONSTIUTIONAL CONVENTION
Directions: You are a delegate at the Constitutional Convention. You have been assigned a state
that you will represent. Your job is determine which plan of government would best meet the
needs of your state. Use the census data provided, along with the resources linked on the Weebly to
determine which plan your state will support.
What state do you represent? _______________________________
Use the links for the Virginia Plan to answer the questions below:
1.
How would the legislature be organized in this plan?
2. How would voting be determined? How many votes would each state get?
3. How many houses (divisions) were in the legislature?
4. Who hold the power? (state or federal government?)
Use the links for the New Jersey Plan to answer the questions below:
5. How would the legislature be organized in this plan?
6. How would voting be determined? How many votes would each state get?
7. How many houses (divisions) were in the legislature?
8. Who hold the power? (state or federal government?)
Directions: Use the 1790 US Census Information Sheet to answer the following.
1790 Total Population (from your state): ________________________________________
1790 Slave Population (From your state): ________________________________________
Directions: Working with the delegate(s) from your state, answer the following questions.
1. Is your state considered a large or small state? Explain how you came to this determination.
(Hint: States with populations over 250,000 were considered large states.)
2. Using the census data, which states would be considered:
Large States:
Small States:
3. Would counting slaves as part of your state’s population be beneficial to your state if population
is a factor in determining seats in Congress?
4. Does your state think slaves should be counted as part of the state’s population? Why of why
not?
5. As a delegate from your state, do you prefer the Virginia Plan or the New Jersey Plan?
6. Why do you prefer this plan? How does it benefit your state? (Think about the population in
your state)
The Constitutional Convention Simulation: Reflection Answer after a vote is taken in class.
You will complete these questions AFTER each state has cast their vote.
Directions: Answer each of the following in complete sentences. You can use the information
from the Tally Sheet you completed in class to help you.
1. How would you summarize the feelings of the various states (as seen in the classroom
simulation) regarding their feelings toward the Virginia and New Jersey Plans?
2. In the classroom simulation, how would you describe the states' feelings about slavery? Were
the states divided? Why?
3. At the Constitutional Convention, how did the states compromise on counting slaves in the state’s
population?
4. During the classroom simulation, what were the differences in the northern and southern states?
The large and small states?
5. At the Constitutional Convention, how did the Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)
settle differences between the states who favored the Virginia Plan and those that favored the
New Jersey Plan?
How many branches of government would there be?
Which branch would be most powerful?
How would Congress (the legislature) be organized?
How many representatives would each state have in each house of Congress?
How does this plan satisfy both small and large states?