Station #1
James Madison: The Father of the Constitution
Madison was only 36 at the time of the Constitutional Convention, but seemed to be the best prepared
for the event. Madison spent the time leading up to the convention studying politics, history, and
economics. Madison looked for way to build a strong central government that was fair to the people.
Madison knew that Republics were often considered weak because authority was often divided
between too many people. Madison was also greatly concerned about the misuse of power that
happened in monarchies. Madison helped devise a plan were each branch of the government had
certain direct responsibilities and balanced power through these branches.
1776 Madison is elected a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention and the General Assembly.
When Thomas Jefferson returns from drafting the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia,
the two men meet in Williamsburg and begin a 50-year collaboration and friendship.
1780 By this time, the Madison’s plantation—home to approximately 100 slaves—is generally known as
"Montpelier." Madison travels to Philadelphia as a delegate to the Continental Congress.
1783 Madison plays major role in fashioning compromise measures designed to provide Congress with
adequate revenue, and to amend the revenue clauses of the Articles of Confederation. Madison
courts Catherine Floyd, 16-year-old daughter of New York delegate William Floyd. Returns to
Montpelier on December 5, for the first time since March 1780.
1786 Back in the Virginia House of Delegates, Madison secures passage of revised version of the statute
of religious freedom drafted by Jefferson in 1777. He returns to Montpelier in March and
researches histories of ancient and modern confederacies. Attends conference on commercial
regulations in Annapolis. Returns to Virginia with James Monroe and visits Washington at Mount
Vernon before taking his seat in the Virginia Assembly. He is appointed one of the
Commonwealth's delegates to the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention.
1787
One of the first delegates to arrive at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Madison
promotes what will become known as the "Virginia Plan." He serves as the chief architect of a
proposed constitution that would provide for a strong central government. The Convention adopts
a new constitution on September 17, subject to its being ratified by a minimum of nine states.
Station#2
The Virginia Plan vs The New Jersey Plan
Before the convention had even met, James Madison and the
other Virginia delegates developed what was called the Virginia
Plan. This plan of government went way beyond the stated goals
of the convention to revise the national government. It created
an entirely new government which coincidentally, gave
tremendous power to the larger states because voting was
proportional to the number of inhabitants. Representatives from
the smaller states had only hoped to revise the existing government under the Articles which
gave each state an equal vote. All the delegates debated the Virginia Plan for over a week,
when William Paterson introduced the New Jersey Plan. The ideas Paterson were a direct
attack on the Virginia delegates plan. It preserved the structure of the current national
government under the Articles but did allow for greater power to be rested in the national
government. However, it did create an executive and judicial branch and enhance the power of
Congress.
New Jersey Plan
The one house congress should continue
to exist. The members will elect an
Structure executive(s) who may only serve one
term. A separate judicial branch
consisting of one supreme court.
Voting Each State has one vote in Congress
Powers
Virginia Plan
The central government should consist
of three branches, legislative
(consisting of two houses), executive
(elected by legislature one-term), and a
judicial branch.
Voting in both houses will be
proportional to the number of free
inhabitants of a state or the taxes paid
by the state.
Powers of the legislature should
The legislature should be given the power
include the power to force states to
to collect taxes from the states.
meet their obligations.
At the end of the summer of 1787 the smaller states lead by New Jersey helped craft a
constitution that protected the rights of the smaller states. This probably explains why The
Constitution was ratified by New Jersey so quickly and was much harder to pass through larger state
ratification conventions. The delegates debated, argued, threatened, and some left, but in the end a
combination of the plans was created and became The Constitution.
Station #3
The Great Compromise
Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman is credited with proposing the alternative of a "bicameral," or twochambered Congress, made up of a Senate and a House of Representatives. Each state, suggested
Sherman, would send an equal number of representatives to the Senate, and one representative to the
House for each 30,000 residents of the state.
At the time, all the states except Pennsylvania had bicameral legislatures, so the delegates were familiar
with the structure of Congress proposed by Sherman.
Sherman’s plan pleased delegates from both the large and small states and became known as the
Connecticut Compromise of 1787, or the Great Compromise.
Station#4
The Three-Fifths Compromise and a Bill of Rights
Once the Connecticut Compromise settled that the seats in the House would be based on state
population, the delegates argued over whether slaves should be counted in the populations of
the southern states. Because their numbers were significant—with 90 percent of all slaves
residing in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia—most delegates
from the slave-holding states argued that their numbers be factored. The North, however,
disagreed. The result ended with the Three-Fifths Compromise, which determined that “threefifths of all other persons” would be counted; in other words, five slaves would instead be
counted as three. This formula was also used to calculate the amount of money raised in each
state by any direct tax levied by Congress.
Another concern of the congress was protecting the rights of the people. A delegate from
Virginia named George Mason proposed a bill of rights should be included with the
constitution. Mason’s idea was later decided to be unnecessary. Later Mason and Elbrige Gerry
refused to sign the constitution because there was no bill of rights. The Bill of Rights would later
be added in 1791
Station #5
Signing the Constitution
The convention finished their work on the Constitution in the late summer of 1787. On
September 17, 1787 the delegates assembled in the Philadelphia State House to sign the
document. Of the 55 delegates who helped with the convention only 39 sign it. The
Constitution was then sent to the states for approval. Approval for the document was changed
from the unanimous consent that was needed under the Articles of Confederation to 9 out of
the 13 states. To help win the approval of the people James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and
John Jay wrote a series of essays supporting the Constitution. These essays became known as
the federalist paper
The Constitutional Convention
Station #1: James Madison
How old was Madison at the time of the convention?
What problem did Madison see in a traditional republic?
What problem did Madison see in a monarchy?
What plan did Madison support at the convention?
Station#2: The Virginia Plan v The New Jersey Plan
Fill in the venn diagram below
VA Plan
Both
NJ Plan
Which plan would you support and why?
Station #3: The Great Compromise
What was the Great Compromise?
Who Proposed the Great Compromise?
Which state did not have a Bicameral Legislature before the Great Compromise?
Station #4: The Three-Fifths Compromise and a Bill of Rights
What was the 3/5’s Compromise?
Why did the south want slaves to count towards their population?
Who first proposed the idea of a Bill of Rights?
Was his idea originally accepted?
Even though the constitution is accepted in 1787, when is a bill of rights added?
Station#5: Signing the Constitution
When and where is the Constitution signed?
How many delegates sign it?
How many states were needed to put the constitution into effect?
How did James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay help persuade people to support the
constitution?