Chapter 8 Creating the Constitution
*After declaring independence in 1776, Congress
tries to unite the states under one national
government.
*Their first attempt is known as the Articles of
Confederation.
The Articles create a “firm league of friendship”
between the states.
*The Articles give Congress the power to make
war, raise an army and navy, print money,
and set up a postal system for delivering mail.
*However, Congress does not have the power to
impose taxes, and this makes the Articles of
Confederation a useless system of governing.
*In this chapter you will learn how Congress
comes together in 1787 to create the United
States Constitution.
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Test Prep
 The Articles of Confederation did all of the following
except
 A) serve as the first plan of government for the United
States.
 B) form a loose union of the states.
 C) divide power among three branches of government.
 D) give Congress power to make war and peace.
 Answer: C) divide power among three branches of
government.
8.2 Early Quarrels and Accomplishments
*Even before the Revolutionary War ends,
States are quarrelling over taxes on goods
that crossed state borders and over
boundary lines.
*Under the Articles of Confederation,
Congress has no power to do anything
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Developing Western Lands
*To end confusion and disputes over
settling and developing western lands,
Congress does pass the Land Ordinance
of 1785.
Under this law, lands are divided into townships of six-mile squares. Each township
is then divided into 36 sections of 640 acres each.
*By 1787 Congress is ready to sell sections of the Ohio Valley known as the Northwest
Territory to settlers. But are they to be colonies or new states?
Ch. 8.2 Continued…
The Northwest Ordinance
*Congress answers this question with
the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
*This law divides the Northwest
Territory into smaller territories, each
governed by a territorial governor.
*As soon as a territory has 5,000 free
adult males, it can elect its own
legislature.
*When the population reaches 60,000,
it can apply for statehood.
*The Ordinance gives settlers the same
rights as other citizens, except the right
to practice slavery.
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8.3 Shay’s Rebellion and the Need for Change
*Under the Articles, the new nation has
serious money problems.
*Paper money printed by Congress
during the war is useless.
*Not enough gold or silver to mint
coins.
*States begin printing their own paper
money.
*No one knows what the currencies
are worth.
Massachusetts Farmers Rebel
*Farmers cannot pay their debts and
taxes.
*Judges in Massachusetts order farmers
to sell land and livestock to pay off their
debts.
Massachusetts
Currency
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Daniel Shays closes down courthouses
Ch. 8.3 Continued…
*Daniel Shays leads a rebellion of
Massachusetts farmers.
*Shays and his followers close down
courthouses to keep judges from
taking their farms.
*Then they march on the national
arsenal at Springfield and seize
weapons stored there.
*Massachusetts sends militia to
Springfield to restore order.
*Many Americans see this as proof
that the nation is falling apart.
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Ch. 8.3 Continued…
A Call for a Convention
*Congress is shocked into calling for a
convention to consider “the situation of
the United States.”
*May 1787 each states sends delegates
to Philadelphia.
More than fifty delegates
from 12 states gather at
the Philadelphia State
House to begin writing
the Constitution of the
United States.
Rhode Island did not send
representatives because
It was afraid of losing its
States’ rights.
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Test Prep
 Shay’s Rebellion is remembered today because it
 A) threatened law and order in Massachusetts.
 B) dramatized the money problems faced by poor
farmers.
 C) shocked Congress into calling for a Constitutional
Convention.
 D) showed how well the Articles of Confederation
worked.
 Answer: C) shocked Congress into calling for a
Constitutional Convention.
Ch. 8.4 Opening the Constitutional Convention
*May 25, 1787 Constitutional Convention
meets for the first time.
*Delegate’s first action is to elect George
Washington president of the convention.
The Delegates
*Fifty-five delegates from 12 states attend the
convention.
*Rhode Island boycotts the meeting because
it fears a strong national government will
endanger the rights of states.
*Others who agree with Rhode Island include
Sam Adams, John Hancock, and Patrick Henry,
so they do not attend either.
*As a group, the delegates are mostly young,
well educated and well-to-do.
*More than 2/3 are lawyers.
*More than 1/3 own slaves.
Sam Adams
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John Hancock
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Patrick Henry
8.4 Continued…
The Father of the Constitution
*James Madison addresses the convention
more than 200 times.
*His influence is so great that he will later
be called the “Father of the Constitution.”
*His notes tell us what went on inside the
convention day by day.
The Rule of Secrecy
*After choosing a president, the delegates
vote on rules for the convention.
*Most important is the rule of secrecy.
*They agree to keep secret whatever is
said until the convention is over.
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James Madison, the
“Father of the Constitution,”
goes on to become the 4th
president of the United
States.
8.4 Continued…
Shared Beliefs and Clashing Views
Enlightenment: the “Age of
Reason” in 17th and 18th
*The delegates have much in common, but
Century Europe. Enlightenment
they also have different views on many
thinkers emphasized using
issues facing the new nation.
rational thought to discover the
*They share the belief in the rights to “life,
truths about nature and society.
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Republic: a country governed
*These beliefs reflect the ideas of the
by elected representatives.
Enlightenment.
*The delegates believe the best way to
Constitution: a written plan
protect these rights is through some form
that provides the basic
of republic.
framework of a government.
*Since the colonies were started, Americans
have participated in their own governments.
After the revolution, all states adopt their own
constitutions that embrace republican beliefs.
8.4 Continued…
*Many questions need to be resolved:
-Who should have a say in a
representative government?
-How powerful should the national
government be?
-Will a strong national government
threaten individual liberty?
-If the national government is too
weak, will it be able to protect its
citizens?
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Test Prep
 James Madison is known as the “Father of the Constitution”
because
 A) he was the oldest and wisest of the delegates to the convention.
 B) he took notes on everything said during the convention.
 C) he studied modern and ancient governments to see what
worked.
 D) his influence on the Constitutional Convention was so great.
 Answer: D) his influence on the Constitutional Convention was so
great.
Ch. 8.5 Issue: How Should States Be
Represented in the New Government?
*Virginia delegation presents the convention a
new plan of government to replace the Articles.
*Delegates divided on one key issue: Should the
government’s power come from the states or
from the people?
Virginia Plan
*Calls for strong national government with three
branches:
-Legislative branch (Congress) will make laws.
-Executive branch will enforce laws.
-Judicial branch (courts) will interpret the laws.
*Under the Virginia Plan, Congress will be made up of two houses,
the House of Representatives and the Senate.
*Each state will send representatives to Congress based on its population.
*States with larger populations like this plan.
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8.5 Continued…
The New Jersey Plan
*Delegates from small states do not like
the Virginia Plan.
*New Jersey comes up with their own
plan.
*New Jersey plan will have three
branches, but the legislative branch
will have just one house, not two.
*That way each state will have an equal
vote in Congress.
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Test Prep
 An important challenge facing the Constitutional
Convention was how to balance the
 A) needs of eastern and western states.
 B) interests of large and small states.
 C) rights of slaves and slaveholders.
 D) demands of farmers and workers.
 Answers: B) interests of large and small states.
Test Prep





Both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans called for
A) three branches of government.
B) two houses of Congress.
C) an elected president.
D) an end to the slave trade.
 Answer: A) three branches of government.
Ch. 8.6 Resolution: The Great Compromise
Tempers Rise
*The debate over who Congress should represent
continues into July.
*States with large populations favor Virginia Plan.
*States with small populations favor New Jersey Plan.
*Small states fear large states will try to crush them.
*Large states fear small states may find some
foreign ally who will defend them.
*Convention reaches a crisis point.
A Compromise is Reached
*Roger Sherman of Connecticut puts forth a compromise.
*Congress will have two houses.
*In the House of Representatives, the number of representatives from each
state will be based on the state’s population.
*In the Senate, each state will have two Senators to be elected by their state
legislatures. This plan comes to be known as the Great Compromise.
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Test Prep

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

The Great Compromise was primarily related to
A) representation in Congress.
B) election of the president.
C) selection of Supreme Court justices.
D) checks and balances.
 Answer: A) representation in Congress.
Ch. 8.7 Issue: How Should Slaves Be Counted?
*Next issue the convention faces is
how to count slaves as part of a
state’s population.
People or Property?
*At the time of the convention, nine
tenths of slaves live in the South.
*Southerners want slaves counted
as people so they can have more
representatives in the House.
*Unless slaves are to be given the
same rights as whites, northern
delegates want them counted as
property.
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Slave Population As Percentage Of State Population
8.7 Continued…
New Thinking on Slavery
*The Declaration of Independence forced
many whites to reexamine their views on
slavery.
*Some now see it as a great evil.
*Benjamin Franklin becomes president of
an anti-slavery society.
*Yet most southerners are uneasy about
giving up the institution of slavery because
their economy depends on it.
*The question facing the framers is how
far they can take this new thinking in a
nation that is becoming half-slave and
half-free.
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Slave Poster
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Benjamin Franklin, 1787
Ch. 8.8 Resolution: The Three-Fifths Compromise
*After bitter debate, James
Madison proposes a
compromise: count each
slave as three fifths of a
person.
*This becomes known as
the three-fifths compromise.
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8.8 Continued…
The Slave Trade
*Northern delegates favor giving
Congress broad power to control
trade of products between the states
and other countries.
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*Southern delegates fear Congress
may try to tax southern exports such
as rice and tobacco, and may
eventually outlaw the trading of
slaves.
*Compromise is reached. Congress will
have the power to control trade, but with two limitations:
1)
Congress cannot place any tax on exports going to other countries.
2)
Congress cannot interfere with the slave trade for 20 years, or until 1808.
*Delegates also agree to a provision known as the Fugitive Slave clause:
Escaped slaves have to be returned to their owners, even if they are caught in free
state.
Ch. 8.9 Issue: How Should the Chief Executive Be Elected?
*Next issue is who will head the new
government’s executive branch?
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*Some argue that three people can lead
the country better than one.
*Some fear that a single leader may be
too ambitious or too eager for war.
*In spite of these concerns, the framers
Article II: The Executive Branch
agree to a single executive, to be called
the president.
Choosing the Chief Executive
*Some delegates want Congress to appoint the president.
*Some delegates want the people to choose the president.
*Some delegates want the president to be elected by a special group of
“electors” from each state.
Ch. 8.10 Resolution: The Electoral College
*After many unsuccessful votes, the framers
reach another compromise: a special body
called the Electoral College will elect the
government’s leaders.
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The Electoral College System
*Made up of electors who cast votes to elect
the president and vice president every four
years.
*Each state has as many electors as senators
and representatives in Congress.
*Electors are chosen by state legislatures
until the 1820’s. Today, people choose their state’s electors when they vote in
presidential elections.
*Originally, the top two candidates become president and vice president.
8.10 Continued…
Political Parties and Elections
*Within a few years of the convention,
political parties are nominating candidates
for president .
*Electoral College system still affects
presidential elections today.
In most states the candidate who gets
the most votes gets all of the electoral
votes.
*As a result, a candidate can win a majority
in the Electoral College without winning the
popular vote of the people.
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Election of 2000 between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W
Bush. Gore won the popular vote, but Bush won the Electoral College
vote and became president.
Test Prep
 The Constitutional Convention gave the job of choosing
a chief executive to
 A) major political parties.
 B) electors chosen by the states.
 C) state legislatures and governors.
 D) members of Congress.
 Answer: B) electors chosen by the states.
Ch. 8.11 The Convention Ends
Approving the Constitution
*Framers decide that 9 states must ratify
the Constitution before it can go into effect.
*Framers decide that each state will ratify
the Constitution at special state conventions.
Signing the Constitution
*September 17, 1787 delegates declare the
Constitution complete.
*38 of the original 55 delegates sign the
Constitution.
*A new era is about to begin for the
United States.
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Ch. 8.12 The Constitution Goes to the Nation
*Newspapers in every state print the
Constitution as soon as they can get it.
*Entire country debates how strong the
national government should be.
The Federalists
*Supporters of the Constitution.
*Want strong national government.
*James Madison, Alexander Hamilton,
John Jay.
*Three-branch system will ensure powers
are equally divided.
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8.12 Continued…
The Anti-Federalists
*Oppose the Constitution.
*Congress will ruin the country
with taxes.
*President will rule like a king.
*Constitution does not list the
rights of the people.
*Fear giving up state’s powers
to form a stronger Union.
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Test Prep

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


Supporters of the new Constitution were known as
A) Republicans.
B) Patriots.
C) Anti-Federalists.
D) Federalists.
 Answer: D) Federalists.
Ch. 8.13 Summary
*Both the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution that it replaced were
attempts to realize the ideals of the American Revolution and the Declaration
of Independence.
*The Articles of Confederation created a loose union of states under a weak
central government.
*The challenge was to create a government that was strong enough to
guarantee the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but not strong
enough to take those rights away.
*For four months 55 delegates argue over a number of issues.
*In the end the framework created included a series of compromises including:
1)
How states were to be represented in the new legislative branch.
2)
How slaves were to be counted in determining a state’s population.
3)
Creating a single chief executive to be chosen by the Electoral College.
*Federalists supported the Constitution.
*Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution.
*Now it was up to the people to decide.
Look carefully at the sun painted on the
back of George Washington’s chair at
the Convention. Benjamin Franklin
wondered whether the sun was a rising
sun or a setting sun.
At the end of the Convention he
concluded that it was a rising sun.
What do you think Franklin meant by
that?
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