Do you know what role Georgia played in the Constitutional
Convection of 1787? Do you know who William Few or Abraham
Baldwin is? Do you know what the Great Compromise is? These are all
great questions to ask so that we could learn more about Georgia’s
history.
In the summer of 1787 they set up what was called the
Constitutional Convention of 1787 and this was so that they could
revise, or re-do, the Articles of Confederation. The reasons they
wanted to revise, or re-do, the Articles of Confederation was because:
the economy was shaky, there was trade between the states, they
needed to boost their economy, there was no common currency, and
the states were fight amongst each other. Also, there were many
weaknesses as well such as: no president, no court system, they
couldn’t regulate trade, and there was no equal vote.
So as a result each state sent delegates to represent them except
for Rhode Island. Georgia sent four delegates to represent us and those
representatives were William Pierce, William Houston, William Few,
and Abraham Baldwin. Here, they set up an entirely new government,
but the two most important things that Georgia representatives
wanted to ensure that happened with the new constitution was to ban
slavery and have a strong central government. The new constitution
gave the central government 3 branches of government, but the
problem that the all the delegates faced while dealing with the issue of
representation was how to vote. They decided to have a voting
between the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan.
The New Jersey plan was proposed by William Paterson, and this
plan would represent the small states. If you voted for this plan then
the national government branches would be legislative, executive, and
judicial, but the branches will be controlled by a weak central
government. Also, the legislature would be a unicameral, but the
membership would be based upon equal representation.
Unlike the New Jersey Plan, the Virginia Plan was proposed by
James Madison, and this plan would represent the large states. Just
like the New Jersey Plan the Virginia Plan would have the same
branches of government, but the branches would be controlled by the
division of power between the central and local governments. Also,
their legislature would be a bicameral legislature, but the membership
would be based upon proportional representation, or based on
population.
When it was Georgia’s turn to vote Abraham Baldwin’s decision
impacted a lot to both of the plans. He decided to vote for the New
Jersey Plan so that it would be a tie between both plans. Since, they
were tied they came up with what is known as the Connecticut Plan or
the Great Compromise. This compromise would have a little of both
plans. It was proposed by a special committee and it would have the 3
branches of government. The branches will be controlled by shared
power between the central and local government which created a
federal government. Also, it would be a bicameral legislature (Senate
and House of Representatives). The Senate would be based upon equal
representation, but the House of Representatives would be based on
population.
Then on January 2, 1788 the new U.S. Constitution was signed.
Only two out of the four delegates of Georgia signed the constitution
and they were Abraham Baldwin and William Few, but there were
conditions that led to Georgia signing it. The Bill of Rights was added
and the executive branch didn’t have total control. So as a result they
created to things and they were the separation of powers and check
and balances. The separation of powers was when the U.S. constitution
separated the powers of the branches of government so none can
overpower the other. Just in case a branch does over power this is
why they created the check and balances system. The branches were
given power to check the other branches so that the power is balances
for all. As you can see you can learn many things about Georgia. We
just have to open a book and keep reading.