Chapter 7 A More Perfect Union (1777-1790)
Section 2 Convention and Compromise
Need For A Change
•Many felt that the Articles of Confederation needed changed
•The Articles were too weak to deal with the nation’s problems
•After the war the US had a depression (economic activity slows and unemployment increases)
•The money the government did have went to paying foreign debts, resulting in currency shortage
American Farmers
•Suffered because they couldn’t sell their goods
•In Massachusetts, paper money was almost useless
•Lawmakers outlawed paper money in 1781 and forced people to pay debts and taxes in gold and silver money
•This hurt farmers, they didn’t bring in gold or silver money
•Farmers were unable to pay debts and lost their land
•Many went to prison
The Farmers Take Action
•1786- angry farmers fought back
•Led by Daniel Shays, they forced courts in Massachusetts to close so they could not take farmers land
•January 1787- Shays led more than 1000 men toward the federal arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts
•Looking for guns and ammunition
•The state militia ordered the advancing farmers to stop and then fired over their heads
•The farmers did not stop
Shays’ Rebellion
•The militia fired again, killing 4 farmers
•Shays his followers scattered and the uprising was over
•Shays’ Rebellion frightened many Americans
•They worried that the government could not control unrest and prevent violence
•George Washington wondered whether “mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government”
•Thomas Jefferson- “A little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing”
The Issue of Slavery
•The Revolutionary War brought attention to the contradiction between the battle for American liberty and the
practice of slavery
•11 states (all except SC and Georgia) outlawed or heavily taxed the importation of enslaved people
•In the North slavery was ending
•Free African Americans still faced discrimination
•States south of Pennsylvania clung to the institution of slavery
•Southerners feared that their economy could not survive without it
More of The Issue of Slavery
•Many slaveholders started freeing slaves after the war
•Virginia passed a law that encouraged manumission (freeing of individual enslaved persons)
•The slavery issue divided the American people
Reform of the Articles of Confederation
•Two Americans that were active in the movement for a change were James Madison and Alexander Hamilton
•September 1787- Hamilton called for a convention (meeting) in Philadelphia to discuss trade issues
•Also discuss changes that need to be made for the Union
•Washington agreed to come after hearing of Shays’ Rebellion
•Others heard Washington was coming and saw the significance
The Philadelphia Meeting
•Began in May 1787
•One of the hottest summers on record
•55 delegates
•3 under 30 and one (Ben Franklin) was over 80
•Many were well educated
More of the Philadelphia Meeting
•Many people did work on the Constitution
•Gouverneur Morris wrote the final draft of the Constitution
•James Madison took notes and is called the “Father of the Constitution”
•Madison was the author of the basic plan of government the Convention adopted
Organization
•Washington was chosen to preside over the meetings
•Each state would have one vote on all questions
•Sessions were not open to the public
The Virginia Plan
•Edmund Randolph proposed the creation of a strong national government
•Randolph presented the Virginia Plan, which was largely the work of James Madison
•Called for a 2 house (bicameral) legislature
•A chief executive chosen by the legislature
•And a court system
•The members of the lower house of the legislature would be chosen by the people
•Members of the upper house would be chosen by the lower house
More of the Virginia Pan
•In both houses the number of representatives would be proportional to the population of each state
•Virginia would have many more delegates the smaller states
•Delegates from Delaware, New Jersey, and other smaller states objected
•They wanted all states represented equally
•June 15th, William Paterson of New Jersey presented an alternative plan
The New Jersey Plan
•1 house legislature, one vote for each state
•Congress could set taxes and regulate trade
•Congress would elect a weak executive branch consisting of more than one person
•His plan was designed to amend (improve) the Articles
The Great Compromise
•A committee was appointed to settle the dispute between large and small states
•Roger Sherman came up with what is called the Great Compromise
•Sherman proposed a 2 house (bicameral) legislature
•Lower House (House of Representatives) would be based on population
•Upper House (Senate) would give each state two members
The Three-Fifths Compromise
•Southern states wanted enslaved people counted in their population
•They wanted more members in the House of Representatives
•Northerners objected because enslaved people were legally considered property
•The committees solution is known as the Three-Fifths Compromise
•Each enslaved person was counted as 3/5 of a free person for both taxation and representation
Slave Trade
•Northern states wanted to ban the slave trade nation wide
•Southern states objected
•The solution was that Congress could not interfere with the slave trade until 1808
Bill of Rights
•George Mason proposed a Bill of Rights
•Some worried without a Bill of Rights the new nation might abuse its power
•Most felt that the Constitution provided adequate protection of individual rights
•Mason’s proposal was defeated
Approving the Constitution
•Finished on September 17, 1787 delegates gathered to sign the document
•Three refused to sign- Elbridge Gerry (Mass.), Edmund Randolph (VA.), and George Mason (GA.)
•Gerry and Mason would not sign without a Bill of Rights
•The approved draft of the Constitution was sent to the states for consideration
•The approval process required 9 of the 13 states to be approved
Essential Question
Why is the Constitution a document of compromises?
Delegates had to compromise on issues such as power distribution, representation, and slavery
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