Constitutional Convention
 Philadelphia – May 1787
 George Washington = president of convention
 55 delegates from 12 states (RI = absent)
 “Well-bred, well-fed, well-read, well-wed”
 Franklin, Madison, Hamilton, Sherman, etc.
 Jefferson and John Adams = overseas diplomats
 Convention lasted 4 months
 Delegates chose to abolish Articles of Confederation and reinvent the government
 Fear of Treason
Thoughts on the New Government
 Wanted a stronger central government
 Feared giving too much power to it > power should be with people
 Majority should not tyrannize the minority
 Popular rule???
 Hamilton = called people “a great beast”
Representation???
 How much power should states lose?
 Virginia Plan (Large State Plan)
○ James Madison
 Bicameral (2 house) legislature
○ Members in both houses determined by population
 Lower house = elected by people
 Upper house = elected by lower house
 Both houses elect national executive and judiciary
 Branches check and balance each other
 New Jersey Plan (Small State Plan)
○ William Patterson
 One house
○ Each state has 1 vote
 Congress appoints multi-person executive and judiciary branches
 Federal government = power to tax and control commerce
 Laws passed by Congress = supreme law of land
○ Unites states under 1 set of laws
How do we solve this???
 Key debates = representation and slavery
 Representation
 Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)
 Roger Sherman
○ Bicameral Legislature
 Lower House = House of Representatives
- Representation based on population of state
 Upper House = Senate
- Representation = 2 senators per state
 Lower House elects senators (changed by 17th
amendment)
○ Gave the public power and a stake in the government!!
 Slavery Issue
 North and South divided over who = counted in population
○ North argued South considered slaves property > they shouldn’t be
counted
○ South argued that they should count in population
 3/5ths Compromise
 All slaves = 3/5 of a person
○ Used phrase “all other persons” instead of slaves
○ Commerce Compromise (Slave Trade Compromise)
 Congress = power to regulate interstate trade and foreign commerce
○ Couldn’t take any action to control slave trade (a form of foreign
commerce) until 1808
 Deliberately weakened the institution of slavery
 James Madison
 “Father of the Constitution”
 4th President of the United States
 Helped guide the structure of the new government
Everybody Happy???
 Main points of contention settled…
 Constitution = signed and sent to states for ratification on 9.17.1787
 2/3 of states needed to ratify to take effect
Who wants a new Constitution??
 Federalists = supported ratification
 Wrote 85 essays arguing for ratification
○ The Federalist Papers
 Appeared in NY newspapers > stressed advantage of a new
government
 Anti-Federalists = opposed ratification
 Wanted a bill of rights added to protect individual rights
○ Federalists promised to add one after adoption of Constitution
Federalists
Anti-Federalists

Supporters of Constitution

Opponents of Constitution

Wanted strong national government

Wanted a weak national government
and powerful state governments

Thought a strong central government
would protect the country from foreign
nations

Thought strong central government
would endanger people’s liberties

Thought having a government so far
away wouldn’t meet needs of people >
needed governments that were local to
protect people’s interests

Thought the Constitution needed a Bill
of Rights to specifically state the rights
of citizens that the government must
respect

Didn’t like “necessary and proper”
statement in Constitution because the
wording was open to interpretation and
could leave door open for Congress to
abuse its power

Would also provide protection, maintain
order, regulate trade, guarantee rights
of citizens, guarantee the nation’s
debts were paid, and that American
money had a stable value

Thought a Bill of Rights listing citizen’s
rights was unnecessary because the
Constitution had already limited the
government’s powers

Thought that a national government
that represented everyone would not
be able to ignore the rights of everyone
else
The Constitution is Created
 June 1788
 New Hampshire = 9th state needed for ratification
 NY (hardest fought) = 11th state
 RI = last to ratify (1790)
 Took 3 years to gain full ratification (1878-1790)
 Bill of Rights added 1791
 James Madison = principle author
 Motivation: protect rights not specified in Constitution
 Outline of the (original) Constitution
Section
Subject___________
____
Preamble
States the purpose of the Constitution
Article I
Legislative branch
Article II
Executive branch
Article III
Judicial branch
Article IV
Relations among the States
Article V
Amending the Constitution
Article VI
Supremacy of National Law
Article VII
Ratifying the Constitution