The Constitution
• What was the name of America’s first
government?
• A = Articles of Confederation
• What were some of its weaknesses?
• A = All power at state level. Could not tax.
Review
• Who wrote the Declaration of Indep.?
• What was the purpose of the Dec. of Indep.?
• What is the three part argument of the Dec. of
Indep.?
• What was the name of the 1st American Govt.?
• What was the major weakness of the Articles of
Confederation?
Mo
• Why did Shay’s Rebellion freak out many
elites?
• What was the name of the “Big” state plan at
the Constitutional Convention?
• What was the name of he “small” state plan?
• What issue were small and big states arguing
over?
The Constitutional Convention
• 55 delegates meet in Philadelphia to try and fix the
Articles of Confederation (1787).
• 2/3 of the men are lawyers; most have been involved in
politics since the Revolution—thus conservative elites.
• Big names include: Alexander Hamilton, Ben Franklin,
James Madison (father of the Constitution), and George
Washington.
• All work is to be in secret.
Those Missing:
• Thomas Jefferson
• John Adams
• Patrick Henry—chosen to go, but declined
because he “smelled a rat.”
Problems with Articles of
Confederation
• Federal (national/central) government is
too weak—can’t tax.
• State govts. Have all of the power and
regular people influence the laws..
• Make laws that help debtors (poor) and
are against the creditors (rich).
Assumptions on Human Nature
• Read handouts
• Negative view of regular (ordinary) people.
• Think they should have a limited influence
on government.
Call for a New Government
• Once started, the Virginians propose
getting rid of the Articles of Confederation
and coming up with something totally new.
• Their plan is called the Virginia Plan.
• Ideas come from James Madison.
The Virginia Plan
• Calls for 3 branches of govt.
• A. Executive
• B. Legislative
• C. Judicial
• A powerful Executive
• A 2-house legislature
– Representation determined by population
This Upsets states with smaller
populations
• They come back with the New Jersey Plan.
– 1-HOUSE LEGISLATURE WITH EACH STATE
HAVING 1-VOTE.
– 3-MEMBER EXECUTIVE
– Like the VA. Plan—give much more power to the
national govt.
Issue # 1
• Should representation in the legislature be
determined by population or should it be
equal?
How Resolved
• Legislature would be 2-houses.
• The upper house (the Senate) would have equal
representation (2 from each state).
• The lower house (the House of Representatives)
would be based on population—the bigger the
state, the more representatives you would get.
• Called the “Great Compromise”
US Congress
Senate
6-Years
Chosen by State govts.
EACH STATE GETS 2 SENATORS
House of Representatives
2-Years
Elected by People
States with most People
get most representatives
Issue # 2
• How should slaves be counted when
determining representation?
How solved
• Slaves were to be counted as 3/5 a person
when determining representation.
• Called the 3/5 compromise.
Another Issue Involving Slavery
• Southern states feared that the power to
regulate trade might interfere with slavery.
• It was agreed that the govt. could do
nothing about the slave trade for 20-more
years.
Not Trusting the People
• The “People” were only allowed to directly
elect members of the House of
Representatives.
• Originally, Senators were to be chosen by
State Legislatures.
• The founders did not trust people to directly
chose the president so they came up with the
electoral college.
The Electoral College
• Used to decide who wins the presidency.
• People vote in each state and the person
who gets the most votes, gets that states’
electoral votes.
• The person who gets the majority of the
electoral college votes wins.
• The people in the electoral college do not
have to vote how the people vote!
End Result
• A stronger national govt.
• Stronger Executive
• 2-House legislature
New Govt. under Constitution
National Government
Executive Branch
(president)
Executes laws
Legislative Branch
(Congress)
Writes Laws
Judicial Branch
(Courts)
Judges Laws
Next Step
• Get the people to approve it.