“The Road to the Constitution”
Failure of the
“Articles of Confederation”
Failure of the
“Articles of Confederation”

By 1787, most realized that the
“Articles of Confederation”
provided for a weak and
ineffective system of government.
 Under the Articles, the thirteen
states operated as a “confederal”
government system – whereas, the
delegates wanted to create a
“federal” system with a strong
central government.
Return to Philadelphia

There were problems with
the Articles of
Confederation so they met
to fix it. The convention
was held in Philadelphia in
1787.
 55 delegates from 12 states
met to determine the future
of the U.S. Government.
 Rhode Island did not
attend. They opposed the
idea of a stronger central
government.
America’s “Best and Brightest”

The men that attended the
Constitutional Convention
are called framers.
 8 of the delegates had
signed the “Declaration of
Independence.”
 7 of the delegates had been
governors.
 41 of the delegates had
served in the “Continental
Congress.”
George Washington

George Washington is
selected as the
unanimous choice to
preside over the
convention.
 No one in the new
“United States” was
more respected.
Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin
was the oldest
member of the
convention at 81
years old.
 His wisdom and
advice was
invaluable to the
members.
It was decided that the Articles of
Confederation would be discarded.
They realized that they would
need a completely new document.
Problems from the Start - “Creating and
Ratifying the Constitution”
Right away disagreements arose about
how the government would be structured.
The Two Plans for a
Legislature
“The Virginia Plan”
Proposed by Edmund Randolph / James Madison
“The Virginia Plan”
Created a “3 branch”
government
(Legislative, Executive,
& Judicial)
 Created a two house
bicameral government
based on population.

“The Virginia Plan”

Representation in
the Legislature
would be based on
POPULATION!
 Larger states were in
favor of this! (Virginia,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania,
& New York)

Smaller states
protested because
they would lose
power due to their
populations.
“The New Jersey Plan”
Proposed by William Paterson
“The New Jersey Plan”
Created a “3
branch” government
(Legislative,
Executive, &
Judicial)
 Called for a one
house legislature
(unicameral).

“The New Jersey Plan”

This plan called for equal
representation -Each state
had ONE vote!
 Smaller states liked this
plan! (New Jersey, Delaware, and
Maryland)

Opposed by larger states
who would only have as
much power as smaller states
despite having larger
populations!
Compare & Contrast
Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan
There were many compromises
at the convention.
The “Great Compromise”
The “Great Compromise”
A
way to settle
disagreements
between two or
more groups is a
compromise.
The “Great Compromise”
“The Great
Compromise” was
proposed by Roger
Sherman of
Connecticut.
 Also called the
“Connecticut
Compromise”.
 Created a two house
government – a
bicameral legislature.

The “Great Compromise”
Created the “Senate”
 Each state had two
(2) votes, both equal.
 Pleased the smaller
states (put them on
equal footing with
larger states in this
house).

Created the “House
of Representatives”.
 Each state’s voting
status was based on
population.
 Pleased the larger
states (gave them
more power in this
house).

Other Compromises
Question of Counting Slaves?

Southern states wanted to
count their slave
populations (nearly
550,000)
 The “3/5th Compromise”
settled the issue.
 It was agreed to count each
slave as 3/5ths of a person
for representation AND
taxation purposes.
“Slave Trade Compromise”

Northern states wanted the
U.S. Government to regulate
trade between both states
AND foreign nations.
 Southern states feared this
would impact their exports
of rice, cotton, & tobacco.
 It was agreed that slavery
would be left alone for 20
years in terms of commerce
and trade. They would
revisit the issue in 1808.
“Electoral College”

Some delegates wanted Congress to
choose the president.
 Others felt that the people should
elect him.
 They decided each state legislature
would chose the # of electors, known
as the electoral college, who would
elect the President and Vice
President.
 Still used today, but voters choose
the electors now.
Ratification of the
Constitution
Ratifying the
“U.S. Constitution”



Only 42 of the delegates
remained.
They gathered for the last
time on September 17,
1787.
The Constitution would
become law if f 9 out of
the 13 states ratified it at
their ratifying
conventions.
Debate Breaks Out:
“Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists”
Each wrote a series of papers in support of their side!!!
“Anti-Federalists”
“Anti-Federalists” opposed the
Constitution as it was written.
 They felt that it gave too much
power to the national
government and took too much
from the states.
 Each side wrote papers that
argued their position.

“Federalists”

“Federalists” were
supporters of the
Constitution as it was
written.

Believed in a strong
central government and
wanted the document
ratified (approved) as is.
“Federalists”

In essays entitled “The Federalist
Papers”, they argued that the U.S.
could not survive without a strong
federal government.

They were led by Alexander
Hamilton, James Madison, & John
Jay
“Anti-Federalists”

“Anti-Federalists
Papers” demanded that
the new Constitution
protect the basic
individual rights of the
people – they wanted a
“bill of rights” added.
“Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists”

Federalists supported
the Constitution- they
argued that the nation
wouldn’t survive
without a strong
national government.
 Famous papers written
in support of the
Constitution were the
Federalist Papers.

Anti-federalist Papers:
demanded that the new
Constitution protect the
basic individual rights
of the people- they
wanted a Bill of Rights.
 This was led by Patrick
Henry.
 Federalists
promised that if
the Constitution
was adopted it
would adopt a Bill
of Rights.
“The U.S. Constitution”
“The U.S. Constitution”

On June 21, 1788, New
Hampshire becomes the
9th state to ratify the
Constitution. Rhode
Island is the 13th.
 The 13 independent states
became one nation, the
“United States of
America.” For the first
time it was written with a
capital “U.”