8. The Constitutional
Convention
Who were the 55 Delegates to
the Convention? (No RI)
The delegates to the
Constitutional Convention
did not represent a crosssection of 1787 America. The
Convention included no
women, no slaves, no Native
Americans or racial
minorities, no laborers. As
one historian noted, it was a
"Convention of the well-bred,
the well-fed, the well-read, and
the well-wed."
PEOPLE AND GROUPS WHO INFLUENCED THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
1 George Washington-presided over the meetings; helped ratify the
Constitution in Virginia; chosen first U.S. President
PEOPLE AND GROUPS WHO INFLUENCED THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
2. Benjamin Franklin-scientist and diplomat who played an active role in
the debates
PEOPLE AND GROUPS WHO INFLUENCED THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
3 Gouverneur Morris-eloquent speaker and writer; wrote the final draft
of the Constitution
PEOPLE AND GROUPS WHO INFLUENCED THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
4 James Madison-advocate of a strong national government; author of
the basic plan of government that the convention eventually adopted.
Constitutional Convention
held in secret with the plan to
revise the Articles of
Confederation
All agree to abandon the
former government and start
over.
All favor the idea of limited
and representative
government
They believe the powers of
government should be divided
among legislative, executive,
and judicial branches
?
?
?
All believed it was necessary
to limit the power of the states
to coin money or to interfere
with creditors’ rights
The Virginia Plan
Based on three principles
Edmond
Randolph
James
Madison
1. a strong national
legislature with two
chambers, the lower one to
be chosen by the people and
the upper to be chosen by
the lower.
2. A strong
national
executive to be
chosen by the
national
legislature
3. a national judiciary to be
appointed by the legislature
The Virginia Plan was
notable for its role in setting
the overall agenda for debate
in the convention and, in
particular, for setting forth
the idea of populationweighted representation in
the proposed national
legislature
The New Jersey Plan
PEOPLE AND GROUPS WHO INFLUENCED THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
5 – William Paterson-leader of small states; offered New Jersey Plan as
counterproposal to the Virginia Plan
Year
Population
1625
1,980
1641
50,000
1688
200,000
1702
270,000
1715
435,000
1749
1,000,000
1754
1,500,000
1765
2,200,000
1775
2,400,000
The less populous states were
adamantly opposed to giving most
of the control of the national
government to the larger states,
and so proposed an alternate plan
that would have given one vote per
state for equal representation
under one legislative body
Should the states be
represented on the basis of
population (favored by the
large state delegations) or
should they be represented
equally, regardless of
population (favored by the
small state delegations)?
The
Connecticut
Compromise
PEOPLE AND GROUPS WHO INFLUENCED THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
6 Roger Sherman-Connecticut leader, played a key role in forging the
Connecticut Compromise
The compromise suggested
that the legislative branch
have two parts:
1. A House of
Representatives, with state
representation based on
population
2. A Senate, with two
members from each state
The larger states would have
an advantage in the House of
Representatives, where
representation was to be
based on population
1780
Virginia
Pop 530,000
# of Senators=2
1780
Delaware
Pop 44,000
# of Senators=2
The smaller states would be
protected in the Senate, where
each state had equal
representation.
The Three-Fifths
Compromise
Almost one-third of the people
in the Southern states were
enslaved African Americans.
The Southern States wanted
the slaves counted the same as
free people to give the South
more representation
At the same time, the
Southern states did not want
enslaved persons counted at
all for levying taxes
The Northern states took the
opposite position. They
wanted the enslaved persons
counted for tax purposes but
not for representation.
The Three-Fifths
Compromise settled this
deadlock. Three-Fifths of the
enslaved people were to be
counted for both tax purposes
and for representation
Compromise on Commerce
and the Slave Trade
The Northern states wanted
the government to have
complete power over trade
with other nations.
The Southern States
depended heavily on
agricultural exports
The Southern States feared that
business interests in the North
might have enough votes in
Congress to set up agreements that
would hurt them or interfere with
the slave trade.
Compromise determined that
Congress could not ban the
slave trade until at least 1808
At the same time, they gave
Congress the power to
regulate both interstate
commerce, or trade among the
states, and foreign commerce.
To protect the South’s
exports, however, Congress
was forbidden to impose
export taxes.
September 17
Constitution signed
Ratifying the Constitution
9 out of 13 have to ratify
PEOPLE AND GROUPS WHO INFLUENCED THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
7. The Federalists-group favoring the Constitution; led by many of the
country’s Founders
Federalists
Favor the Constitution
Support from merchants and
others in the cities and coastal
regions
PEOPLE AND GROUPS WHO INFLUENCED THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
8. The Anti Federalists-group opposing the Constitution because they
feared a strong national government and because the Constitution
lacked a Bill of Rights
Anti-Federalist-opposed the
new Constitution
Drew support largely from
the inland farmers and
laborers, who feared a strong
national government
The Anti-Federalists
criticized the constitution for
having been drawn in secrecy
They claimed that the
document was extralegal, not
sanctioned by law, since the
Convention had been
authorized only to revise the
old articles
They argued that the
Constitution took powers
from the states and that it
lacked a Bill of Rights
The Federalists argued that
without a strong national
government, anarchy, or
political disorder, would
triumph
They claimed that only a
strong national government
could protect the new nation
from enemies abroad and
solve our internal problems
To gain necessary support the
Federalists promise to add a
Bill of Rights as the first
order of business under a new
government
PEOPLE AND GROUPS WHO INFLUENCED THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
9. Alexander Hamilton-persuaded New Yorkers to approve the
Constitution
PEOPLE AND GROUPS WHO INFLUENCED THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
10 John Jay-one of the writers of 80 essays defending the Constitution,
collected in The Federalist