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