Shays Rebellion
• The Rebellion exposed the definite need
for a Constitutional Convention to be held
in May, 1787
• It also showed the importance of having a
strong central government to deal with
important issues
• Also brought to attention the needs of
veterans of the American Revolution
Thomas Jefferson’s View
• “A little rebellion now and then is a good
thing . . . .It is a medicine necessary for
the sound health of government... God
forbid we should ever be twenty years
without such a rebellion.”
Constitutional Convention
• Originally scheduled to begin May 14,
1787
• Convention called on May 25, 1787 once a
quorum had finally been reached
• Uncertain if the plan was to “revise” the
Articles or “fix” the government
Constitutional Convention
• 12 of 13 states attended with the
exception of Rhode Island
• 55 delegates
• Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Patrick
Henry not present
Constitutional Convention
• George Washington voted presiding officer
• Significant because they wanted to give
the appearance of propriety to the
American people
Constitutional Convention
• Delegates vote to keep their debates
secret
• 3 reasons:
– Wanted all delegates to feel free to make
suggestions
– Didn’t want to alert America’s enemies that
their might be dissension in the country
– Didn’t want to scare American citizens that the
convention was uncertain about which way to
proceed
Constitutional Convention
• James Madison kept a diary of the
debates
• He is known as the “Father of the
Constitution”
• Madison's Notes of Debates in the Federal
Convention of 1787 remain the most
complete record of the convention
Ideas of Montesquieu adopted
• Frenchman from the Age of Enlightenment
• "government should be set up so that no
man need be afraid of another"
• James Madison had studied his work
• Separation of administrative powers
• The administrative powers were the
executive, the legislative, and the judicial.
Montesquieu
• Executive Branch-enforce laws
• Legislative Branch-make or pass laws
• Judicial Branch-interpret
Montesquieu
• These should be separate from and
dependent upon each other so that the
influence of any one power would not be
able to exceed that of the other two, either
singly or in combination.
• Checks and Balances
Plans and Compromises
Representative Plans
How should states be represented in the legislative branch
• Virginia Plan
• Congress to Consist
of:
• Two houses
– First house elected by
the people
– Second house elected
by the first house
• Representation based
on population
• New Jersey Plan
• Congress to Consist
of:
• One House
• Each state to have
same number of
representatives
Great Compromise
• Establishment of Congress
• Two Houses
• First house called the House of Representatives
– Representatives elected by people for a two year
term
– Representation based on the population of a state
• Second house called the Senate
– Senators elected by state legislatures for a six year
term
– Each state to have two senators
Separation of Powers
How should the government be divided?
• Virginia Plan
• Legislative branch to
make laws
• Chief Executive chosen
by legislature to carry out
the laws
• Judicial branch chosen by
the legislature to interpret
the laws
• New Jersey Plan
• Legislative branch to
make laws
• Chief Executive chosen
by legislature to carry out
the laws
• Judicial branch made up
of one Supreme Court
chosen by the executive
branch to interpret the
laws
Three Branches Compromise
• Two house legislature called Congress
• A Chief Executive known as the President
to run the Executive branch
• President elected by the electoral college
• Judicial branch consisting of one Supreme
Court, appointed by the President and
approved by the Senate
Representation and Direct Taxes
• How should slaves be counted in
determining a state’s representation in the
House of Representatives?
• How should slaves be counted in
determining the amount of direct taxes a
state owed the federal government?
Representation and Direct Taxes
• Northern Plan
• Slaves not to be
counted to determine
representation in the
House
• Slaves to be counted
when figuring direct
taxes owed by a state
• Southern Plan
• Slaves to be counted
to determine
representation in the
House
• Slaves not to be
counted when figuring
direct taxes owed by
a state
Three-Fifths Compromise
• Slaves would be counted to determine
representation in the House of
Representatives
• Slaves would be counted when figuring
amount of direct taxes owed by a state
• For every 5 slaves, 3 would be counted
toward representation and direct taxes
Interstate and Foreign Commerce
• What power should Congress have over
trade between the states and foreign
countries?
Interstate and Foreign Commerce
• Western Position
• No taxes should be
placed on goods or
products going from
one state to another
• Southern Position
• No export taxes
should be placed on
goods or products
going to another
country
• Slave trade should
not be prohibited
Interstate and Foreign Commerce
• Northern Position
• States shall be free to buy and sell goods
to and from other countries
• Slave trade should be prohibited
Slave Trade Export Compromise
• Congress should control interstate and foreign
commerce by passing laws with a simple majority
• All Treaties, including commercial ones, had to be
ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Senate
• No export taxes would be placed on products or goods
going to another country
• No laws would favor the ports of one state over another
• The Slave trade could continue without interference from
Congress for 20 years—until 1808
• Congress could place a $10 tax on each slave brought
into the country
Election of the President
• Sherman/Dickinson/
Martin Plan
• Congress should elect
the President
• People are not well
enough informed and
educated to choose
this official
• Wilson/Morris/Madison/
Hamilton Plan
• People should directly
elect the President
• Congress would too
easily control the
President if elected by
that body
Electoral College Compromise
• A group of people called the electoral
college would elect the President and
Vice-President
• Electors would be chosen by state leaders
and could hold no office in the government
of the U.S.
• Each state would have as many electors
as they have senators and representatives
in Congress
Electoral College Compromise
• Electors would meet in December to choose the
President and Vice-President
• The person with the most votes would be
President. The person with the second highest
number would be vice-President
• If no candidate received a majority of the
electoral votes, the House of Representatives
would elect the President
• The President’s term would be for four years
Sept 17, 1787
• “I have often and often in the course of this
Session, looked at that behind the
President without being able to tell whether
it was rising or setting; but now at length I
have the happiness to know that it is a
rising and not a setting Sun.”
Ben Franklin
Ratification Struggle
• The Constitution would be submitted to the
states for their approval after the
government organized under the Articles
of Confederation approved the measure
• 9 of the 13 states had to approve it for the
Constitution to become legal
• Not all the delegates were pleased with
the results; some left before the ceremony,
and three of those remaining refused to
sign: Edmund Randolph, George Mason of
Virginia, and Elbridge Gerry of
Massachusetts.
Ratification
• Federalists vs. AntiFederalists
• Federalists favored a
strong federal union
and were led by
Alexander Hamilton
Areas of
Federalist/
AntiFederalist
support
Federalist Papers
•
•
•
•
Alexander Hamilton-63 essays
James Madison-29 essays
John Jay-4 essays
Hamilton feared that a Bill of Rights could be
dangerous and would only allow for rights that
were listed
• 85 articles advocating the ratification of the
Constitution
• Most were written by Hamilton using the pen
name “Publius” friend of the people
Anti-Federalists
• Anti-Federalists were led by people like
Patrick Henry
• Sam Adams and John Hancock were also
opposed
• George Mason demanded a Bill of Rights
if he was to support the Constitution. The
Bill of Rights was finally added and is
considered the final compromise of the
Convention
Massachusetts
• Massachusetts led the way in calling for a
listing of rights that would be granted to all
citizens
• Several states asked specifically for these
amendments when ratifying the
Constitution
• Others ratified the Constitution with the
understanding that a bill of rights would
soon follow.
• Of the 39 who did sign, probably no one
was completely satisfied.
"There
are several parts of this Constitution
which I do not at present approve, but I am
not sure I shall never approve them. ... I
doubt to whether any other Convention we
can obtain, may be able to make a better
Constitution. ... It therefore astonishes me,
Sir, to find this system approaching so near
to perfection as it does; and I think it will
astonish our enemies..."
Ratification of the Constitution
Date
State
Votes
Yes No
1 December 7, 1787
Delaware
30
0
2 December 12, 1787 Pennsylvania
46
23
3 December 18, 1787 New Jersey
38
0
4 January 2, 1788
Georgia
26
0
5 January 9, 1788
Connecticut
128
40
6 February 6, 1788
Massachusetts
187 168
7 April 28, 1788
Maryland
8 May 23, 1788
9 June 21, 1788
63
11
South Carolina
149
73
New Hampshire
57
47
10 June 25, 1788
Virginia
89
79
11 July 26, 1788
New York
30
27
194
77
34
32
12 November 21, 1789 North Carolina
13 May 29, 1790
Rhode Island
Bill of Rights Ratification
• On November 20, 1789, New Jersey
became the first state to ratify these
amendments.
• On December 15, 1791, 10 of these
proposals became the First through Tenth
Amendments — and United States law —
when they were ratified by the Virginia
legislature.