Popular Tyranny and Shays’ Rebellion
• Popular tyranny:
– Unrestrained
• Shays’ Rebellion
– As land foreclosures soared, angry protests erupted
in rural areas of Mass.
– Organized protestors occupied courthouses
– Protestors were Revolutionary War
– Daniel Shays raids
Significance of Shays’ Rebellion
• The attack embarrassed leaders of the US
• Rebellion showed a failure in the idea of
• Leaders had to find a way to contain and limit
the will of the people in a
Philadelphia Convention
• Authorized to
• Delegates were to determine what changes
• Most delegates had no interest
An Assembly of Demigods
 The delegates that attended were some of the
most educated,
 Many had been politically active in
Revolutionary politics and were
• The assembly was held in secrecy
Rules for the Convention
• Delegates from at least 7 states had to be present to
do business
• If a delegate’s absence would leave a state w/o
representation, then he had to get permission to be
absent
• When rising to speak, a delegate had to address the
president. While he was speaking, other members
could not pass notes, hold conversations with one
another, etc.
• Committees could be appointed as necessary
• The convention’s proceedings were to remain secret.
No delegate could disclose the substance of the
debates, although they were allowed to take notes
The Virginia Plan
• Proposed a STRONG
• National Government would have the power to:
• Citizens would be governed under the authority
of 2 governments:
More ideas from the Virginia Plan
• National government would have 3 branches:
legislative, executive and judicial with the
legislative branch most powerful
• The number of representatives from each state
in both the House and the Senate would be
based on the size of its population or
contribution to the federal treasury
More ideas from the Virginia Plan
• Congress would have power to make all laws
that
• Congress would have power to strike down
state laws that it considered to be in
• Congress would have power to call forth the
armed forces against states if need be