The United States Constitution
*The Convention:
• May 25 – September 17, 1787
• Independence Hall,
Philadelphia, PA
• President of the Convention:
George Washington
• 12 of the 13 states attend
(Rhode Island refuses)
• NH arrives in June
• All debate to be top secret
Important delegates:
John Langdon Nicholas Gilman
Alexander Hamilton
Benjamin Franklin
Not present:
Thomas Jefferson
Samuel Adams
John Hancock
John Adams
George Washington
James Madison
Roger Sherman
The Virginia Plan
-Favored states with large populations
by giving them more votes in Congress
 Proposed by Edmund Randolph, created by James Madison
 Three Branches of Government
Legislative branch: Two “houses” (groups of legislators)
Upper House: The “Senate”
Lower House: “House of Representatives”
# of legislators per state determined by population
Big states (VA, MA, PA, NC) like the plan
Small states (NJ, NH, CT, DE, GA) concerned that big states
will always outvote them
The New Jersey Plan
-Favored states with small populations
by giving them equal votes in Congress
 Proposed by William Patterson
 Three Branches of Government
Legislative branch: One “house”
 States have equal votes (1 per state)
Small states like the plan
Big states angry that they don’t have more of a vote
The Connecticut
Compromise
 Proposed by Roger Sherman
 Three Branches of Government
– Legislative, Executive, Judicial
Legislative branch: Two “houses”
 House of Representatives: number of votes per state
determined by population
 Senate: Each state gets 2 votes
Small states have their say in the Senate
Big states have their say in the House of Representatives
The Compromise is approved!
1. Legislative Branch:
The Congress
Job: To make laws
A. The House of Representatives
o Each state gets a number of votes determined by
its population (each state gets at least 1)
o Each member represents a district of his/her state
o Directly elected by the people
o Serves a 2 year term
o Limit of 435 Representatives
o Leader: Speaker of the House
o Must be 25 years old and a citizen for 7 years
o Makes $174,000 a year
Today: State with the most: California
(53 members)
State with the least: Alaska, Delaware,
Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Vermont, Wyoming (1 member each)
New Hampshire’s Representatives
Annie Kuster (Democrat)
Carol Shea-Porter (Democrat)
B. The Senate
o Each state gets two votes
o Each member represents the entire state
o Directly elected by the people (formerly, by the
state legislatures)
o Serves a 6 year term
(1/3 of Senate elected every 2 years)
o No limit, but currently 100 members
o Leader: Vice President (“President of the Senate”)
o Must be 30 years old and a citizen for 9 years
o Makes $174,000 a year
New Hampshire’s Senators
Maggie Hassan (Democrat)
Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat)
2. Executive Branch:
The President
Job: To carry out laws
A. President of the United States
o Serves a four year term, may be re-elected
once (8 years, total)
o Elected by the Electoral College, who are chosen
by the people
o Is the Commander-in-Chief of the military
o Must be 35 years old, a natural-born citizen of US,
and lived here at least 14 years
o Earns $400,000 a year, plus $169,000 for expenses
Your President and Vice President
Donald Trump
Mike Pence
The Electoral College
- Elect the President of the US
- Each state gets a number of electors equal to the number of
Senators and Representatives it has (NOT the same people!)
- Each party chooses a slate of electors. Whichever candidate wins
that state, their party’s electors get to vote
- Candidate must win 50% of electors plus 1, to win
- Currently 538 electors*, so you need 270 to win
*
(Reps) 435
(Senators) 100
(DC gets 3) +3
(Electors) 538
3. Judicial Branch:
The Supreme Court
Job: To rule on laws
A.The Supreme Court
• Made up of eight judges, called Justices, and one
Chief Justice
• Justices are nominated by the President, and
confirmed by the Senate
• Can rule that laws are unconstitutional
• Justices serve for life
• Earn $213,000 per year
• The most powerful court in the nation
B. Other Federal Courts
• District courts, Court of Appeals, Bankruptcy
Court, Circuit Courts, Tax Court, etc
• Only hear cases involving Federal laws
US Supreme Court
Back: Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan.
Front: Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia* , John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg
* Deceased
CHECKS AND BALANCES
AKA: The Separation of Powers
Goal: To keep any one branch from becoming too powerful
Checks and Balances
Can rule laws unconstitutional
Can reject court nominees
Can pass amendments to Constitution
Other COnstitutiOnal “stuff”
1. A Census will be held every 10 years (years that end with a 0) to
determine representation in the House.
2. 3/5 Compromise: Only 3/5 of the population of slaves and Indians
will count towards Representation
3. Slave trade will end 20 years after ratification (1808)
4. Treason: Giving Aid/comfort to an enemy of the US, or fighting
against it during a war
5. Constitution can be amended if the change is approved by 2/3 of
Congress, and 3/4 of the states.
6. Constitution will go into effect once 9 of the states ratify (approve) it
Ratification
Federalists: People who
supported the Constitution
(Washington, Madison, Hamilton, and most of
the signers)
Antifederalists: People who
are against the Constitution
(including 3 people who
helped write it!)
1.
Delaware
2. Pennsylvania
3. New Jersey
4. Georgia
5. Connecticut
6. Massachusetts
But only if there is a Bill of Rights included!
7. Maryland
8. South Carolina
9. New Hampshire
The Constitution can now go into effect!
10. Virginia
11. New York
12. North Carolina
13. Rhode Island