Fear of rebellion and lawlessness in some of the states
convinced some that a change was needed.
Delegates from five states met in Annapolis to discuss
promoting trade between states.
(Annapolis delegates believed that creating national
trade laws would help the economies of the states)
but this required amending the AoC.
*Delegates agreed to meet in secret and try to fix their
country.
The Constitutional Convention….
*Began May 25, 1787, in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
*the first order of business was to select a president of the
Convention.
*George Washington was elected President of the Convention…
he presided over proceedings and only voted when there was a
tie.
*55 delegates representing the 12 of the 13 states came. (Rhode
Island did not send a representative).
*One State, One Vote
*Majority Decides
*Keep the Proceedings Secret
-The delegates didn’t want the public to know how divided they
were as a group.
- It would have been difficult for them to modify ideas or
compromise without being criticized or pressured.
Most of the delegates were wealthy, well-educated, white males
(no women, Native Americans or African Americans were
present) The average age of the delegates was 42.
James Madison took detailed notes, and it is because of him that
we know so much about the Convention. He is often called the
Father of the Constitution because of the valuable contributions
he made to the writing.
Ben Franklin was by the oldest delegate at 81 years of age and he
encouraged all the delegates to cooperate when they disagreed
on issues being written into our constitution.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were not present at the
convention. They were on diplomatic missions in Europe.
As the Convention began, the delegates disagreed about what form
the new government would take….
*James Madison and the other Virginia delegates proposed a plan in
which a government had three branches, called the Virginia Plan.
Legislative Branch = makes laws
Executive Branch = enforces laws
Judicial Branch = interprets laws
The plan called for a legislature with two sections: an upper
house and a lower house.
In both house’s, the number of representatives from each state
would be determined by population.
Each branch would have “Checks and Balances” in which they
can check the powers of other branches
Delegates from the small states hated this plan
because it strongly favored larger populated states.
Delegates from New Jersey proposed a plan in which
there was a single house legislature and each state
received one vote (*it also had three branches… like
the Virginia Plan)
VIRGINIA PLAN

Gave the national
government a lot more
power

3 Branches (Legislative,
Executive, Judicial)

Bicameral (two separate
“houses)

Number of members of
both houses based on
population

Favored by the larger
states and the Nationalists
NEW JERSEY PLAN

Most power still with state
gov’ts (a bit more to national)

3 Branches (Legislative,
Executive, Judicial)

Unicameral (one “house”)

Each state has one vote in
Legislature

Favored by the smaller states
and the Confederationists
Eventually the delegates compromised on the plans
and created what is called
THE GREAT COMPROMISE
The national congress
would have BOTH
proportional and equal
representation…
Senate = every state has
two votes
House of
Representatives = states
represented
proportionally by
population
Because the House of Representatives was based on
population, delegates had to decide who would be
counted in the population.
Northerners felt slaves should not be counted, as they
were not citizens, but should be counted for taxes.
Southerners felt the opposite.
The 3/5 Compromise = 3/5 of the slave population
would be counted for determining population for
representation and taxation ….this gave Southern
slave holding states an advantage in Congress until the
Civil War ended it.
The north wanted slavery banned, but the south said they
would not agree to anything if their ability to import slaves
were compromised.
*The delegates agreed that the national government would not
do anything to stop the importation of slaves for 20 years…
(they had to compromise on this issue or they would have lost
the support of the southern states)
The Constitution was signed September 17, 1787
By this time (4 months later) many of the delegates
had gone home due to family issues or illness. Of the
42 delegates remaining, only 39 signed the
constitution, which was written onto parchment.
*George Washington was the first to sign his name.
The other delegates signed after him.
*Now the states had to ratify it for it to become the
law of the land.