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What were the
major problems
associated with
the Articles of
Confederation?
Essential Question:: How was the national
government under the Constitution different from
that under the Articles of Confederation?
What were the major problems
associated with the Articles of
Confederation?
Virginia Plan
Constitutional Convention
Original goal was to fix the
Articles of Confederation
New Jersey Plan
1. Favored by Large
populated States
1. Favored by Small
populated States
2. Two houses of
Congress
2. One house of
Congress
3. Representation
based on population
3. Each state would
have equal
representation
4. Created a stronger
national government
4. Similar to the
Articles of
Confederation
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The Great Compromise
Why is representation so important?
• More
Representatives =
more votes in
Congress
The biggest disagreement occurred
over representation in Congress
The Great Compromise
• More votes = more
influence over
government
decisions
A census is taken every 10 years to
determine representation in Congress
• Created 3 branches of Government
• Created a two house (Bicameral)
legislature.
• The Senate has 2 senators per
states. (NJ plan)
• The House of Representatives is
based on population. (Virginia Plan)
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Bicameral = 2 Houses
Senate
Issue:
Should slaves
be counted
when
determining
how many
representatives
a state will
have?
Aim: How did the Constitution
deal with the issue of slavery?
House of Representatives
South vs. North
Southern States
Northern States
Count all the
Slaves towards
Population
Count no slaves
towards
Population
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Three-Fifths Compromise
Five slaves would
be equal to only
three white people
when counting
them for
representation.
Why is Representation so important?
Issue: Should the Constitution
ban the slave trade?
Issue: Should the Constitution
ban the slave trade?
North
wanted to
outlaw
the Slave
Trade
South
demanded
that the
Slave
Trade be
kept legal
What compromise will keep each side
happy?
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Slavery and the Constitution
Solution: Congress could not ban
the slave trade for at least 20 years
Which side seemed
to benefit the most?
The South seemed to gain
more from the Compromises
The North gave into many of
the demands of the Southern
States because they needed
these states to accept the
Constitution.
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