Shaping a New
Nation
1782-1788
Shay’s Rebellion
● Summer 1786- Daniel Shay, a veteran of the
Revolutionary War becomes angry over debt collectors
taking his farm
○ He and other farmers with the same problem
formed a mob of over 1000 men to keep the courts
closed
○ Militia forced to break up rebellion and four die
https://libcom.org
http://s4.thingpic.com/
https://upload.wikimedia.org
Convention Begins
● 1786- First convention with only five states sending
delegates to discuss interstate trade and they call another
meeting due to failure
● 1787- 12 states (Rhode Island) show for the convention in
Philadelphia
○ Goal was to amend the Articles of Confederation
■ Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison
and George Washington were leaders
Virginia Plan
● A huge issue at hand was giving fair representation to both
largely populated and small populated states
○ Virginia Plan (James Madison)- proposed a bicameral
(two house) legislature
■ Votes would elect members of the lower house, then
the lower house would elect members to the upper
house
○ Small states did not like it as it gave power to large states
New Jersey Plan
● This plan was favored by the smaller states because it
created an equal playing field for voting
○ Gave equal voting to per state regardless of its
population with unicameral legislature
○ Proposed a federation of states but a weak
executive government
○ Proposed a national court system
The Great Compromise
● Developed by Roger Sherman of Connecticut, this plan
gave both larger and smaller populated states what
they wanted (Bicameral Legislature)
○ Created a lower house elected by the people (House
of Representatives) based on population
○ Upper house (Senate) with equal representation
and voted on by state legislatures
Three Fifths Compromise
● Representation based on population raised the
question about counting slaves as part of the
population. The southern states wanted to include
slaves while northern states did not want to due to
slave populations of those states.
○ Agreed to allow five slaves to count as three people
towards population
http://www.mitchellteachers.org/
http://www.historyhub.us/
Federalism
● Government was a form of federalism that divided power
between the national and state governments
○ Powers granted by the Constitution are known as delegated
or enumerated powers- foreign affairs, national defensive,
trade and coining money
○ Powers kept by states are known as reserved powerseducation, marriage laws, trade
● Both have right to tax, borrow money, pay debts, create courts
Separation of Power
● Delegates protect the rights of states while giving some
powers to the national government
○ Three branches of government- legislative (create
laws) executive (carry out laws) and judicial
(interpret laws)
● Delegates established a system of checks and balances
to prevent the branches from become more powerful
than the other
http://www.kminot.com/
Creating the Constitution
● With the creation of the government in place, the last
step was to provide a way to allow the Constitution to
change over time
○ Amendment- allowed the Constitution to be
changed by having the ability to add new duties and
laws of the government
● This change made the Constitution a living document
Electoral College
● Delegates at the time feared giving the people too
much power due to events such as Shay’s Rebellion
and that the people weren’t as highly educated
○ Electoral College- each state chooses a number of
electors equal to the senators and representatives
they had, this group would cast ballots for the
candidate
Federalists
● Federalists (urban support and smaller states)- those
who agreed to the Constitution and supported it
○ Liked the document because of the balance of
power between states and national government
● The Federalists- 85 essays defending and explaining
the Constitution anonymously written by James
Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay
Anti-Federalists
● Anti Federalists (rural/farmer support)- those who wanted
changes to be made to the Constitution before it was approved
(Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee)
○ Felt strong national government could overuse powers and
ignore minority, wanted states to have more power
● Letters from the Federal Farmer- publication given by the
Anti-Federalists saying rights should be protected by the
federal government but that there wasn’t one in the
Constitution
Bill of Rights
● Anti-Federalists argued for a bill of rights since the Constitution
gave less power to the states while Federalists felt that the
national government could violate the rights of the state or the
people
○ Anti- Federalists wanted it to include freedom of speech,
press, religion, right to bear arms and assurances of fair
trials
● Bill of Rights- First 10 amendments which protect civil rights
and liberties of the people
Ratification and Adoption
● Each state had to vote to approve or reject the Constitution
with nine states agreeing to ratify it
○ Ratification- official approval
● Delaware ratified in December 1787 making it the first state.
New Hampshire ratified in June 1788 giving the required
approval
● States such as New York, Virginia and Rhode Island hold out
until 1789-1790 but eventually 10 states approve
http://mrkash.com/
https://upload.wikimedia.org
Videos
1. Mr. Betts Class- “Stay with Me” (Parody sung by King George III)
2. Mr. Betts Class- Electoral College
3. Mr. Betts Class- The Great Compromise (Parody of Drake’s
Hotline Bling)
4. Mr. Betts Class- Bill of Rights (500 Miles Parody)
5. Mr. Betts Class- Bill of Rights (Thriller Parody)
6. Mr. Betts Class- How Not to Confuse Articles, Declaration and
Constitution