Who attended the Philadelphia
Convention? How was it organized?
We the People, Unit 3
Lesson 12

A convention has been called to rewrite
Redwood’ school constitution. We need
some delegates (representatives).
◦ How should delegates be selected? What
qualifications should they have?
◦ What rules should be followed at the
convention?
◦ Would you keep the rest of the school informed
of what was happening at the meeting? Why
or why not?
Redwood Constitutional
Convention 2014
Philadelphia Convention (or,
Constitutional Convention): 1787
meeting in Philadelphia at which delegates
wrote the Constitution
 Framers: The 55 men who attended the
Philadelphia Convention & wrote the
Constitution

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James Madison (“Father of the Constitution”)
George Washington
Benjamin Franklin
Gouverneur Morris
Who Attended the Philadelphia
Convention?
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Thomas Jefferson (in France)
John Adams (in England)
Patrick Henry (said, “I smell a rat”)
Women
African-Americans or Native Americans
Poor whites
Rhode Island delegates
Who Didn’t Attend the Philadelphia
Convention?
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1. Constitutional government (with limits)
2. Locke’s purpose of government: protect
people’s rights & promote common good
3. A strong national government was
needed
4. Republican (representative) form of
government
5. Separation of powers/checks &
balances
What ideas of gov’t went into the
new constitution?
Why specifically did many
feel the Constitution was
an improvement over the
Articles of Confederation?
Why did some oppose it?
HOMEWORK
How did the Framers resolve the conflict
about representation in Congress?
We the People, Unit 3
Lesson 13

Equal representation: Each state gets
an equal number of votes in Congress
◦ Favored by small states

Proportional representation: Each
state gets votes based on its population
◦ Favored by large states
What conflicts existed about
representation?

Drafted by James Madison of Virginia
◦ Strong national government
◦ Two levels of government—national & state,
which must cooperate
◦ National government could make & enforce its
own laws & collect taxes
◦ Three branches of government
◦ Two houses of legislature—
 House of Representatives
 Senate
◦ Proportional representation
What was the Virginia Plan?

Drafted by William Paterson of New Jersey
◦
◦
◦
◦
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Weak national government
One house of Congress
Equal representation
Congress could collect taxes
Congress could regulate all
trade
◦ Multi-person executive branch
that would appoint judicial
branch
What was the New Jersey Plan?

Great Compromise (or, Connecticut
Compromise):
◦ Congress has two houses
◦ House of Representatives membership is based
on proportional representation
 House comes up with all spending & tax bills
◦ Senate membership based on equal
representation
 Senate accepts or rejects spending & tax bills
Great Compromise
U.S. Congressional districts
 California Congressional districts 2014
 2012 election results

Why did large states want
proportional representation?
Why did small states want
equal representation?
How did both get what they
wanted?
HOMEWORK
How did the Framers resolve the conflict
between Northern & Southern states?
We the People, Unit 3
Lesson 14

Tariff: A tax on goods imported from
other nations, used to increase the price
of foreign goods
◦ Northerners wanted tariffs on British goods so
Northern goods would look cheaper
◦ Southerners did not want tariffs; this would
increase the cost of foreign goods they needed
and might lead to retribution by Britain
Tariffs

North & South also disagreed over slavery
The slavery issue
Slaves as a % of population

FOR THE NORTH:
◦ Congress got the power to place tariffs on
foreign goods and to regulate interstate &
foreign trade

FOR THE SOUTH:
◦ 1. Congress could not end slave importation
before 1808
◦ 2. Three-fifths clause: Representation in
Congress, and taxation, would be based on all
free persons, indentured servants, and 3/5 of
all slaves
◦ 3. Fugitive slave clause: Runaway slaves
must be returned to their masters
Compromise on tariffs & slavery
Effect of the 3/5ths clause on
state voting power in Congress
Who do you think “won”
the compromise between
the North & the South?
Why specifically?
HOMEWORK
How did the Framers resolve the conflict
about powers of the legislative branch?
We the People, Unit 3
Lesson 15

You attend a camp or retreat. As you
enter the camp, you see this sign.
Rules:
Be a good person.
Do what’s right.
Don’t do what’s wrong.

Can you think of a problem with this?
Imagine this…

Now imagine you see this sign instead:
Please
familiarize
yourself with
the following
142 rules.

Can you think of a problem with this?
Imagine this…
Key idea: Give Congress enough power to
protect the people’s rights, but not
enough to endanger their rights.
 Enumerated powers: Powers specifically
given to Congress by the Constitution—

◦ impose taxes & duties
◦ borrow $$
◦ regulate (oversee and control) commerce &
trade
◦ coin $$
◦ establish post offices
◦ declare war
◦ raise & support army & navy
Giving power to Congress (Article I)
Article I, Section 8 gives Congress
enumerated powers.
 It also gives Congress two general
powers:

◦ General welfare clause: Congress shall
“provide for the common Defense and general
Welfare of the United States”
◦ Necessary and proper clause: Congress may
“make all Laws which shall be necessary and
proper” for carrying out its other powers
Giving power to Congress (Article I)

Article I, Section 9 says Congress may
not—
◦ ban the slave trade before 1808
◦ suspend the writ of habeas corpus (a court
order requiring a person to be present before a
judge to determine if the detention is lawful)
unless in a state of emergency
◦ pass ex post facto laws, laws that make
something a crime though it was legal at the
time
◦ pass bills of attainder, a legislative act that
declares a person guilty & sets punishment
without a trial
Limiting powers of Congress

Congress also may not—
◦ tax any state exports
◦ take $$ from the treasury without passing a
law to do so
◦ grant titles of nobility

The Supreme Court may declare that a
law Congress passed is unconstitutional,
not permitted by the Constitution.
Limiting powers of Congress

Uncle Jay Explains Congress
Why did the Framers give
Congress both enumerated
powers and general powers
(in other words, why did
they use specific language
and general language)?
HOMEWORK
How much power should be given to the
executive & judicial branches?
We the People, Unit 3
Lesson 16
High
five!
Key idea: Give the executive enough
power to carry out his duties, but not
enough to overpower the other branches
or endanger the people’s rights
 Article II says the president may—

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carry out and enforce Congress’s laws
make treaties with foreign nations
appoint certain government officials
act as commander-in-chief of the armed forces
veto Congress’s laws
send & receive ambassadors
pardon criminals
Executive duties/powers (Article II)

Article II also limits the president.
◦ The president may nominate people for
important jobs only with the advice and
consent (review & approval) of Senate
◦ Senate may approve or reject the president’s
treaties
◦ The president may conduct war, but only
Congress may declare war or raise $$ for it
◦ Congress may override a president’s veto with
a 2/3-vote of both houses
◦ President may be impeached (brought to a
formal trial) by Congress
Executive limitations (Article II)
Twenty-Second Amendment: 1951
amendment that stated the president
could only be reelected once
 Electoral college: Group of presidential
electors who gather every 4 years to cast
votes for president & vice-president

◦ Each state has a number of electors equal to
its senators + representatives.

If no candidate gets a majority, the House
of Representatives selects the president
◦ This has happened twice
Selecting the executive

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Electoral
Electoral
Electoral
Electoral
Electoral
map
map
map
map
map
as of 2014
- 2012 election
– 2012, adjusted
– 2000 election
– 1984 election
Electoral maps
Judges are appointed, not elected
 Judges serve “during good Behavior” but
may also be impeached

Judicial powers (Article III)

Article III says we have one Supreme
Court with two kinds of jurisdiction
(power to hear cases and make decisions)
◦ 1. Original jurisdiction means these cases go
directly to the Supreme Court:
 The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction only
in cases involving state governments or a U.S.
ambassador
◦ 2. In all other cases, the Supreme Court has
appellate jurisdiction (the case is tried in a
lower court & then may be appealed up)
Judicial powers (Article III)

3 Branches of Government
3 Branches of Government
Explain FULLY, to the best
of your ability, how the
three branches of our
government can check
and balance each other.
Be specific.
HOMEWORK