Revolutionary Period (1763-1789)
Part 3: Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was held in 1787 in Philadelphia. Fifty-five delegates met to revise, or
improve, the nation’s first constitution, the Articles of Confederation. The Articles were so weak, the
framers decided to a write a new constitution. The U.S. Constitution created a strong national
government, but with limits against the abuse of power. After the convention ended, the states ratified
the new constitution.
Problems under the
Articles of Confederation
Examples: no president
Delegates meet at
Constitutional
Convention in 1787 and
write a new constitution.
States have too
much power
The most important conflict at the Convention was over
representation in the legislative branch (Congress).
Virginia Plan
-large state plan
-2-house legislature
-proportional
representation
(population)
New Jersey Plan
-small state plan
-1-house legislature
-equal representation
Great Compromise
-2-house legislature
-House of Representatives (proportional
representation)
-Senate – equal representation (2 per
state)
States ratify the new
constitution.
Another conflict was over the counting of slaves when
determining the number of representatives each state
received in the House of Representatives.
Northern States
-did not want to count
slaves as part of the
population
Southern States
-wanted to count
slaves as part of the
population
3/5 Compromise
-three-fifths of all
slaves would be
counted as part of the
population for
representation
Ratification
Terms to Know
Federalists – supported ratification of the Constitution
Delegate
- representative
Federalist Papers – written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton,
and John Jay is support of ratification
Framer
- someone who
helped write the Constitution
Anti-Federalists – opposed ratification of the Constitution, mainly
because it did not have a bill of rights
Ratify
accept
- to approve or