Name ___________________________________________________________ Period _____
THE CONSTITUTION
Chapter 3, Lesson 2 Creating a New Constitution
Essential Question
Why do people create, structure, and change governments?
The Constitutional Convention
1. American leaders decided that the national government needed to be stronger, so they met in
Philadelphia in 1787 to fix the Articles of Confederation.
2. Rhode Island was the only state that was not represented. Its leaders opposed a strong central
government.
3. Describe the people who attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
only white men, lawyers, merchants, doctors, generals, governors, planters, college presidents
The chart below lists three rules followed by the delegates at the Constitutional Convention. Write
the possible reasons for each rule below.
Rule
Reason
Each state gets one vote, no
matter how many delegates attend Each state would feel that it had an equal say.
the convention.
A simple majority of seven votes
passes a measure.
Decisions would be easier than if more votes were required.
Discussions are secret, unattended
Delegates could discuss matters freely.
by the public.
5. Why did the delegates want to write a new plan instead of making changes to the Articles of
Confederation?
Greater changes were needed because the current government was too weak to deal with the
nation’s problems.
Chapter 3 Lesson 2, page 1
Compromising for a Constitution
Delegates presented two important plans for organizing a central government. They knew they
would have to compromise in order to get the plan approved by all of the states.
The Virginia Plan
1. Much like ours with a president, courts, and a Congress with 2 houses.
2. Representation in Congress would be based on a state’s population
3. Explain why the small states feared the Virginia Plan.
Smaller states feared their interests would be ignored.
The New Jersey Plan
1. One house Congress with equal representation for each state (1 vote per state)
2. Congress could set taxes and control trade.
3. Explain why the large states opposed the New Jersey Plan.
They wanted states with more people to have more power.
The Great Compromise
1. Also known as the Connecticut Compromise.
2. Congress would have 2 houses – a Senate and a House of Representatives.
3. Senate = each state would have 2 members
4. House = the number of members for each state would be based on population
5. A compromise is an agreement between two or more sides where each sides gives up something
but gains something else.
The Three-Fifths Compromise
1. The Sothern states wanted to count slaves in their population.
2. Why did Northern states oppose this idea?
Most slaves lived in the South, but did not have the right to vote. Counting slaves would give
Southern states greater representation in Congress.
3. This agreement stated that slaves would count as three-fifths of other persons. In other words,
every 5 slaves would equal 3 free persons.
Chapter 3 Lesson 2, page 2
Other Compromises
Trade Issues
The North says . . .
Congress should regulate foreign
trade and trade between states.
The South says . . .
Congress would use this power to tax exports. The Southern
economy depends on exports. Congress might try to stop
traders from bringing more slaves into the South.
Trade Compromises
The North agrees that . . .
The South agrees that . . .
Congress can’t tax exports or
Congress can regulate trade between states and with other
interfere with the slave trade for at countries.
least 20 years.
Electing a President
1. Some delegates thought Congress should elect the president.
2. Others wanted the people to have this right.
3. They decided to create an Electoral College where a group of people named by each state would
select the president and vice president.
Chapter 3 Lesson 2, page 3
Federalists and Anti-Federalists
After deciding on all the details, the delegates formed a group to write the new Constitution. For
the document to become law, at least nine states had to ratify, or approve, it.
Who Were the Federalists?
1. Federalist were supporters of the Constitution.
2. They believed the Constitution would create a system of federalism, which is a form of
government where power is divided between the federal (or national) government and the states.
3. However, the federal government should be supreme over the states.
4. The Federalists believed that only a strong national government could:
A. protect property rights
B. solve the country’s problems at home
C. defend its interests abroad
5. To win support, they wrote essays called the Federalist Papers defending the Constitution and
reminding Americans how weak the Articles were.
Who Were the Anti-Federalists?
1. Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution.
2. They believed that the Constitution would destroy the liberties won in the American Revolution.
3. They feared the national government would become too powerful and ignore the rights of the
states.
4. A key weakness to the Constitution was that it had no bill of rights to protect individual
freedoms.
Launching a New Nation
1. Finally, the Federalists promised to add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution if the AntiFederalists agreed to sign the Constitution.
2. The Constitution took effect in June 1788.
Chapter 3 Lesson 2, page 4