Download - Http:// Video
3.2 Constitutional Convention
http://www.shmoop.com/video/constitutional-conventionVideo
How does compromise function in the development of the government?
Essential Question
Constitutional ConventionWho?
When?
Where?
What?
Why?
55 delegates from states
Summer 1787
Philadelphia, Penn.
Political meeting
To revise the Articles of Confederation
Copy the
slide
Debating Issues at the Convention
• To create a new constitution, the delegates must resolve a series of issues. • Issue #1: How should states be
represented in the new government? • Issue #2: Should slaves be counted for
representation?• Issue #3: How should the national
executive be elected?
Issue #1 How should states be represented?
Debate:
Should states have equal representation?Should rep. be based on population?
Representation: Speaking or acting on behalf of someonepeople vote for others to make decisions for
them Debate:
Should states have equal representation?Should rep. be based on population?
RepresentationVirginia Plan
Larger states
Bicameral legislature 2 houses
# of reps based on populationBigger states get
more votesStrong national
executive
New Jersey PlanSmaller states
Unicameral legislature1 house
Each state has one vote
Weak executive
Copy the T-chart
Great CompromiseDesigner: Roger ShermanBicameral legislature - Congress
House of Representatives: PopulationSenate: 2 reps. from each state
* Large states have advantage in the House & smaller states are protected in Senate
Representation
Issue #2: Should slaves count in the population?
SlavesNorth wanted slaves counted for taxation
but not representationhad fewer slaves than Southern statesdidn’t want slaves to count toward
representation: less votesdid want slaves to count toward taxes:
more taxes
Note: Every 30,000 people get one vote in Congress
SlavesSouth wanted slaves counted for
representation but not taxationhad more slaves than Northern statesdid want slaves to count toward
representation: more votesdidn’t want slaves to count toward taxes: less
taxes
Slaves
3/5’s CompromiseEach slave counts as 3/5 of a person
So 500 slaves = 300 votes for population
Slaves counted for population and taxationMade a mockery of the statement that "all men
are created equal"Why??? Seemed the only way to keep the
convention moving forward
Issue #3: How should the chief executive be elected?
Who would head the new government's executive branch? James Wilson proposed a single person serve as chief
executiveWilson explained that good gov. depends on timely
& responsible leadershipmost likely to be found in a single person
Opposition to a single leaderBrought to mind memories of King George IIIEdmund Randolph: 3-member executive
3 people from different parts of the countryBenjamin Franklin: "The first man put at the helm
will be a good one," said Franklin, thinking of George Washington. "Nobody knows what sort may come afterwards."
Electing the Chief Executive
Compromise:Single executive, or presidentLimited the term to 4 years
Why? Keep him from becoming a monarch
A vice president was also to be elected to fill that term if the president died in office
Electing the Chief Executive
How to choose James Madison: Congress should appoint him
Gouverneur Morris objected: The president "must not be made a flunky of the Congress"
Gouverneur Morris: People should elect himJames Madison objected: Would vote for
someone from their own state and not be fair to small states
Others suggested that the president be elected by a specially chosen group of "electors" from each state
CompromiseNeither Congress nor the people should
choose the president and vice presidentElectoral College
Electing the Chief Executive
Electoral CollegeElectors cast the votes
Each state’s senators and representativesLeft the method of choosing electors up to each
stateBefore 1820, state legislatures chose electorsToday, the people choose electors when they
voteOriginally, electors voted for two candidates
without saying which one they preferred for president or vice president most votes became pres.& runner-up became
vice pres.caused great confusion in the election of 1800
and was later changed
Resolution: The Electoral College
Video
• Framers were concerned voters would not know enough about candidates outside their own state to choose a president wisely• Within a few years, political parties were nominating
candidates and educating voters in every state about them• The Electoral College still affects presidential elections
• In most states, the candidate who gets the most votes gets all of that state's electoral votes
• A candidate can win a majority in the Electoral College without winning a majority of the votes cast across the country
Compare and ContrastArticles of Confederation
1. Loose confederation of states2. 1 vote in Congress for each state
(unicameral legislature)
3. 2/3 vote necessary in Congress for all important measures
4. Laws were carried out by congressional committees
5. No congressional power over any commerce
6. No congressional power to levy or collect taxes
7. No federal court system8. Unanimous vote needed by states
to amend the Articles9. No authority to make individuals
and states to comply with federal laws
Constitution1. Firm union of people and states2. 2 votes in Senate for each state
plus a House with representation by population (bicameral legislature)
3. Simple majority needed in Congress on most manners but subject to presidential veto
4. Laws were executed by a powerful president
5. Congress regulates foreign and domestic commerce
6. Extensive congressional power to levy and collect taxes
7. Intricate system of federal courts headed by a US Supreme Court
8. Amendment was available through a variety of mechanisms
9. Ample power to enforce laws concerning states and individuals
22
Ratification
Ratification of the Constitution
ratify - approvetook 9 of 13 states adopted a two-thirds
ratification rule Ratification would be done
through specially elected constitutional conventions in each state
Federalist Papers Writers: James
Madison, Alexander Hamilton & John Jay
Urged ratification
Problems:Rhode Island and North Carolina
refused to ratify • Congress had to threaten them
with a high tariff to get them to ratify.
• US was on its second constitution in a dozen years with little domestic and foreign confidence in the American government
• Some compromises were built in the Constitution to promote ratification.
25
Ratification
Ratification of the ConstitutionThomas Jefferson – strict interpretist
national gov should exercise no powers that are not specifically granted in the Constitution
all unspoken powers are reserved for the state governments
Alexander Hamilton – loose interpretist cited elastic clause of the
Constitution Congress may pass any laws
“necessary and proper” to carry out its granted powers 26
Constitution makes no mention of how candidates would be chosen to run for President, yet parties have been nominating candidates since the 1796 election.
Political parties resulted from ideological clash between Jefferson and Hamilton: interpretation of Constitution financial policy foreign policy
Federalists
led by Hamiltonstrong central govpositive relations with
Englandfavored upper class
Democrat-Republicans
led by Jeffersonstrong state
governmentpositive relations with
Francefavored common man
Ratification of the Constitution
Video: Convention in 10 min
QW #1Write an introductory paragraph to the prompt: How
does compromise function in the development of the government?Introduce the time period, relevant background,
and a thesis statement.
After the American Revolution _________. (what gov was created, how did it work?) In response, leaders ___________________. (what did they do?) However, ____________________. (connect to the idea of compromise) Compromise is _______________ (state how it relates to democracy), as demonstrated in the compromises of the convention: _______________, _____________, and _____________.
QW #1 - SamplePrompt: How does compromise function in the development of the government?
After the American Revolution ended, the new leaders of the United States of America were faced with the challenge of creating a new nation. In response to problems created by the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention began in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1787. It was here that the founding fathers discussed problems, solutions, and reached compromises. Compromise is an essential component of a democracy, as people with differing ideas come together to participate in government for the good of the nation, as demonstrated in the compromises of the convention: the Great Compromise, the Three-fifths Compromise, and the creation of the Electoral College.