The Road to the Constitution

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Quick Review Declaration of Independence

Second Continental Congress Approved July 4, 1776

The Articles of Confederation 1777, our first constitution Weak federal government Shay’s Rebellion, 1786-1787

Strengthening the National Government

1787 Problems with the Articles of Confederation States sent delegates to Philadelphia to fix

the A.O.C. Rhode Island did not go…they did not want

a stronger central government

The Constitutional Convention

May 25, 1787 Independence Hall, Philadelphia An extraordinary group of men

55 men Well-educated Lawyers, merchants, college presidents, doctors,

generals, governors, and planters with considerable political experience

Who was there? Who missed it?

Benjamin Franklin 81, oldest delegate

George Washington & James Madison Both would become president

Thomas Jefferson & John Both were in Europe

Patrick Henry Prominent Virginian He was invited but did not attend; he was against the

convention

The Boss Who was chosen to

preside over the convention?

George Washington Respected for his

leadership during the Rev. War

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Procedures of the Convention

Each state was only allowed one vote Majority votes from all states made

decisions All discussions were a secret! Why…?

This way, delegates could speak freely, without worry about how the public would react

Importance of the Constitutional Convention

“I would bury my bones in this city rather than leave the Convention without anything being done.”

-George Mason at the Constitutional Convention

*Everyone knew that failure could mean disaster*

What happened to the…

Articles of Confederation???

The throw it away, decided to write a new constitution

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Two Opposing Plans

VS.

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Virginia vs. New Jersey

Two Opposing Plans The Virginia Plan

James Madison 3 branches of government Bicameral legislature (2 houses),

determined by population Favored big states

Two Opposing Plans The New Jersey Plan William Patterson 3 branches of government Unicameral legislature (1 house) with

equal representation Favored smaller states

Two Opposing Plans What was the big issue?

How representation in Congress would be decided

Larger states wanted more power, smaller states wanted equal power

The Great Compromise

Roger Sherman of Connecticut comes up with the answer…a compromise

Lower House House of Representatives Determined by population 2 year terms Favored larger states

Upper House Senate Equal representation 6 year terms Favored smaller states

Also known as… The Connecticut Compromise

What is a compromise???

A way of resolving disagreements in which each side gives up something but gains something else

More arguing? What now?

Controversy over counting slaves as a part of the population…

At this time, there were 550,000 enslaved African Americans, mostly in the South

More arguing? What now?

Southern states said… part of the population = more representatives for southern states

Northern states said… slaves cannot vote or participate in government, they should not give the south more representatives

The Three-Fifths Compromise

The conflict was finally resolved…

Three-Fifths Compromise Every 5 enslaved persons would count as 3 free

people Used for representation in Congress & figuring

taxes

Another compromise How to elect a president? Some say… “Let Congress pick!” Others say… “Let the people choose!” The compromise…

Electoral College A group of people would be chosen by

each state to choose the President Each state given a certain number of votes,

determined by their representation in Congress

One last compromise Conflicts over commerce & the slave trade

Congress could regulate (control) trade between states & other countries

However, they could NOT tax exports or interfere with the slave trade for 20 years

Finished…finally! September 17, 1787, finished up the

Constitution Delegates signed it, said the Constitution

would become the law of the land when… 9 out of 13 states ratified (approved) it

So everyone in the entire United States of America loved the Constitution and every state ratified it immediately and we all had a big party and we all lived happily ever after, right…?

Wrong!

A Divided Public Some people liked the Constitution, others did not

Federalists = supporters of the new constitution & a strong federal government

Federalism = A form of government in which power is divided between the federal (national) government and the states

A Divided Public Some Federalists wrote papers to rally

support for the Constitution

They were called the Federalist Papers (duh)

Who wrote ‘em? Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, & John Jay

A Divided Public What about those who didn’t like the

Constitution?

Anti-Federalists = People opposed to the constitution & a strong federal government “Don’t forget individual rights!”

Reaching an Agreement

Anti-Federalists wanted to add… The Bill of Rights

The Federalists promised to do so, and did

New Hampshire, 9th state to ratify June 21, 1788 The Constitution went into effect

The last state to ratify…? Rhode Island, 1790

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Who: Hamilton, Madison, Jay

Patrick Henry

Central Government

Strong:provide protection

Weak : focus on states

Interpretation Loose Strict

Bill of Rights Eventually Without a doubt!!!!

Supporters Wealth/industrial

common/farmers

Power of President

Lots Little - no Kings!

Federalist Antifederalist Issue

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Lesson questions

What does interpretation mean?

What does strict interpretation of the constitution mean?

What does loose interpretation of the constitution mean?

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Founding Fathers The Framers of the Constitution

wrote a very generalized document.

Purpose? To allow future Americans

flexibility.

Look at Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the U.S. Constitution on page 170 on the textbook. Read it carefully.

The nick name of this passage is the Elastic Clause.

Can you tell why?

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Competing interpretations Who interprets?

The Supreme Court!

How?

Strict or literalist

Which Means? The Constitution

means exactly what it says!

Framers had an exact plan

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Competing interpretations The counterpart of strict interpretation is?

Loose interpretation

Which means?

Meaning of certain portions of the Constitution can stretched to the user’s needs