essential question : what compromises were needed in order to create the u.s. constitution?
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Essential Question : What compromises were needed in order to create the U.S. Constitution? CPUSH Agenda for Unit 3.3 : No Clicker Questions Today “The Constitutional Convention” notes Today’s HW : Review Notes. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
• Essential Question:–What compromises were needed in
order to create the U.S. Constitution?
• CPUSH Agenda for Unit 3.3: –“The Constitutional Convention” notes
Confederation Government in New York City
The Articles of Confederation were intentionally weak in order to protect state & individual liberties
But, the inability of
the national gov’t to tax & unify the
states led to problems like Shays’ Rebellion
In May 1787, 55 delegates held a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to
discuss ways to strengthen the national gov’t…
…But instead of revising the Articles of Confederation, they replaced it with the Constitution
The national government under the Constitution would have new features & powers that the Articles of Confederation did not have
Rather than a single unicameral Congress, the new national government would be divided among three equal branches of government
Popular Sovereignty: the people have power by voting for leaders
Limited gov’t: even though the national government was stronger, citizens’ liberty was still protected
Federalism: the national gov’t shares power with state gov’ts
Separation of powers: three branches with
defined powers(Montesquieu)
Checks & balances: each branch can limit the power of the others
The delegates at the convention had to negotiate a series of
compromises in order to agree on a framework for government
Many of these compromises dealt with how representatives would be chosen from the states to serve in Congress
The large states supported the Virginia Plan which
proposed adding a president to lead the
nation and a bicameral congress in which larger
states have more representatives
The small states supported the a
New Jersey Plan which called for a unicameral
congress in which states are equally represented
just like the AOC
The Great Compromise resolved the differences between the
large & small states by creating a bicameral Congress
In the Senate each state has
2 reps who serve 6-year
terms
In the House of Representatives, the
number of reps is determined by each state’s population
Roger Sherman created a combination of the two plans
Northern & Southern states could not agree whether or not to count slaves towards population
size
If slaves are counted, Southern states would have more votes and
power in the House of Representatives
The Three-Fifths Compromise allowed states to count three of every five slaves
toward taxation and population size
Many Northerners wanted to use the Constitutional
Convention to end slavery, but Southerners threatened
to leave the USA anytime slavery was discussed
As a compromise for the South, the slave trade could continue for 20 more years & runaway slaves would be returned to slave masters
The Fugitive Slave Act
James Madison negotiated and wrote much of the framework
of the new government and is referred to as the “father of
the Constitution”
From May to September 1787, the delegates at the Constitutional Convention worked out a
framework for a new federal system of government
But, this plan for government had to be ratified by 9 states if it was to
replace the Articles of Confederation
Many Americans were concerned about the possibility of tyranny because the Constitution gave more power
to the national government over the states
Anti-Federalists were those who opposed
the Constitution, feared a stronger
national gov’t , and wanted states to
remain power
The Anti-Federalists were led by
Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams
Federalists were hose who supported the
new Constitution and a stronger national
gov’t
Federalist leaders James Madison,
Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote a series of essays called the Federalist Papers
to encourage ratification of the
Constitution
“Nothing is more certain than the indispensable
necessity of government… People must cede some of
their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers.”
(Federalist #2)
“[If the] federal gov’t is entrusted with the care of the common defense…that gov’t ought to be clothed with all the powers
requisite to complete execution of its trust.”
(Federalist #23)
“…the smaller the number of individuals composing a
majority, the more easily will they execute their plans of
oppression. Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety
of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a
majority of the whole will invade the rights of other citizens.”
(Federalist #10)
Some states ratified the Constitution quickly, but states with large majorities of Anti-Federalists
refused without a Bill of Rights to protect their liberty
New Hampshire was the 9th state to ratify the Constitution which went into effect in 1789, but the
Federalists wanted all 13 states to ratify the new gov’t
In 1789, the Bill of Rights was introduced and the last two states ratified the Constitution by 1790
Today, the Constitution is the oldest existing written gov’t in the world and is a model for other
nations