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“The Road to the Constitution”
Failure of the
“Articles of Confederation”

By 1787, most realized that the
“Articles of Confederation”
provided for a weak and
ineffective system of government.
 Under the Articles, the thirteen
states operated as a “confederal”
government system – whereas, the
delegates wanted to create a
“federal” system with a strong
central government.
Return to Philadelphia

Because there were
problems with the Articles
of Confederation delegates
were sent to Philadelphia to
fix it in 1787.
 55 delegates from 12 states
met to determine the future
of the U.S. Government.
 Rhode Island did not attend
because they opposed the
idea of a stronger central
government.
America’s “Best and Brightest”

The men that attended the
Constitutional Convention
are now called our framers
because they set up the
framework of our
government
 Who were they?
– 8 of the delegates had signed
the “Declaration of
Independence”
– 7 of the delegates had been
governors.
– 41 of the delegates had served
in the “Continental Congress”
George Washington

George Washington
was selected as the
unanimous choice to
preside (be the
president) over the
convention.

No one in the new
“United States” was
more respected than
him
Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin
was the oldest member
of the convention at 81
years old.

His wisdom and advice
was invaluable to the
members.
At the meeting, it was decided that the
Articles of Confederation would be discarded.
They realized that the government under the
A of C was just too week and that they would
need a completely new document.
At the Convention (meeting), there were
problems from the Start……………..
Right away disagreements arose about
how the government would be structured.
The Two Plans for a
Legislature
“The Virginia Plan”
Proposed by Edmund Randolph / James Madison
“The Virginia Plan”

Created a “3 branch”
government
(Legislative, Executive,
& Judicial)

Created a two house
bicameral government
based on population.
“The Virginia Plan”

Representation in the
Legislature would be based on
POPULATION!
 Larger states were in favor of
this! (Virginia, Massachusetts,
Pennsylvania, & New York)

Smaller states protested
because they would lose power
due to their populations.
“The New Jersey Plan”
Proposed by William Paterson
“The New Jersey Plan”

Created a “3
branch” government
(Legislative,
Executive, &
Judicial)

Called for a one
house legislature
(unicameral).
“The New Jersey Plan”

This plan called for equal
representation -Each state
had ONE vote!
 Smaller states liked this
plan! (New Jersey, Delaware, and
Maryland)

This was opposed by larger
states who would only have
as much power as smaller
states despite having larger
populations!
Compare & Contrast
Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan
“Compromise”
A
way to settle
disagreements
between two or
more groups is a
compromise.
The “Great Compromise”
The “Great Compromise”

“The Great
Compromise” was
proposed by Roger
Sherman of Connecticut.
– Also called the
“Connecticut
Compromise”.

This created a two
house government –
bicameral legislature.
The “Great Compromise”
Created the “Senate”
 Each state had two (2)
votes, both equal.
 Pleased the smaller
states (put them on
equal footing with
larger states in this
house).

Created the “House of
Representatives”.
 Each state’s voting
status was based on
population.
 Pleased the larger
states (gave them more
power in this house).

Other Compromises
Question of Counting Slaves?

Southern states wanted to
count their slave
populations (nearly
550,000) for representation
purposes – the Northern
states disagreed
The “3/5th Compromise”
settled the issue.
 It was agreed to count each
slave as 3/5ths of a person
for representation AND
taxation purposes.

“Slave Trade Compromise”

Northern states wanted the
U.S. Government to regulate
trade between both states
AND foreign nations.
 Southern states feared this
would impact their exports
of rice, cotton, & tobacco.
 It was agreed that slavery
would be left alone for 20
years in terms of commerce
and trade. They would
revisit the issue in 1808.
 Was this really a fix????
“How to Elect the President?”

Some delegates wanted Congress to
choose the president. Why?
 Others felt that the people should
elect him.
 They decided each state legislature
would chose their electors, known as
the electoral college, who would
elect the President and Vice
President.
 We still use the Electoral College
today, but now, voters choose who
the electors will vote for.
Ratifying the
“U.S. Constitution”

The remaining 42 delegates
gathered for the final time
on September 17, 1787.

They had finished their
task…….and now the
Constitution would become
law if 9 out of the 13 states
would ratify it at their
ratifying conventions. (did
Rhode Island matter???)
Debate Breaks Out:
“Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists”
Each wrote a series of papers in support of their side!!!
“Federalists”

“Federalists” were
supporters of the
Constitution as it was
written.

They believed in a strong
central government and
wanted the document
ratified (approved) as it
was written.
“Federalists”

In essays entitled “The Federalist
Papers”, they argued that the U.S.
could not survive without a strong
federal government.

They were led by Alexander
Hamilton, James Madison, & John
Jay
“Anti-Federalists”

“Anti-Federalists” felt that it
gave too much power to the
national government and took
too much power from the states.

They opposed the Constitution
as it was written.
“Anti-Federalists”

The Anti-Federalists also
wrote papers and in the
“Anti-Federalists
Papers” they demanded
that the new Constitution
protect the basic
individual rights of the
people – they wanted a
“bill of rights” added.
 They were led by Patrick
Henry
“Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists”

The Federalist Papers
made it clear that we
needed a stronger
government and the
Anti-Federalist Papers
made it clear that the
rights of the people
must be protected in a
“Bill of Rights”.
“The U.S. Constitution”

On June 21, 1788, New
Hampshire became the 9th
state to ratify the
Constitution. Why was that
important???
– Rhode Island was the 13th.

The 13 independent states
became one nation, the
“United States of America.”
For the first time it was
written with a capital “U.”