The Constitutional Convention

1. The Constitutional Convention Daily Cornell’s Notes & Activities October 1st, 2010

2. Background Information • The Constitutional Convention began its work on May 25, 1787. All the states except Rhode Island sent delegates. The state legislatures appointed 74 delegates to the Convention, but only 55 attended. Of these, 39 took a leading role. • Father of the Constitution • Practical experience in politics. • Seven had served as governors of their states • 39 had served in the Confederation Congress • 8 have signed the Declaration of Independence • 6 have signed the Articles of Confederation • Noticeable names: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Wilson, Governeur Morris, and James Madison

3. Organization • George Washington preside over the meetings • Each state gets 1 vote all on questions • A simple majority vote those states present would make decisions • No meetings held unless delegates from at least seven of 13 states were present. • Closed to public and press to ensure delegates free discussions. • Key Agreements • Abandon the government and begin anew • Favored idea of limited and representative government • Agreed that the powers of the national government should be divided among legislative, executive, and judicial branches. • Believed that it was necessary to limit the powers of the states to coin money or to interfere with creditors’ rights. • All agreed to strengthen the national government.

4. Decisions and Compromises • The Virginia Plan, May 29 – Edmund Randolph of Virginia • A strong national legislature with two chambers, the lower one to be chosen by the people and the upper chamber to be chosen by the lower. The legislature would have the power to bar any state laws it found unconstitutional. • A strong national executive to be chosen by the national legislature. • A national judiciary to be appointed by the legislature.

5. Continues … • The New Jersey Plan, June 15 – William Paterson of New Jersey • Called for government based on keeping the major features of the Articles of Confederation • Unicameral legislature, with one vote for each state • Congress, however, would be strengthen by giving it power to impose taxes and regulate trade. • A weak executive consisting of more than one person elected by Congress • A national judiciary with limited power would be appointed by the executive. • Argued that the Convention should NOT deprive the smaller states of the equality they had under the Articles of Confederation. • A national government was to continue as a confederation of sovereign states. • This plan was EJECTED and delegates returned to considering the Virginia Plan

6. Compromises • The Connecticut Compromise, Roger Sherman • Adopted after a long debate • Legislative with TWO branches • A House of Representatives, with state representation based on population. All revenue laws – spending and taxes – would begin in this house. • A Senate, with two members from each state. State legislatures would elect senators. • The larger states would have an advantage in the House of Representatives, where representation was to be based on population. • The smaller states would be protected in the Senate, where each state had equal representation.

7. Continues … • The Three-Fifths Compromise • Determine how many representatives each state would have in the House. • Almost one-third of the people in the Southern states were enslaved African Americans. These states wanted the slaves counted as free people to give the South more representation. At the same time, they did not want enslaved person counted at all for levying taxes. The North wanted the opposite. • The Three-Fifths Compromise settled this conflict by counting the enslaved people for both tax purposes and for representation.

8. The Slavery Question • The word slave does not appear in the Constitution. • It dealt with slavery by noting that those escaping to free states could be returned to the slaveholders. (Article IV, Section 2). • Massachusetts – voted to end slavery • Delaware – forbade importing enslaved persons • Connecticut and Rhode Island decided that all enslaved person brought into their states would be free • The delegate knew that the Southern states would never accept the Constitution if it interfered with slavery. • Their refusal to deal with slavery left it to later generations of Americans to deal revolve this great and terrible issue.

9. Continues … • Compromise on Commerce and the Slave Trade • Northern states wanted the government to have complete control over trade with other nations. • Southern states, heavily agricultural exports, feared that business interests in the North might have enough votes in Congress to set up trade agreements that would hurt them. • Congress could not ban the slave trade until the year 1808. • Gave power to Congress to regulate commerce, interstate commerce, or trade among states, and foreign commerce. • Congress was forbidden to impose export taxes to protect the South’s export. • United States is on the few nations in the world today that does not tax its exports.

10. Other Compromise • Presidential election – by the people, by Congress, or by state legislatures? • Electoral College – each state select electors to choose the president and the term was set to 4 years term.

11. Ratifying the Constitution • The debate over ratification lasted until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally voted. • It, however, went into effect on June 21, 1788 when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.

12. Key Conflicts of Ratification • The Anti-Federalists criticized the Constitution for having been drafted in secrecy. • The claimed the document was extralegal, not sanctioned by laws, since the Convention had been authorized only to revise the old articles. • Patrick Henry – key opposition, page 57 • The Federalists, on the other hand, argued that without a strong national government, anarchy, or political disorder would triumph.

13. Progress Toward Ratification • The Bill of Rights -- initially contained 12 amendments but only 10 were ratified. • The Federalist papers published by John Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay defended the Constitution and received key vote from New York. • A New Government began on March 4, 1789 at Federal Hall in New York. 22 senators and 55 representatives were present. George Washington served the president and John Adams as vice president.

14. Class Assignment 1 • Wikispaces.com – Read pages 54 – 56 about the decisions and compromises that took place during the Constitutional Convention and answer the following questions: • What are the similarities and differences between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. Be specific. • Team up with a partner and analyze how the Connecticut Compromise provided fair treatment for both large and small states. Do you agree or disagree with this compromise? Explain. • Debrief

15. Class Assignment 2 • Critical Thinking – read page 56-57 and evaluate the impact of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists on the Constitution.Explain • Debrief