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Learn about challenges faced by the new nation under the Articles of Confederation and how the Constitutional Convention addressed them through compromises, representation, and the creation of a federal system. Discover key figures like James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington.
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SS4H5 The student will analyze the challenges faced by the new nation.
Review: Created a weak National government Gave Congress the power to declare war and make peace Articles Of Confederation Could not make the states work together Congress could print and borrow money Congress could not set up an army, control trade, or create taxes Congress could organize new territories
Essential Question: • Why was the Constitutional Convention needed?
Vocabulary: • federal • -a system of government in which the states share power with a central government • republic • - a government in which citizens elect leaders to represent them • Compromise • -both sides give up something they want to settle a disagreement • Ratify • - to officially accept
Constitutional Convention • The American people began to see that the Articles of Confederation needed to be changed. • Delegates from all the states except Rhode Island met in Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
Who was there? • Only white, male, landowners could be a delegate at the Constitutional Convention. • No women, African Americans, American Indians, or any man that did not own land, took part in the convention.
Leaders of the Constitutional Convention: • James Madison was a lawyer from Virginia that called the meeting together. He arrived 2 weeks early so that he could start planning what needed to be done. He was known as the Father of the Constitution because he was a leading member and he kept a very detailed record of all the debates.
Benjamin Franklin He was the oldest delegate at the convention. He urged others to be willing to listen and convinced them that the compromise was important to a free society. He supported the ratification of the Constitution.
George Washington • He was the hero of the Revolutionary War. People rang bells and cheered when they saw him at the Convention.
Changes needed: • The Articles did not give the Congress enough power. • Some delegates wanted a republic. They thought it would protect citizen’s rights because the citizens would elect the leaders to represent them. • Other delegates, like James Madison and Washington, wanted a federal system where the states would share power with the central government, but the central government would have more power.
The delegates agreed to create a FederalSystem where states would share power with the national (federal) government. • State National GovernmentGovernment
Creating a New Government • James Madison suggested that the government should have three branches (parts). His plan was called the Virginia Plan. • One branch-Congress- would make laws. • The second branch would carry out the laws. • The third branch would settle legal arguments.
Representation: • The delegates accepted most of Madison’s Virginia Plan except for the part that gives states representation according to its population. • Delegates from smaller • states thought that this • would give bigger states • more power. They came up • with the New Jersey Plan • which would give each • state one vote. • Delegates argued about • the two plans.
Virginia Plan Congress based On population The Great Compromise New Jersey Plan gave each State one vote
The Great Compromise • The state delegates combined the two plans and created the Great Compromise. • The compromise said that Congress would have two parts- The Senate and the House of Representatives.
Congress would have two parts Virginia Plan Congress based On population The Great Compromise The Senate gave each state one vote New Jersey Plan gave each State one vote The House of Representative was based on population
The Great Compromise said Congress would be split into two houses: • The Senate- each state would have equal representation • The House of Representatives – each state would be represented according to the population.
Another issue: • Southern delegates wanted to count enslaved people as part of their population. • Northern delegates said they should not be counted. • The states came up with another compromise called the Three Fifths Rule. • It said that every five slaves would be counted as three free people.
