The Constitutional Convention

1. The Constitutional Convention May 25, 1787

2. Key Questions • Who were the delegates to the convention? • What were some of the compromises reached by the delegates?

3. May 25, 1787 • 55 Delegates meeting to discuss changes to the Articles of Confederation. • Decision to throw out the Articles and begin work on a new document. • Two rival plans are drafted.

5. Virginia Plan • Proposed by James Madison and his fellow Virginians. • Called for a strong government including • Bicameral Legislature • A strong executive and judiciary. • Very different from the Articles of Confederation.

6. Membership in the Legislature would be based on a state’s population. • Would make states like Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Massachusetts happy. • Who’s going to have a problem with this?

7. The Legislature • The people would directly elect one of the legislatures. • The states would nominate candidates for a second house. • The house of congress that was elected by the people would then vote from this pool of nominees to elect the second house.

8. Executive and Judiciary • The other two branches of the government would be elected by the legislature. • Executive’s job would be to carry out the laws passed by congress. • Judiciary would be made up of a national courts system. • System of checks and balances.

9. Powers • The national government would have the power to: • levy taxes. • Make laws for the nation. • Regulate Trade • Could also reject state laws that conflicted with national laws. • Had the authority and ability to force states to obey national laws.

10. New Jersey Plan • Some of the delegates believed the states would lose too much power under the Virginia Plan. • So, delegates from NJ (and elsewhere) came up with the New Jersey Plan. • Called for a government with all three branches.

11. Gave the government power to tax and regulate trade across all state lines. • The delegates drafting the plan wanted to give the states a strong role in the national government. • NJ Plan called for a unicameral legislature in which each state would only have one vote. (similar to Articles)

12. State legislature would have the authority to elect the national congress. • There would be no national legislature chosen directly by the people.

13. What happens? • June 19, 1787: A vote is taken on the plans. • The votes are by state delegation not per delegate. • Seven delegations vote Virginia Plan • Three vote New Jersey Plan • The other delegations were either split or didn’t vote. • But…

14. The Great Compromise • Although the majority did vote for the Virginia Plan, the smaller states were adamant about receiving equal power. • So the issue was debated for another month. • They came to an agreement that brought elements from both the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan together. • Adopted July 16, 1787

15. Bicameral Legislature • House of Representatives: Based on state population. • Members elected directly by the people. • Senate: Each state has two senators. • Senators were to be elected by state legislatures. • Both House and Senate would have to approve legislation by majority vote for something to become a law.

16. “A Bundle of Compromises” • The Great Compromise settled the major issues between the two plans. • Other difficult issues emerged. • Their resolution is known as a “bundle of compromises.”

17. Slavery • Slavery was already banned in some northern states. • They made up a considerable amount of the south’s population. • Southern delegates wanted slaves to be counted towards a state’s population. (For representative purposes) • Some northerners believed that slavery violated the natural rights of human beings.

18. Opponents to the south’s idea argued that because slaves had no legal rights they should not be counted towards the population. • Northerners realized they would need to compromise in order to ratify the new Constitution. • 3/5 Compromise

19. Trade • Southerners also feared that Congress would try to use its legislative powers to make importing slaves illegal. • Southerners also wanted to keep Congress from putting taxes on exports. (South depended on exports). • Delegates agreed that Congress would not be allowed to ban the importation of slaves before 1808. • Also, Congress would not be allowed to tax goods that were exported to other countries.

20. The Presidency • Debate over the way the President should be elected. Some believed he should be elected by the people, others argued it should be up to the states or national legislature. • The delegates decided the president should be chosen by state electors. • The number of state’s electors would match the number of representatives in both houses of Congress. • States could choose their electors by popular vote.

21. If no presidential candidate received a majority of electoral votes from the states, the House would choose the President.

22. August 1787, the delegates finished their work. • September 17, the majority of the delegates signed the new document. • The next step would be getting the states to ratify the Constitution. (Section 5)