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• Essential Question:–What compromises were needed in
order to create the U.S. Constitution?
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 supremacy clause establishes the
Constitution (not the states) as the "the
supreme law of the land"
The Constitution was a radical shift from the AOC
because it gave more power to the national gov’t
than to the state gov’ts
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
Like the AOC, the gov’t had
a Congress (legislative branch)
to make laws
Unlike the AOC, the new gov’t had a president
(executive branch) to lead the nation and enforce laws
passed by Congress
Unlike the AOC, the new gov’t had a court system (judicial
branch) to interpret laws and prosecute federal crimes
Unlike the AOC, Congress had the power to tax &
coin money
Delegates at the Constitutional Convention agreed on some major philosophical ideas for
the new national 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
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
Critical Thinking Question A:
Large States vs. Small States
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
Critical Thinking Question B: Southern Slave States vs. Northern Free States
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
Critical Thinking Question C: To End Slavery or Not
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
James Madison negotiated and wrote much of the framework
of the new government and is referred to as the “father of
the Constitution”
Closure ActivityFor:
–The Great Compromise –Three Fifths Compromise–Separation of Powers/limited government
Create a chart displaying the following: 1. What was the issue? 2. What were the options presented?
3. What final agreements were made