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Constitutional Convention:Philadelphia 1787

Web quest: Day 3

Today’s Agenda• Today in History• New Jersey and Virginia Plan• The Three Branches • Constitutional Convention Web Quest

Today in HistoryNovember 12, 2010

• 1927: Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.

• 1942: The World War II naval Battle of Guadalcanal began.

• 1954: Ellis Island closed after processing more than 20 million immigrants since opening in New York Harbor in 1892.

• 1997: Ramzi Yousef was found guilty of masterminding the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

BirthdaysElizabeth Cady Stanton (1815 – 1902)Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917)Grace Kelly (1929 – 1982)Neil Young (1945 - )Ryan Gosling (1980 - )

The 3/5 Compromise• The North would like to count slaves for

purposes of taxation• The South would like to count slaves for

representation in CongressThe Compromise• Goes back to the Northwest Ordinance

Compromise created under the Articles of Confederation– Slaves will be counted as 3/5 of a person for

purposes of taxation and representation

Comparison of Virginia and New Jersey Plans

Provisions Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan

Central Government

Strong Strong

# of Branches 3 3

Congress BicameralVoters directly elect

members of the lower house. The lower house

would choose members of the upper house.

UnicameralRepresentatives would be

chosen by state governments

# of Representatives Determined by

Population Equal # for each state

Favored Large States Small States

The Great CompromiseProvisions Compromise

Branches 3

Legislature BicameralHouse of RepresentativesSenate

Election of Representatives

House: directly elected by the peopleSenate: chosen by state legislatures (Amendment 17 1913)

Representatives Determined By

House: populationSenate: 2 per state

The Federalist-Anti-Federalist Debate• The Anti-Federalists did not want to ratify the Constitution. Basically, they

argue that: – It gave too much power to the national government at the expense of the state

governments. – There was no bill of rights. – The national government could maintain an army in peacetime. – Congress, because of the `necessary and proper clause,' wielded too much power. – The executive branch held too much power.

• The Federalists, on the other hand, had answers to all of the Anti-Federalist complaints. Among them: – The separation of powers into three independent branches protected the rights of

the people. Each branch represents a different aspect of the people, and because all three branches are equal, no one group can assume control over another.

– A listing of rights can be a dangerous thing. If the national government were to protect specific listed rights, what would stop it from violating rights other than the listed ones? Since we can't list all the rights, the Federalists argued that it's better to list none at all.

Separation of PowersSeparation of Powers: the division of governmental power into distinct

areas with different branches of government exercising different powers; prevents one branch from becoming too powerful

Checks and Balances: a system established by the Constitution that prevents any branch of government from becoming too powerful

Legislative Branch– Makes Laws– Article I

Executive Branch– Enforces Laws– Article II

Judicial Branch– Can strike down a law as unconstitutional– Article III

Constitutional Convention: Web quest

• Continue to work with the delegates from your state today

• Go to the wiki:– http://8yellowsocialstudies.pbworks.com – Go to the Constitution and Law page– Click on the web quest link

• Our debate– Will you sign the Constitution?