Essential Question: –What compromises were needed in order to create the U.S. Constitution?

• 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