The Constitution and Compromises

The Constitution andCompromises

Call for ConventionWhy did the convention take place?• Trade between the states led to arguments

over taxes on goods • Shays’s Rebellion – a protest from farmers

who fought during the Revolutionary War that came back home facing heavy taxes to pay for the war. They couldn’t afford the taxes and might lose their farms to creditors.

• The first challenges to the Articles of Confederation had happened

The Convention

• The Philadelphia Convention took place in May 1787• Representatives were there from 12

of the 13 states (all except Rhode Island)• Delegates were lawyers, merchants

and planters• Some attenders were: Benjamin

Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, James Madison, and Roger Sherman

Issues at the Convention• George Washington wanted the

meeting to be private so the representatives could be honest• Some of the big problems discussed

were:•Small States vs. Large States •Regional Differences

Small States vs. Large States• Delegates from small states were

worried that large states would control government. • The delegates needed to address the

issue with a plan that both small and large states could accept.

Regional Differences• Representatives from New England

and the Middle states were focused on farming and trade• Representatives from Southern states

were focused on cash crops and slavery• The representatives needed to come

up with plans that would include both of these issues.

Plans for Representation

• The issue of Representation between the small states and the large states was the first thing discussed

•The Virginia Plan – Proposed legislature with two houses with representatives based on population (small states did not like this plan)

•The New Jersey Plan – Proposed one house with each state having equal number of representatives (large states did not like this plan)

Great Compromise• Roger Sherman suggested the Great

Compromise• This plan combined the Virginia and New

Jersey Plans in a way that everyone could accept.• This plan offered:• A two-house Congress

(Senate and House of Representatives)•Senate would have equal representation•House of Representatives would be based on population•Representatives to both houses would be elected by the people

The Three-Fifths Compromise• The issue of representation had been

addressed but now the issue of slaves and representation had to be addressed. • The Three-Fifths Compromise agreed

that 3/5 of a state’s slaves would be counted as part of the population for representation and taxation.

The Slave Trade• The issue of counting the slaves had

been addressed but the issue of the slave trade had not.

• The slave trade had stopped during the Revolutionary War and Southern states were ready to start it again

• Southern states were afraid Congress would stop the slave trade if it were allowed to regulate trade

• The compromise allowed Federal Government to regulate trade but prevented it from ending the slave trade for 20 years.

Read “One American’s Story” on page 132 and answer the following questions._____1. What did Daniel Shays’s do for a living?A. A general B. A farmer C. A politician

_____2. Why was he on the brink of failure? A. He owed a lot of tax money B. He gambled his farm C. His crops had died

_____3. What did he have “too little” of? A. Crops B. Training C. Paper money

_____4. Why did farmers want the courts closed? A. So they could control trade B. To stop the taxes C. To stop the army

_____5. What happened when the farmers asked the courts to help them? A. They put them in jail B. They agreed to help them C. They did not help

_____6. What is a creditor?A. A person who owes money B. A person you owe money to C. A member of Congress

_____7. How many farmers did Shays lead in the rebellion? A. 1,000 B. 10,000 C. 1,200

_____8. What did the revolt by the farmers mean? A. That the government was doing a good jobB. That the government was making good decisionsC. That the government had problems

_____9. What does “discontent” mean? A. Not happy B. Happy C. Disappeared

_____10. Where did Daniel Shays live? A. Maryland B. Washington C. Massachusetts

One American’s Story – Daniel ShaysDaniel Shays was angry. A veteran of the Revolutionary War battles at

Bunker Hill and Saratoga, he had returned to his farm in western Massachusetts. Because of the heavy debt that he carried, however, he faced debtors’ prison. After risking his life in the Revolutionary War, he was not on the brink of failure. The problem for Shays was the he was the victim of too much taxation and too little paper money with which to pay his taxes.

Like Shays, many farmers in Massachusetts had reached the breaking point in 1786. People in the coastal towns, where merchants had sold goods to farmers on credit, had pushed through a state tax that fell heavily on farmers in the western part of the state. The farmers petitioned the assembly for relief but their please fell on deaf ears. The assembly included only a few representatives from western Massachusetts.

All through the summer and fall of 1786, farmers kept demanding the courts be closed so they would not lose their farms to creditors. Their discontent boiled over into mob action in January of 1787 when Daniel Shays led a motley army of 1,200 farmers in forcing the courts to close. Shays’s army then marched through the snow toward the arsenal at Springfield.

State officials hurriedly called out the militia to head off the army of farmers. Four of the rebels were killed and the rest were scattered. Clearly, though, if farmers were rebelling, there was something seriously wrong with the new government.

Read the “Key Conflicts in the Constitutional Convention” chart on page 134 and answer the following questions._____1. Who believed that slaves should not be counted when deciding the number of congressional delegates?A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States

_____2. Who believed that authority should come from the states?A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States

_____3. Who believed Congress should be composed of 2 houses?A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States

_____4. Who believed Congress should be composed of 1 house?A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States

_____5. Who believed slaves should not be counted when levying taxes?A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States

_____6. Who believed each state should have one vote?A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States

_____7. Who believed the central government should be stronger than the states?A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States

_____8. Who believed that slaves should be counted when determining congressional representation?A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States

_____9. Who believed states should remain stronger than the central government?A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States

_____10. Who believed delegates to both houses should be based on population?A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States

What do you remember?