Chapter 2: Origins of American Government�Section 4

Objectives

• Identify the Framers of the Constitution and discuss how they organized the Philadelphia Convention.
• Compare and contrast the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan.
• Summarize the convention’s major compromises and the effects of those decisions.
• Describe the delegates’ reactions to the Constitution.

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Chapter 2, Section 4

Key Terms

• Framers: the individuals who attended the Philadelphia Convention
• Virginia Plan: a plan offered at the Convention that called for a central government with three branches, with each state’s representation in a bicameral legislature based mainly on population
• New Jersey Plan: a plan calling for a central government with a unicameral legislature and equal representation of all the states.

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Key Terms, cont.

• Connecticut Compromise: an agreement to divide Congress into two houses, one with representation based on state population and one with equal representation for all states
• Three-Fifths Compromise: an agreement to count each slave as three fifths of a person when determining state population
• Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise: an agreement forbidding Congress from taxing state exports or interfering with the slave trade for at least 20 years

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Introduction

• What compromises enabled the Framers to create the Constitution?

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• The Connecticut Compromise
• This compromise dealt with how to determine the representation of states in the national legislature.
• The Three-Fifths Compromise
• This compromise dealt with issues arising from slavery.
• The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
• This compromise addressed northern and southern disagreements about foreign trade.

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The Framers

• The Constitutional Convention began on �May 25, 1787, with 55 delegates.

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• These individuals, called the Framers, came from many backgrounds:
• Many had fought in the Revolutionary War.
• Eight had signed the Declaration of Independence.
• 34 had attended college at a time when it was a rare achievement.
• Two would become President, one a Vice President, nineteen a U.S. Senator, and thirteen a member of the House of Representatives.

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A New Government

• The Framers elected George Washington as president of the convention and set up procedural rules.

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• A majority of state delegations would need to be present to conduct business.
• Each delegation would have one vote.
• A majority vote would carry a proposal.

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A New Government, cont.

• Then, on May 30th, the Framers made their biggest decision: to replace the Articles of Confederation rather than amend them.
• James Madison (right) was a major figure in the movement to replace the Constitution.

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The Virginia Plan

• This plan called for a government with a legislative, executive, and judicial branch.

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• Congress would have two houses, with representation based on state population or the money given to the central government.
• Congress would have more power than it had under the Articles.
• It would be able to force states to obey federal law.
• The members of Congress would elect a national executive and judiciary.
• These two branches would form a council that could veto acts passed by Congress.

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The New Jersey Plan

• This plan proposed a much different organization of the three branches.
• Congress would have a single house with equal representation for each state.
• This Congress would have more limited powers than under the Virginia Plan.
• There would be an executive committee of several people, chosen by Congress.
• At the request of a majority of state governors, Congress could remove members of this committee.
• The executive committee would appoint a supreme tribunal to be the federal judiciary.

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Connecticut Compromise

• Checkpoint: What was the Connecticut Compromise?

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• Small states feared that larger states would dominate them under the Virginia Plan.
• The Connecticut Compromise, also called the Great Compromise, solved this dispute.
• In the House of Representatives, each state would be represented according to its population.
• In the Senate, each state would have equal representation.

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Additional Compromises

• Southern states wanted to count slaves as part of the state population. Northern states did not.

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• The Three-Fifths Compromise counted each slave as three-fifths of a person when figuring representation in Congress.

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Additional Compromises, cont.

• Southern states wanted to protect their agricultural exports and the slave trade from regulation by Congress.

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• Under the Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise, Congress could not tax state exports or interfere with the slave trade until 1808.

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The Issue of Slavery

• Disputes over slavery during the Convention arose because slavery was far more common in the agricultural South than in the more industrial North.

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• However, slavery was legal in every states except Massachusetts.

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A Bundle of Compromises

• Checkpoint: Why was the Constitution called a “bundle of compromises”?
• The Framers had to resolve disputes involving such issues as:
• The exact structure of the new government
• Regional differences among the states
• The method of choosing the President
• How to amend the Constitution
• The limits on federal powers
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• The Constitution they approved on September 17, 1787, has thus been called a “bundle of compromises.”

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Review

• Now that you have learned what compromises enabled the Framers to create the Constitution, go back and answer the Chapter Essential Question.
• How does the Constitution reflect the times in which it was written?

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Chapter 2, Section 4