Problems and Solutions�The Constitutional Convention

EQ: “How did the major issues and compromises of the Constitutional Convention evolve?”

The War Is Over!

• Just because the war was over, didn’t mean we automatically became the UNITED States of America.
• Each state wanted to be separate and rule themselves
• The states formed a FEDERATION – or a “league of friendship”
• They agreed to send members to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia to help make decisions for the country
• However, they didn’t call themselves Americans and they saw their state as more important than the country as a whole

Constitutional Convention

• The Constitutional Convention began on May 14, 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 55 men were in attendance including George Washington, James Madison, and Ben Franklin
• The government was not functioning properly and they needed to brainstorm ways to fix our country

​

Problems & Solutions

There are 3 big problems the Founders have to solve:

• Branches & Representation
• Executive Branch
• Slavery & Representation

You will be assigned to a problem. With your group, you will take the notes on your notes sheet. We will rotate when Ms. Clayton says to rotate.

​

When we have rotated to all three stations, you and your group need to discuss the following:

• Do the big states or the small states win in these solutions? Explain why. Your group will have to present their answer to the class.

Problem – Branches & Representation

• Each state would elect people, or representatives, to serve for their state in the national government
• How many representatives should each state have in the national government?
• Bigger states wanted representation to be based off of a states population
• The smaller states were afraid the large states would become too powerful with this method
• They wanted equal representation for all states

​

Problem – Branches & Representation

• The Virginia Plan
• Edmund Randolph
• Representation would be based on population
• The bigger the state, the more representatives you would have

Head of the Government

2 Groups

• The House of Representatives
• The Senate

Court System

Problem – Branches & Representation

• The New Jersey Plan
• William Patterson
• This plan is based on equality
• Representation would be equal – every state getting the same number of votes

Many leaders of the government

One group

Solution – Branches & Representation

• They called the solution THE GREAT COMPROMISE
• It combined both plans
• First, they would create 3 separate, but equal branches of government

Solution – Branches & Representation

• The first branch to get some work was the Legislative Branch
• They created a Bicameral (2 Group) Congress
• The groups are known as Houses
• 1^st House – The Senate
• Representation is equal
• Two people per state
• 2^nd House – The House of Representatives
• Representation is based on population
• The larger the state the more representatives
• These two houses make the government’s laws

​

Problem – Executive Branch

• Who is going to run the country?
• Fear of Kings
• No more Monarchs, like King George III
• How long should this person rule?
• Should they be paid? How much?
• What powers should they have?
• Do they need to be a citizen?
• What happens if this person is guilty of misconduct?

​

Solution – The Executive Branch

• President and Vice President would run the county
• The Vice President would be the president of the Senate
• Together, they would serve a 4 year term
• The executive branch would be elected by the electoral college – a group of people that represented each state
• The president and vice president can be impeached for misconduct
• Impeachment: The process of accusing a public official of wrongdoing
• They would be paid from the U.S. Treasury

Problem – Slavery & Representation

• How should the number of enslaved people within a state count towards a state’s population?
• This could affect representation in the legislative branch
• The bigger the population, the more representatives you have, the larger say your state has in the government
• The South had many more enslaved people than the North
• The South was a farming/ plantation economy
• Many also questioned the existence of the slave trade

Problem – Slavery

Problem – Slavery

• Based on the chart above, why would the Southern States want to include the slaves in their state in their total population?

​

• Which particular states would benefit the most by including slaves in the population? How did you arrive at this answer?

​

• What is the total population in the colonies in 1790?

​

• What is the total slave population in the colonies in 1790?

​

​

Solution – Slavery & Representation

• The solution was the 3/5s Compromise
• 3 out of every 5 slaves would be counted in a states population which would affect their taxation as well as government representation
• The second solution was outlawing the Slave Trade
• Many northern states had already outlawed the practice of slavery by this point
• Many southern states wanted to keep the practice of slavery
• The Compromise? The slave trade would be abolished in 1808.
• It is currently 1787

​

Ratification of the Constitution

• On September 17, 1787 a majority of the delegates signed the Constitution that they had labored over since May.
• In order for the Constitution to go into effect, nine states needed to sign off on it
• Any state that didn’t sign off on the Constitution after the 9^th state would not be apart of the United States until they signed
• All states would hold a Ratification Convention and vote on the Constitution

​

Ratify means to approve of something.

Ratification of the Constitution

In order to get ratified, the Constitution needed 9/13 states to support it.

• Delaware ratified the Constitution first, four months after it was created
• New Hampshire was the 9^th state to ratify the Constitution and created the United States
• Rhode Island was the last, and only ratified because the other states said they would begin to treat them as a foreign country

Impeachment/ Impeach

The process of accusing a public official of wrongdoing

​

Checks and Balances

• The government is divided into branches (or sections) and each branch can check, or control, the other branches

​

• Extra Info: Checks and balances are in place to ensure the government does not get too powerful

Popular Sovereignty

• A government in which people rule
• Extra Info: In the Constitution, it explains that the government gets its power from the people – VOTE!

Federalism

• A system of government where power is shared between a national government and state governments
• Extra Info: The Constitution states that power is shared between the STATES and the NATIONAL government

Separation of Powers

Separation of Powers means that the government is divided into three separate branches with specific jobs.

• Legislative
• Judicial
• Executive

​