the constitutional convention 1) more than the menace of anarchy, the crisis in interstate commerce...

The Constitutional Convention

1) More than the menace of anarchy, the crisis in interstate commerce threatened the break apart the informal union that had been created by the ineffective Articles of Confederation. A meeting would prove necessary to revise their form of government.

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Ex. – The state governments of Virginia and Maryland had reached an effective agreement concerning the navigation of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and wanted Pennsylvania and Delaware to join. However, such trade agreements were illegal without of the consent of the national Congress.


On May 25th, 1787, a very select and wealthy group of 55 delegates convened in Philadelphia and conducted very secretive debates concerning the future of the country. The delegates ignored their command of revising the Articles of Confederation and boldly proposed an entirely new form of government under a new Constitution.


6) Key Figures: A) George Washington –

lent his enormous prestige to the Convention by coming out of retirement to serve as its Chairman. He rarely involved himself in debate and his leadership and guidance helped to foster compromise in heated arguments.


B) Ben Franklin – at 81 years old was the eldest and most respected statesmen in America.


C) James Madison – a young Virginia legislator that so greatly contributed and influenced major debates during the convention that he is known as the “Father of the Constitution.” Madison was also the most disciplined note taker during the convention and is the key source for knowing what took place among the delegates that framed the Constitution.


D) Alexander Hamilton – a young New York delegate that was the strongest advocate for a strong centralized government that would be superior over the states.


E) George Mason – the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights that was very skeptical of making the national government more powerful than the state governments.


F) Governor Morris – a delegate from Pennsylvania that is responsible for writing major sections of the Constitution, including the famous opening phrases that are commonly known as the “Preamble.”


4) Many fiery Revolutionary leaders were absent from the Philadelphia Convention. (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Thomas Paine were in Europe; Samuel Adams and John Hancock were not chosen by the state of Massachusetts; and Patrick Henry was chosen by the Virginia legislature, but declined to attend, declaring that he “smelled a rat”)

Jefferson John Adams Paine S. Adams Henry


5) The Constitution amounted to a series of compromises that were forged between the competing factions that developed during the Philadelphia Convention. The resulting Constitution established a solid framework for American government that ensured its survival and endurance to this day.


9) Similar to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution only partially addressed several fundamental issues that would have to be decided by future generations.

Ex. – the future of slavery, the authority of the national government over the states (the power of the “Union”), the expansion of suffrage (the right to vote), etc.

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Constitutional Compromises

A) The Legislature

1) The national legislature (Congress) was the only branch of government created under the Articles of Confederation. Every state retained one vote despite the size of their respective populations. Congress was considered to be the most powerful branch of government because it had the ability to write laws but it would soon need change.

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A) The Legislature

3) The Virginia Plan was primarily developed by James Madison. It largely influenced the overall framework of the Constitution because it advocated the creation of a powerful central government with three separate branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.

Executive Legislative Judicial

A) The Legislature

4) For the organization of the national Congress, the Virginia Plan called for the creation of a two-house legislature (bi-cameral) where one house was elected directly by the people and the other was appointed by the state legislatures (state congresses).

A) The Legislature

54 According to the Virginia Plan, the number of representatives for each state in both houses of Congress would be based on a state’s population. Larger states like Virginia would obviously benefit from this plan because it would give them disproportionate control of the government.

A) The Legislature

5) Delegates from small states responded by proposing the New Jersey Plan. This called for a one house legislature (uni-cameral) with one representative per state. Representatives would be chosen by the state legislatures (state congresses) and would not be elected directly by the people.

A) The Legislature

7) The New Jersey Plan called for a national Congress very similar to the one created under the Articles of Confederation. The only change would be that the powers of the national Congress would be greatly expanded.

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A) The Legislature

8) The large state and small state controversy degenerated into a bitter dispute that threatened to leave the Philadelphia convention in complete deadlock. Roger Sherman of Connecticut helped to frame a workable compromise that masterfully combined portions of both plans.

A) The Legislature

9) The Connecticut Compromise = created a two-house congress that benefited both large and small states.

A) The Legislature

-THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (lower house) = Elected directly by the people and the number of representatives is based on a state’s population.

-THE SENATE (upper house) = Appointed by state legislatures (state congresses) and every state gets two senators.

B) The President

1) The most significant revision to the old Articles of Confederation was the addition of a strong executive branch to the national government. The office of President was created to ensure that the laws passed by the legislative branch would be executed and enforced.

B) The President

2) To eliminate suspicions of a monarchy, several provisions were included concerning the impeachment and removal of the President if they abused the power of their office.

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B) The President

3) The powers granted by Constitution were carefully divided among three different branches. An intricate system of checks and balances made the three branches dependent upon one another in order to prevent the government from becoming tyrannical.

B) The President

Ex. –Recognizing that human nature was corruptible, James Madison stated that, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” The government developed by the Framers of the Constitution was purposefully designed to counter mankind’s flaws. Madison explained that, “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”

B) The President

4) By retaining the power to veto laws passed by Congress, the President also served as an important check on the power of the legislative branch. As a balance to the veto power, Congress could override the President’s veto if the law was passed with a 2/3rds majority in both houses.

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B) The President

5) Some of the stronger advocates of a powerful central government like Alexander Hamilton argued that an elected President should serve for life on the basis of good behavior. However, most delegates to the Philadelphia convention believed this too closely resembled a monarchy and they agreed to limit the President to four year terms, but allowed for re-election

B) The President

6) Similar to the Senate, the President was to be elected by the state legislatures. Unlike the Senate, the President was indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College system. The Electoral College is based on a series of popular elections in the states to determine what candidate will be awarded that state’s electoral votes (based on the number of representatives and senators a state has.)

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B) The President

Ex. – Virginia is worth 13 electoral votes because it has 11 Representatives + 2 Senators

11+ 2 = 1313

C) Voting

1) The Electoral College system was also developed to prevent the direct election of the President by the people. The appointed state electors are intended to cast their vote for President according to the popular elections of their states, but they are not required to do so.

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C) Voting

2) State electors were nominated by the wealthy state legislatures and could serve as a guard against the whims and passions of the common voter if they elected a dangerous leader. They were concerned that the unrestrained and uneducated voice of the “mob” would radically alter the government and threaten their positions of power.

C) Voting

4) Ben Franklin was one of the few at the Philadelphia Convention that favored universal white male suffrage, but more conservative voices like Alexander Hamilton triumphed and ensured that only white male property owners would have the right to vote.

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C) Voting

5) Reflecting the fears of widespread democracy, the Constitution only allowed the House of Representatives to be directly elected by the people (white male property owners).

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D) Slavery

1) Despite movements to abolish slavery in many northern states, the Philadelphia Convention decided to preserve the institution in the hopes of preserving the “Union.” Unfortunately, regional unity outweighed concerns for justice and human dignity.

D) Slavery

Ex. – James Madison wrote that, “Great as the evil [of slavery] is, a dismemberment of the union would be worse.”

Ex. – Thomas Jefferson compared slavery to “holding a wolf by the ears- you didn’t like it, but by God you didn’t let go.”

D) Slavery

3) Not only did the South retain slavery, but it also wanted to count slaves as part of their populations. The North opposed this because slaves were not legally considered to be citizens.

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D) Slavery

4) A compromise between Northern and Southern delegates decided that slaves would be counted as 3/5ths of person when determining a state’s population = “The 3/5ths Compromise.”

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D) Slavery

5) Despite the continuance of slavery, Northern and Southern delegates agreed to end the slave trade in 1808.

E) State vs. National Authority

1) One area of general agreement among the convention delegates was that the national government should be greatly strengthened. It was generally accepted that the weak national Congress needed to have the power to regulate interstate commerce, establish uniform trade policies with foreign nations, and be able to collect tax revenue.


2) However, the convention delegates were divided over exactly how much power should be granted to the national government. More conservative delegates like Alexander Hamilton favored a system that resembled the British Parliament.


3) More moderate delegates favored a strengthening of the federal government, but worried that centralized authority would become oppressive and would destroy the several state governments.


5) To protect the position of the states, the delegates purposefully created a “federal” system that divided powers between the state and national governments.


A) Expressed Powers = Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution lists several powers specifically granted to the national government. (Ex. – declare war, levy and collect taxes, regulate interstate

commerce, etc.)


B) Reserved Powers = These are powers that are specifically reserved for the states.


C) Shared Powers = Several powers are shared by both the state and national governments (Ex. – levy and collect taxes, enforce laws, establish courts, etc.)


D) Implied Powers = The 18th power listed in Article I, Section 8 states that the national Congress can do all things “necessary and proper” in order to carry out its expressed powers. National authority has been greatly expanded through “implied powers” that have been interpreted to fall under the Necessary and Proper Clause. (a.k.a. – the Elastic Clause)


6) The Supremacy Clause - despite the establishment of a federal system that shared powers with the states, the Constitution also clearly declares that national law is supreme over state law.


7) However, the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, passed as a part of the Bill of Rights, states that all powers not specifically granted to the national government are reserved for the states.


8) The Constitution is not entirely clear concerning conflicting laws between the national and state governments. The authority of the national government over the states comes from very vague portions of the Constitution.

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9) The “Union” created by the Constitution undeniably created a powerful national government, but its supremacy over the states remained untested.

Groups

Brooke Showalter

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B. Adams

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Rachel Clatterbuck

Jack Darrah

Makalyn Nesselrodt

Groups

• Avianna Terschueren• McKenzie Jenkins• Hunter Garrison

• Wes Eichlin• Matt Weston• Jose Vargas

• Irene Hamilton• Derek Elliot• Mitch Kincaid

Hannah Fowler

Adam Duncan

Reed Miller

Nic Halvorsen

Rema Dixon

Will Houff

Partners

Claire Sheikl

David Hinkle

Jenna Price

Sierra Hepner

Elizabeth Dofflemyer

Hannah Bailey

Christian Lucas

Eli Haag

Ratification

1) After nearly five months of debate and compromise, the Constitution was adopted by the delegates of the Philadelphia Convention. Only forty-two of the original fifty-five delegates remained to sign the Constitution. The new system of government was adopted by a vote of 39 with three refusing to sign.

Ratification

2) Despite the requirement for a unanimous vote to amend the Articles of Confederation, the Convention delegates mandated that the Constitution would become the supreme law of the land when nine states voted to ratify it through specially elected conventions. (a 2/3rds majority)

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Ratification

3) State conventions required that each state had to elect delegates to debate the Constitution and decide if that state would ratify the new system of government.

Ratification

4) Heated debates flared throughout America and many leaders were reluctant to sacrifice so much state sovereignty to the new national government. Two key factions emerged over the Constitutional debate, the pro-ratification Federalists and the Anti-Federalist opposition.

THE FEDERALISTSTHE FEDERALISTS THE ANTI-FEDERALISTSTHE ANTI-FEDERALISTS

The Federalists

1) Leaders: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and Ben Franklin.

The Federalists

2) The Federalists supported the ratification of the Constitution and took their name from the new “federal” system that it sought to establish.

The Federalists

3) The Federalists tended to be wealthier and were concentrated along the eastern seaboard because of their involvement in trade, commerce, and industry.

The Federalists

4) In addition to the advantage of wealth and influence, they also controlled a great majority of the newspapers and were better organized than their Anti-Federalist opposition.

The Anti-Federalists

1) Leaders: Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, George Mason, and Samuel Adams.


2) The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the Constitution because they feared a strong central government and favored greater states’ rights.

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3) Anti-Federalists tended to be rural farmers concentrated in western areas and they were less educated and poorer than the average Federalist.


4) They saw the Constitution as a backlash of wealthy conservatives against the egalitarian spirit of the Revolution. They feared that the Constitution would create a more aristocratic government that favored wealth.

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17871787 17761776


5) Without the protection of a Bill of Rights, the Anti-Federalists also worried that the new central government would easily suppress the rights and liberties of the people.

The National Debate

1) After state conventions were elected, a fierce debate over the Constitution began in the fall of 1787. Four small states almost immediately ratified the new government.

The National Debate

6) When New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify, and the Constitution was adopted, many undecided Virginians now tipped the scales in favor ratification in a close vote of 89 to 79.

The National Debate

7) To overcome the strong Anti-Federalists odds in New York, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay secretly authored a series of essays known as the “Federalist Papers” to make stirring arguments in support of the Constitution.

Madison Hamilton Jay

The National Debate

8) Over 85 Federalist Papers were published in New York newspapers and many believed that this helped to narrowly win ratification in the slim vote of 30 to 27.

The National Debate

9) In 1789, George Washington was elected as the first President with the new Constitution firmly in place. This new system had fundamentally redefined the role of American government.

the constitutional convention 1) more than the menace of anarchy, the crisis in interstate commerce...

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