Creating the Constitution A Bundle of Compromises The

Creating the Constitution A Bundle of Compromises

The Framers �Constitutional Convention May 25, 1787 �Fifty-five delegates in attendance �Characteristics �Most fought in Revolutionary War �Eight signed Declaration of Independence � 34 attended college (rare accomplishment)

A New Government �George Washington elected to serve as president of the convention �Procedural Rules �Majority of state delegations present to conduct business. �Each delegation had one vote �A majority vote would carry a proposal

Virginia Plan �Government with three branches � legislative � executive �judicial �Congress would be bicameral �Representation based on population �Same powers as under the Articles of Confederation �Power to make States obey federal law �Congress would elect President and Judiciary

New Jersey Plan �Congress would be unicameral �Equal representation for all states �Congress would have more limited powers �Executive branch would be a committee chosen by Congress �Executive committee would appoint a supreme tribunal to be federal judiciary

Connecticut Compromise �A. k. a. Great Compromise �Small states feared the larger states would dominate under the Virginia Plan �Bicameral legislature � House of Representatives based on population � Senate based on equal representation for each state

Three-Fifths Compromise �Southern States wanted to count slaves as part of the state population �Would give them much larger population thus more power in Congress �Compromise was to count a slave a 3/5 of a person when determining population for representation

Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise �Southern states wanted to protect their agricultural exports and the slave trade from regulation by Congress �Congress can not tax exports �Could not interfere with the slave trade until 1808. �Issue of Slavery �Came up during convention – Slavery was more common in the South than North � Every state except Massachusetts allowed slavery at the time.

Bundle of Compromises �Framers had to resolve disputes involving such issues as: �Structure of the Government �Regional differences among states �Method of choosing the President �How to amend the Constitution �Limits of Federal powers

Approval �Constitution was approved on September 17, 1787 �Constitution required 9 of the 13 states to approve before going into effect. �Ratified when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify – March 1788.

What compromises enabled the framers to create the Constitution? �The Connecticut Compromise – �Dealt with how to determine the representation in Congress �The Three Fifths Compromise �Dealt with the issue of slavery and the census �Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise �Addressed northern and southern disagreements about foreign trade.