Government Creating the Constitution Origins of American Government

Government Creating the Constitution Origins of American Government Learning Unit Mrs. Deming

Constitutional Convention n Movement towards change n 55 out of 74 delegates attended n Framers = delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention n n Leaders = George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison n James Madison known as the “Father of the Constitution”—author of original ideas Public & Press forbidden from attending

Key Agreements n Limited Government n Representative Government n Separation of Powers

Virginia Plan n Proposal based on three principles: n n n Strong legislature w/ 2 chambers—lower chosen by the people and the upper chosen by the lower Strong executive (President) chosen by legislature Judiciary appointed by the legislature

Virginia Plan n n Smaller states did not support Realized that the more populous states would be in control

New Jersey Plan n Keeping unicameral legislature— 1 vote per state More than one executive elected by Congress Debate between two plans--representation

Connecticut Compromise n Issue of representation solved n House—based on population n Senate— 2 members from each state

Three-Fifths Compromise n n 1/3 of the population in the South were slaves—do they count? Compromise = 3/5 of the slave population would be counted for tax purposes and representation

Slavery Issue in the Constitution n n Issue of slavery was NOT addressed in the Constitution The leaders knew the Southern states would not support if they addressed the issue of slavery

Other Compromises & Issues n n n Electoral College—how the President is elected Federalists = favored the Constitution Anti-Federalists = opposed the Constitution, lacked a Bill of Rights

Leadership n n George Washington—Elected our country’s 1 st President John Adams—elected 1 st Vice President