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Page history last edited by Robert W. Maloy 8 months ago
Mural of the The Constitutional Convention at the United States Capitol
Topics on the Page
Overview of the Convention
Distribution of Power
The
Great Compromise
Slavery
Rights of States
Rights of Individuals
Women's Rights
Important Leaders
CROSS-LINK: Constitutional Convention and the Founders
Focus Question: Who were the various leaders at the Constitutional Convention and what were their major debates?
Overview of the Convention
| Washington at the Constitutional Convention. Painting by Junius Brutus Stearns, 1856 |
List of The
Signers of the Constitution by state.
Click here for a SchoolHouse Rock video about the Preamble to the Constitution.
Follow this link to review the everything that was just covered, including the Articles of Confederation and why it didn't work, how the founders compromised on the constitution, the issue of slavery, federalists and antifederalists, and the process of the ratification of the constitution.
Constitution of the United States: Fast Facts
In 1787, delegates from the various states met in Philadelphia for what is now known as the Constitutional Convention. These delegates sought to unify the states by creating a constitution that would bring the states together under a cohesive government.
Many debates took place at the Constitutional Convention over how the new government should operate.
The Assembly Room, Independence Hall
Distribution of Political Power
The delegates from the various states were divided over how political power should be distributed. Two different plans of governmental structure were discussed.
The first plan proposed was the Virginia Plan, which called for a two house legislature (law making bodies), a chief executive (president), and a court system. Our modern government is based in large part on this plan except in regard to legislative representation. The Virginia Plan held that state representation in the legislature should be proportional to its population - this meant states with large populations would have more representation than states with small populations.
Those who didn’t like the Virginia Plans supported the New Jersey Plan. The New Jersey Plan called for a one house legislature where representation would be equal for all of the states. The larger states tended to support the Virginia Plan, while the smaller states supported the New Jersey Plan.
Click here for a learning plan about distribution of power and the Constitutional Convention.
The Great Compromise
Bickering between the various states over representation in the potential government almost ruined the conference. As a result, Benjamin Franklin created a committee to try and resolve conflicts relating to representation. Roger Sherman proposed a compromise between the Virginia and New Jersey Plans. This compromise consisted of having two houses – one based on proportional representation and the other based on equal representation. This comprise paved the way for the way for the United States Congress.
Map of the the number and percent of slaves in each of the 13 colonies in 1770
Slavery
The delegates also fought over whether slaves should be counted as part of the population when determining representation in Congress.
- The southern states (where slaves made up a significant portion of the population) wanted them to count solely because it would give them more representation in Congress.
- The northern states thought it was absurd that slaves would be counted since legally they were considered property, not citizens. Of course, no one considered making African-Americans full-fledged citizens.
- The second aspect of the “Great Compromise” was to address this debate over whether or not slaves should be counted for determining representation.
- The committee decided on what is called the Three-Fifths compromise: slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of determining representation and taxes.
For more, see The Slavery Compromises
Slavery, the Constitution and a Lasting Legacy, from James Madison's Montpelier website
Slavery FAQs--Property, from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello website
Rights of States
After the Constitutional Convention a great debate took place over whether or not the states should ratify the document that had been produced. Some Americans in this era were concerned about adopting the constitution because it would create a strong federal government and decrease the power of the various states. Individuals who opposed the adoption of the Constitution – for example, Patrick Henry - are known as Anti-Federalists. Those who supported creating a strong national government by adopting the new constitution were the Federalists. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay advocated the Federalist point of view.
Rights of individuals
Many of the new state constitutions specifically addressed the rights of individuals. However, the Constitutional Convention did not specifically address the rights of individuals. Many of the delegates simply assumed that the carefully crafted system of government they just created would in and of itself protect citizens from government abuses. In 1791, the constitution was be amended to include ten amendments that specifically address the rights of individuals – these amendments are collectively called the Bill of Rights.
Native Americans and the Constitutional Convention
Click this link to see how Native Americans were fit into the constitution and why.
This article provides information on how the Founders at the Constitutional Convention drew from Native American forms of government, especially the Iroquois Confederacy, to create the Constitution.
Women's Rights in regards to the Constitutional Convention
Did the American Revolution Change the Role of Women in Society? History in Dispute (Vol. 12)
The Constitutional Status of Women in 1787
Benjamin Franklin
| Benjamin Franklin |
Benjamin Franklin played a critical role in helping resolve conflicts that emerged at the Constitutional Convention.
He spearheaded a committee that helped solve debates between the various states over representation in the potential government.
The committee was successful in resolving these conflicts by getting the delegates from the different states to compromise.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
James Madison
James Madison played a critical role in writing the constitution.
- Madison wrote the Virginia Plan, which was presented by Edmund Randolph during the convention. He defended the constitution with great fervor during the process of state ratification.
- He wrote the majority of the Federalist Papers, which were a series of articles that presented argument in favor of ratifying the constitution.
- Madison authored the Bill of Rights - the first ten constitutional amendments which protect individuals form government abuses of power.
Alexander Hamilton
| Alexander Hamilton |
Alexander Hamilton was one of the New York delegates at the constitutional convention.
- Hamilton supported the constitution and campaigned for its ratification.
- He was one of the main authors of the Federalist Papers.
George Washington
George Washington was a delegate at the Constitutional
Convention.
- Washington thought the Articles of Confederation were too weak (in light of Shays’s Rebellion) and that there needed to be a stronger federal government. This motivated him to support the Constitution.
| George Washington |
Bibliography
Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University, (2006). TeachingAmericanHistory.org . Retrieved April 8, 2007, Web site: //teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/
Steve, Mount (1995). Retrieved April 8, 2007, from USConstitution.net Web site: //www.usconstitution.net/index.html
Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention. Retrieved April 8, 2007, from The Library of Congress Web site: //memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/continental/
Explore the Constitution. Retrieved April 8, 2007, from National Constitution Center Web site: //www.constitutioncenter.org/explore/Welcome/index.shtml
Constitution of the United States. Retrieved April 8, 2007, from The National Archives Experience Web site: //www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution.html
//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Slavery_in_the_13_colonies.jpg
Image IDs from left to right
1. Constitutional Convention Wikimedia Commons, "Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States".
2. Slavery in Virginia Wikimedia Commons, "Virginia one hundred years ago
2".
3. Bill of Rights Wikimedia Commons, "Bill of Rights Pg1of1 AC".
4. Benjamin Franklin Wikimedia Commons, "BenFranklinDuplessis".
5. James
Madison Wikimedia Commons, "James Madison".
6. Alexander Hamilton Wikimedia Commons, "Alexander Hamilton".
7. George Washington Wikimedia Commons, "George Washington as CIC of the
Continental Army bust".