Chapter 5 Section 2

‘Drafting the Constitution’

CREDITORS vs. DEBTORS
Continental Soldiers returned home from the war
unable to pay their taxes/loans. Many had taken loans
from creditors to maintain farms, livestock, etc.
Many soldiers did not receive pay from Continental Army.
All states governments were in debt and levied high
taxes on citizens.
Economic depression

Farmers who did not repay their debt were subjected to

debtor’s prison or loss of property/possessions to repay
debts.

Farmers believed they were the victims of too much

taxation.
 Farmers are fed up!
Shays Rebellion: Approximately 1200
Massachusetts farmers rebel and force
MA state courts to shut down in
response to state courts seizing MA
famers’ property, livestock, and crops
for not paying off their debt.

Daniel Shays: the leader of the

rebellion marched the mob to the
federal arsenal in Springfield, MA to
overthrow the Massachusetts State
House. The rebels were eventually
stopped by the Mass. Militia. The
rebellion scared state governments.
The Articles of
Confederation
FAILS
All 13 states were concerned
about possible rebellions by
citizens or those states.
George Washington and
others knew that the Articles
of Confederation had to be
altered.
- Trade problems between
the states led to quarrels
over taxes.
Nationalists
Call for
Convention
- Alexander Hamilton & James
Madison led a meeting in
Annapolis, Maryland along with
delegates from 5 other states to
discuss the problems with the
Articles of Confederation.
- The delegates at the meeting
decided to meet in Philadelphia
in the summer of 1787. 12 out of
the 13 states would send
delegates to Philadelphia to
meet and fix the Articles of
Confederation.
Highlights of
the Convention
May 1787: 55 delegates from
12 states (lawyers, merchants,
planters, & doctors) met in
the Philadelphia State House
throughout the entire
summer.
Men such as Benjamin
Franklin, Alexander Hamilton,
James Madison, and George
Washington were influential
in creating the new
government.
 eh o lder o r cl ick ico n to add
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CONFLICT LEADS TO COMPROMISE

Delegates decide that the Articles of Confederation could NOT be
fixed. They decided that they needed to start over and make a new
government.
 Debating the Central Issue(s)

Conflict 1 = States’ Rights:

delegates feared giving too much power to the federal
government but also knew that a weak central
government would not work.

Conflict 2 = Protecting the Rights of the People:

delegates wanted to ensure that no particular group,
(wealthy landowners/merchants) dominated another
group (small farmers/workers). The rights of the
(minority of people) and (majority of people) must be
protected.
 Big States vs. Small States
Virginia Plan
(Big States)

- Virginia Plan: proposed by James

Madison (The Father of the Constitution).
o Proposed a bicameral (2 House)
legislature
o Voters would elect members of the
lower house
o Members of the lower house would
elect members of the upper house
o Both houses would elect the country’s
president & judges
* VA Plan gave the 4 largest states a
majority in both houses
Representation based on
population
 New Jersey Plan
(Small States)

New Jersey Plan: proposed by

William Paterson and delegates from
smaller states.
o Proposed a single House Congress
o Every state had an equal vote in
Congress
 Great Compromise
Great Compromise or Connecticut Compromise: was proposed
by delegate Roger Sherman from Connecticut
o 2-House Congress to satisfy both small/big states
o Each state would have equal representation in the Senate
o Size of the population of each state would determine its
representation in the House of Reps.
o Great Compromise allowed people to be directly related in
choosing representatives
 Slavery-Related Issues
-Representation based on population raised question of slavery.
-Southern Delegates wanted whose states had a large number of slaves,
wanted slaves included in the population count that determined the
number of representatives in the House.
- Northern delegates, who’s states had few slaves, argued against counting
slaves as part of the population. Not counting them would give the northern
states more representatives than the southern states in the House of Rep.
- The 3/5ths Compromise called for 3/5ths of a states’ slaves to be counted
as population.
- Congress agreed to not interfere with the slave trade for at least 20 years.
 CREATING A NEW
GOVERNMENT
Division of Power: delegates divided power between the states
and the national government.

Separation of Powers: delegates national government was

separated into 3 branches:
Executive Branch (The President)
Legislative Branch (House of Representatives & Senate)
Judicial Branch (Supreme Court)
Separation of Powers
(The Federal Government)
 WHO HAS THE POWER?
Division of Powers
- Form of Federalism that divided power between the
national government and the state government.

Enumerated Powers: - Powers granted to the national

government by the Constitution
Control of Foreign Affairs
Providing National Defense
Regulating Trade between the states
Coining money
WHO HAS THE POWER?
Reserved Powers: -Powers not specifically granted to
the national government but kept by states
o Providing for & supervising education
o Establishing marriage laws
o Regulating trade within a state
Division of Powers
 WHO HAS THE POWER
B.) Separation of Powers
o Legislative Branch: Makes laws
o Executive Branch: carry out/enforces laws
o Judicial Branch: hear cases

- Checks & Balances: prevents any one branch from

dominating the other two.

- Electoral College: group of electors chosen by the

states to vote for the President.
Checks & Balances
 CHANGES
Changing the Constitution
The delegates succeeded in creating a constitution
that was a living document.
The Constitution can be changed in order to stand
the test of time.
- The Amendment process allows the Federal
Government to change the Constitution.