web-Constitutional-Convention

=**Constitutional Convention**= Section 4 of your daily lesson guide

__Debates__: First - give a reason why representation in the government should be an equal number from each state then give a reason why it should be based on population. Second - give a reason why slaves should NOT count in population to account for the number of representatives a state gets (assuming it's based on population after the first debate) then give a reason why slaves should count. Third - give a reason why we should have a president elected by the state legislatures then give a reason why the president should be elected by the majority of votes of the people. Fourth - give a reason why all trade should be controlled by the central government and then give a reason why trade should be controlled by individual states.

__Video clip__: Watch the following clip for an overview of the Constitutional Convention media type="youtube" key="jrdflOnlQHo" width="560" height="315"

__Notes__: The Constitutional Convention was held from May 25, 1787 to September 17, 1787. There was danger in the country before the convention as the new nation was seeing state legislatures that were corrupt and hurting the people. There were weaknesses due to the Articles of Confederation. The goal of the Philadelphia Conference was to fix the Articles of Confederation - fix its weaknesses - fix the problems tearing the new young nation apart. The meeting was allowed and legal as the Confederation Congress gave approval for this conference in Philadelphia. This conference was held in secret in order to allow delegates to work on fixing the problems without being influenced by others.

There were key individuals who played important roles. George Washington (box on the top right of the photo) presided over the convention. James Madison (middle box) took notes on debates at the convention, which is why we know what all took place at this secret meeting. In addition, Madison took a very active role at the convention by suggesting some of the important principles that were put into the Constitution. Benjamin Franklin (box on the bottom left) was the peacekeeper at the convention. When arguments came up, Franklin would stand up and quell the arguing as he was well respected due to his experience, age, and wisdom.

The major argument at the Constitutional Convention dealt with the legislative/lawmaking body and whether each state should have the same number of representatives or if it should be based on population. There were two opposing proposals. The Virginia Plan proposed by Edmund Randolph suggested a legislature based on population under the premise that states with larger populations needed more representatives while the New Jersey Plan was proposed by William Paterson suggested a legislature with equal state representation as the smaller states feared that a legislature based on population gave priority to the bigger states at the expense of the smaller states. This argument almost tore the convention apart from the start. However, Roger Sherman proposed the Connecticut Plan, which became known as the Great Compromise, which proposed a bicameral or two chamber legislature with one chamber based on population and one with equal number from each state. This created the Congress with a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate with two from each state.

Another debate was over slaves. Northerners wanted to see slavery end so to encourage the South to free their slaves the South could get more representatives in the House. The South wanted to count the slaves in population, while the North said no, slaves should not count - the North said the South needed to free the slaves to count them in population for the House. The result would be the 3/5 Compromise in which states which got one representative for every 30,000 people would get one representative for every 50,000 slaves. This allowed the South to partially count the slaves but again encouraged the South to free their slaves in order to get more representatives.

There was also debate over the presidency. How would the leader of the country be elected. Some wanted the state legislatures to choose the president. This would give the states authority over the federal government. Some wanted the people to directly elect the leader. The compromise would be that the president is elected by the Electoral College (each state gets electors based on the number of representatives and senators in that state and a candidate needs over 50% of the electors' votes to win the presidency - today the people go and vote and whichever candidate gets the most votes of the people in that state will have all the electors in that state vote for that candidate). For our purposes right now, know that the Electoral College was the compromise.

There were debates over who should control trade - the central/federal government or the states. Southern states fearing a ban on the slave trade or slavery in general wanted the states to control trade as it did under the Articles of Confederation. The North wanted federal control over trade. The compromise was that the federal government would control foreign and interstate commerce (trade). State controlled commerce/trade within their state boundaries.

The Constitution was completed on September 17, 1787 which is why September 17 is celebrated as Constitution Day today. Just because it was completed didn't mean it went into affect. Nine of the thirteen states had to ratify, or approve of the Constitution for it to go into affect. Federalists were those who approved or supported the Constitution, while Anti-Federalists were those against the new Constitution wanting to maintain state sovereignty. The //Federalist Papers// were a collection of 85 articles written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay looking to gain support for the new Constitution saying that it fixed the problems that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The //Anti-Federalists Papers// were written by several former Revolutionary War patriots who feared too strong of a government. Anti-Federalists included Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee. The biggest reason the Anti-Federalists were against the new Constitution is because it lacked a bill of rights. There were even a few future presidents who wanted to see a bill of rights put on - Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. The Federalists agreed that in return for support of the new Constitution the first order of business for the new government would be to create a bill of rights. The Bill of Rights would be added to the Constitution in 1791.

__Analyzing the Argument - //Federalist Papers//__: 1. ¨**//The accumulation of all powers legislative, executive, and judiciary in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.// – James Madison in Federalist #47** - Does Madison support or oppose separation of powers? Why?

2. ¨**//If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government, which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place oblige it to control itself.// – James Madison in Federalist #51** - Why is government necessary?

3. One of the arguments against the new type of presidency was that there were no limits to number of terms. In Federalist #72, Hamilton argued against limiting the number of presidential terms: ¨**//[An] ill effect of exclusion would be depriving the community of the advantage of the experience gained by the chief magistrate in the exercise of his office. That experience is the parent of wisdom is an adage, the truth of which is recognized by the wisest as well as the simplest of mankind. What more desirable or more essential than this quality in the government of nations?//**

- What reason does Hamilton give for limiting terms in office?

4. What do you think would be a reason to favor term limits for politicians today (currently the president is the only one who is limited to two terms in office)?

Answer the Did you meet the objective question.

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