Topic #5: The Constitution

Essential Question: To what extent did the Constitution differ from the Articles of Confederation?

Constitutional Convention

• 1787

• 55 delegates meet in Philadelphia after Shay’s Rebellion showed the flaws of the Articles of Confederation.

• James Madison is the only one that comes with a plan, and he convinces the other fathers to scrap the Articles of Confederation and write a new Constitution.

Organizing Congress

There had been debates on how to organize Congress. There were two conflicting plans:

The Virginia Plan:

• Based on population

• Favored large states

The New Jersey Plan:

• Equal representation

• Favored small states

Great Compromise

In response to the two different plans, the founding fathers came up with a compromise to organize Congress into two chambers:

1. Senate: 2 senators from each state

2. House of Representatives: Different number of reps from each state based on population. There are currently 435 members.

   • Three Fifths Clause: 3/5ths of the enslaved population would be considered when determining a state’s population.

Checks and Balances

Ways that the Constitution ensures that one branch of government does not become too powerful:

• Ex: The process for a bill to become a law

• Ex: Impeachment process

Slavery

• 3/5ths compromise

• Banned the slave trade in 1808

• Fugitive slave act

The Constitution

• Preamble - “We the people”

• Articles (7)

  1. Legislative: Congress - to make laws

  2. Executive: President - to enforce laws

  3. Judicial: Supreme Court - to review laws

  4. Relationship between states and federal government (federalism)

  5. Amendment process - to change/edit the constitution

  6. Supremacy Clause - the constitution is above all

  7. Ratification Process - each state has to ratify

• Amendments (27)

* The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution not thinking it would last. They allowed the Amendments to be revisable in the future.

Federalists

Founding fathers who favored strong national government.

• Ex: Hamilton, Madison, Day

• Federalist Papers: 85 essays written to urge New York voters to ratify the Constitution.

Anti-Federalists

Founding fathers that favored strong state government.

• Ex: Patrick Henry, George Mason

• They thought the president was king like

• They were upset that there was no Bill of Rights

Bill of Rights

The Constitution gets passed because the Founding Fathers agree to write a Bill of Rights. They make up the first Ten Amendments:

1. Freedom of speech, press, petition, assembly, religion

2. Right to bear arms

3. No quartering of soldiers

4. …