Constitutional Convention Study Guide

Mr. C, 8th grade

1. Why was the Constitutional Convention considered illegal by some of the delegates?

The Constitutional Convention was considered illegal by some of the delegates because the original purpose of the convention was to revise the Articles of Confederation. Three weeks into the convention the delegates decide to scrap the Articles because it was not strong enough to handle the problems of the times. Many delegates felt the meeting had become illegal because instead of revising they are creating something new.

  Explain the argument between northern states and southern states regarding the slave trade and the compromise that resulted.

Slavery was not very profitable in the north because the farms are small and family-run and the soil and climate were not suitable for farming. As the north shifted to a more industrial economy slaves could not operate the complicated machinery and if a factory closed the owner was responsible for the slaves. The south believed they could not make a profit without the free labor of slaves. The slave trade compromise said the north would not interfere with the trade for 20 years and each imported slave would be taxed $10. 

Explain the main differences between the Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan and the compromise that resulted.

The Virginia Plan called for a bicameral legislature in which representation would be based on population. The New Jersey Plan called for a unicameral legislature in which representation would be equal. The Great Compromise created a bicameral legislature in which the House of Representatives would be based on population and a Senate that would be based on equal representation, 2 per state.

Explain the argument between northern states and southern states regarding how to count slaves towards representation and taxation and the compromise that resulted.

The south wanted to count slaves as people for representation. The north wanted to count slaves as property and taxed. The compromise stated that slaves would be counted as ⅗ (60%) of one whole person for both representation and taxation.

 What role did “The Federalist Papers” play in the ratification of the Constitution?

“The Federalist Papers” play an important role in the ratification of the Constitution. They were a series of 85 essays, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, that tried to convince the voters of New York and Virginia to ratify the Constitution. They are considered the best commentary on the Constitution ever written.

 Identify two leading anti-Federalists of the era and three reasons why they opposed the new Constitution.

Two leading anti-Federalists were Sam Adams and Patrick Henry. Anti-Federalists opposed the new Constitution because they believed too much power was being taken away from the states, the president might become too powerful, did not want to pay taxes to both the state and federal governments, and a Bill of Rights, or list of individual freedoms was not included in the constitution.

  Provide five ways the new Constitution differed from the Articles of Confederation.

1. Created a stronger federal government where under the Articles the power was in the hands of the states 

2. Created a bicameral legislature where under the Articles there was unicameral legislature

3. Created an executive branch to enforce the laws

4. Created a judicial branch to interpret the laws

5. The new government could levy and collect taxes

6. ¾ or 9 states to amend the Constitution rather than all 13 under the Articles