AP Gov 2: Ratification of the U.S. Constitution

Competing interests

Virginia Plan

• proposed by VA governor Edmund Randolph
• three-branch system of government: judicial, executive, and legislative
  • the legislative branch would be bicameral: two-house
  • each branch had a clear separation of powers
• the national government was more powerful than the states and had the power to overrule
• James Madison created a comprehensive version of the plan that served as the main draft of the Constitution.

New Jersey Plan

• proposed by William Patterson
• national government with limited powers, states had more power
• no national court system
• equal representation of states in the legislature (one vote per state)

Great Compromise

• there was a debate in representation:

  • smaller states wanted equal representation: equal number of votes for each state regardless of population
  • larger states wanted more representation: states with a larger population would receive more votes proportional to the population

• proposed by Roger Sherman

• created the House of Representatives and the Senate (Congress) that was a perfect compromise:

  • Senate satisfied smaller states’s want of equal representation (2 senators per state)
  • HOR satisfied larger state’s want of more representation (number of representatives proportional to population)

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Three-Fifths Compromise

• proposed by Roger Sherman
• Slaves would could as three-fifths of a person when counting the population to determine the number of representatives states would get in the HOR

Electoral College

• compromise on electing the president
• some believed that Congress should elect the president, others believed the people should directly, and still others believed that the states should.
• system where elected representatives from each state vote for President (same number as representatives in HOR)

Amendment process

• The constitution could be amended in two steps
  • 2/3 vote of approval of House and Senate
  • ratification, vote of 3/4 of the state legislatures

Constitutional system

ratification

• formal consent

bill of rights

• a list of essential rights added to the Constitution

• the addition of this document was necessary to convince Anti-Federalists to ratify the constitution

• others initially opposed the document, arguing that the government could attempt to take away the powers that were not listed, or enumerated.

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Today

USA Patriot Act

• in response to the 9/11 attacks and how to prevent them in the future
• sparked a debate on privacy and the extent to personal data that the government collected

No Child Left Behind Act

• improvements in teaching methods and testing as well as penalties for underperforming schools
• the set standards were too high and the law received backlash

Race to the Top

• rather than penalties, incentives were offered to high-performing schools to encourage high schools to prepare students for college

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