The Constitutional Convention: Debates, Compromises, and Political Parties

Context and Governance of the Constitutional Convention

• Location and Setting:

  • The meeting was held in the exact same room where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

  • Members adopted a strict rule of secrecy, keeping every door and window completely closed during proceedings, which generated significant internal physical and psychological tension.

• Leadership and Voting Rules:

  • George Washington was elected president of the convention (he was not yet President of the United States).

  • Voting was structured so that each state had exactly $1$ vote, and decisions were determined by a majority rule.

• Documentation and Historical Records:

  • Official minutes and notes of the convention meetings were poorly maintained.

  • The primary source of knowledge regarding the convention comes from private journals kept by members, most notably James Madison.

  • James Madison earned the title "Father of the Constitution" due to maintaining the most detailed record of the proceedings and proposing a multitude of key constitutional ideas.

• Timeline and Core Framework:

  • The framers met for $89$ out of $116$ calendar days.

  • The finished Constitution was completed on $09/17/1787$.

  • The framers resolved to replace the ineffective Articles of Confederation with a strong central government organized into three distinct branches.

Constitutional Debates: Virginia vs. New Jersey Plans

• State Dynamics:

  • Prior to the convention, states operated as semi-independent sovereign entities.

  • Tensions arose over individual states relinquishing power to a central government and maintaining equitable representation in Congress to vote on laws.

• The Virginia Plan (Large-State Proposal):

  • Proposed by Virginia, representing heavily populated states.

  • Advocated for a bicameral (two-house) Congress.

  • Required representation in both legislative houses to be based on state population (larger population yielded more representatives).

  • Legislative Election Mechanics:

  • House of Representatives (Lower House): Members elected directly by the state's populace.

  • Senate (Upper House): Members chosen by the elected House representatives.

  • Executive and Judicial Branch Mechanics:

  • Congress would select a national executive (President) and a national judiciary (Supreme Court).

  • Impact: Sparked strong opposition from small-population states such as New Jersey and Connecticut.

• The New Jersey Plan (Small-State Proposal):

  • Proposed by New Jersey in response to small-state dissatisfaction.

  • Advocated for a unicameral legislature (a single house of Congress).

  • Called for equal representation in Congress for every state, regardless of population size.

  • Executive and Judicial Branch Mechanics:

  • Proposed multiple national executives chosen by Congress.

  • Proposed a national judiciary appointed directly by the multiple executives.

  • Impact: Sparked opposition from larger, more populous states desiring population-proportional influence.

The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)

• Compromise Structure:

  • Proposed by Connecticut as a middle ground acceptable to both small and large states.

  • Established a bicameral Congress:

  • House of Representatives: Representation based on state population size (more residents yield more representatives).

  • Senate: Representation is strictly equal across all states, granting exactly $2$ senators to every state regardless of size or population (e.g., Rhode Island receives $2$ senators and California receives $2$ senators).

• Executive and Judicial Selection Mechanics:

  • The national executive (President) is selected by an Electoral College.

  • The judiciary is appointed by the executive (President).

Demographics and Regional Fractures Over Slavery

• Political Strategy Regarding Slavery:

  • The framers intentionally avoided detailed discussions on slavery to prevent the convention from collapsing, fearing Southern states (and some Northern states) would refuse to ratify the document if slavery was threatened.

• State Slave Population Statistics:

  • Connecticut: Slightly over $1$ percent ($> 1\text{\%}$) enslaved population.

  • Delaware: Under $15$ percent ($< 15\text{\%}$) enslaved population.

  • Georgia: Almost $36$ percent ($\\approx 36\text{\%}$) enslaved population.

  • Maryland: $32.23$ percent ($32.23\text{\%}$) enslaved population.

  • Massachusetts: $0$ percent ($0\text{\%}$) enslaved population (completely abolished slavery).

  • New Hampshire: A little over a tenth of $1$ percent ($> 0.1\text{\%}$) enslaved population.

  • New Jersey: Just over $6$ percent ($> 6\text{\%}$) enslaved population.

  • New York: Slightly over $6$ percent ($> 6\text{\%}$) enslaved population.

  • North Carolina: Over $25$ percent ($> 25\text{\%}$) enslaved population.

  • Pennsylvania: Just under $1$ percent ($< 1\text{\%}$) enslaved population.

  • Rhode Island: Pushing toward $1.5$ percent ($\\approx 1.5\text{\%}$) enslaved population.

  • South Carolina: $43$ percent ($43\text{\%}$) enslaved population ($43$ out of every $100$ people were enslaved; highest in the nation).

  • Virginia: $39.14$ percent ($39.14\text{\%}$) enslaved population.

• Foreshadowing the American Civil War:

  • These stark demographic disparities foreshadowed the sectional conflict $70$ years later ($1860$), triggered by Abraham Lincoln's election and the eventual secession of Southern states.

Constitutional Compromises on Slavery

• The Three-Fifths Compromise:

  • Northern Position: Opposed counting enslaved individuals toward state population totals for representation, noting that enslaved people were legally treated as property without voting or reading rights, and counting them would hand congressional control to the South.

  • Southern Position: Demanded counting enslaved people in the census to maximize Southern congressional representation and power.

  • Compromise Terms: Counted all free people fully, while counting three-fifths ($\frac{3}{5}$) of the enslaved Black population toward a state's population for proportional representation.

  • Southern Condition: Southern states mandated that any binding restrictions on slavery be excluded from the text of the Constitution as a requisite for accepting the overall compromise.

• Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise:

  • Congress was prohibited from passing any legislation restricting the slave trade for at least $20$ years.

• Ethical and Social Implications:

  • The Constitution incorporated a fundamental flaw by legally defining human beings as three-fifths ($\frac{3}{5}$) of a person and reducing individuals to legal property.

  • Slavery was deeply embedded in 18th-century social structures, leaving an enduring historical blemish on the foundational laws of the nation.

Formation of Early Political Parties

• Origin of the Two-Party System:

  • Debate over the ratification of the Constitution created the initial split that formed the United States two-party system.

  • Established a political norm where only two primary parties hold a realistic potential to win major elections.

• Federalists:

  • Supported the ratification of the new Constitution.

  • Favored a strong central government with a clear separation of powers between executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

• Anti-Federalists:

  • Opposed the ratification of the Constitution in its original state.

  • Demanded that individual states retain greater sovereign power, refusing ratification unless state rights were granted explicit protection.