APUSH03.08_Constitutional Convention Lecture PDF

**Period 3 \|** 1754-1800 **Topic 3.8 \| The Constitutional Convention & Debates over Ratification** **AP Learning Objective H:** Explain the differing ideological positions on the structure and function of the federal government. **Google Slides Version Linked [HERE](https://docs.google.com/pres...

**Period 3 \|** 1754-1800 **Topic 3.8 \| The Constitutional Convention & Debates over Ratification** **AP Learning Objective H:** Explain the differing ideological positions on the structure and function of the federal government. **Google Slides Version Linked [HERE](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11evxUpnazSOadbjM3tC9tkHozKp9aT2GL8eWRdBlu9o/edit?usp=sharing)** 1. **The Convention** a. **Context** i. In the wake of **Shays' Rebellion,** it became clear that there needed to be a clear balance between liberty *and* security. ii. **The Constitutional Convention** was called together in Philadelphia for "the sole and express purpose of amending the Articles of Confederation." iii. All states (except RI) dispatched at total of 55 representatives to this new convention in May 1787 at Independence Hall b. **Three Early Agreements** iv. George Washington was *unanimously* elected president of the proceedings that summer v. Debates would remain secret to avoid outside pressures vi. The Articles of Confederation were beyond repair and would be scrapped vii. It was here that agreement ended, and debate began... 2. **Compromise** c. **The Great Compromise** viii. On May 29^th^, Edmund Randolph of Virginia suggested a form of government called the **Virginia Plan** (Large States Plan)/ The lower house of Congress in this plan would be proportional to population (i.e., the more *people* a state had, the more *representatives* it would have). ix. This troubled the smaller states. So, William Patterson of New Jersey proposed the **New Jersey Plan** (Small States Plan), which called for a *unicameral* legislature in which each state had *equal* representation, *regardless* of state population. x. Roger Sherman of Connecticut suggested the **Connecticut Compromise (Great Compromise)** which created Congress, a **bicameral legislature:** 1. Upper House (Senate): Each state had *equal* representation 2. Lower House (House of Representatives): State representatives based on population d. **Three-Fifths Compromise** xi. A bitter debate continued over slavery, representation, and power. xii. Southerners wanted enslaved people to be counted for purposes of deciding representation in the House, but not for determining taxes. xiii. **The Three-Fifths Compromise,** proposed by James Madison, stated that three fifths of the enslaved African Americans in a state would be counted for congressional representation *and* taxation. xiv. This gave additional voting power to slaveholding states in the House of Representatives. e. **Commerce Compromise** xv. Northerners wanted a government that could regulate trade. Southerners, however, feared that importing African slaves would be prohibited and that their agricultural exports would be taxed xvi. The **Commerce Compromise** stated that Congress could not tax a state's exports on the condition that they could not prohibit slave trade for 20 years (until 1808). xvii. Note: the selling of enslaved people *within* the United States continued until the Civil War xviii. The **Fugitive Slave Clause** required all of the states to aid in the return of an enslaved person to his or her owner f. **The Presidency Compromise** xix. Delegate favoring a strong national government wanted a President elected *directly* by the people with a long term of office xx. Those favoring states' rights wanted a short term of office with state legislatures selecting the president xxi. In the **Presidency Compromise,** the two sides agreed on a 4-year term and the indirect election of the President through the **Electoral College System** 3. **Ratification Debate** g. **The Start of Ratification** xxii. Having agreed to the important segments of this new federal government, the convention appointed a 5-man committee to prepare the final document. After 39 delegates signed the Constitution on September 17^th^, 1787, it faced the final hurdle: ratification by the states. Once nine states ratified it, it would go into effect. xxiii. Even before the ratification conventions convened, a great national debate on the new constitution had begun. h. **Federalists vs. Antifederalists** xxiv. In each state, people took sides with the **Federalists** (supporters of ratification), or the **Anti-Federalists** (those opposed to ratification). The key issue: what was the proper role of government? xxv. The **Federalist** answer: Favored a strong central government and therefore in *favor of* the Constitution. Prominent Federalists wrote 84 essays in support of ratification called the ***Federalist Papers.*** xxvi. The **Anti-Federalist** Answer: In favor of strong states' rights and therefore in *opposition to* the Constitution. Prominent Anti-Federalists wrote *against* ratification called the ***Anti-Federalist Papers.*** i. **Ratification** xxvii. Despite the efforts of the Anti-Federalists, ratification proceeded quickly during the winter of 1787-1788. xxviii. The first elections were held in the early months of 1789. **George Washington** was elected president, receiving 100% of the electoral vote, and was inaugurated in New York on April 30, 1789. xxix. Congress immediately went to work on drafting a bill of rights, and approved 12 amendments by September 1789, with the first 10 ratified by the states by 1791, becoming the **Bill of Rights.** 4. **[Key Takeaways]** j. Delegates from the states participated in the Constitutional Convention and through negotiation, collaboration, and compromise proposed a constitution. k. The Constitutional Convention compromised over the representation of slave states in Congress and the role of the federal government in regulating both slavery and the slave trade, allowing the prohibition of the international slave trade after 1808. l. In the debate over ratifying the Constitution, Anti-Federalists opposing ratification battled with Federalists, whose principles were articulated in the Federalist Papers (primarily written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison). Federalists ensured the ratification of the Constitution by promising the addition of a Bill of Rights that enumerated individual rights and explicitly restricted the powers of the federal government. +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Key Vocabulary** | | | | \[highlighted | | | | throughout PowerPoint | | | | and Lecture\] | | | +=======================+=======================+=======================+ | **Pink:** | **Green:** Very | **Yellow:** Somewhat | | fundamentally | important | important *("nice to | | important | | know")* | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **\[1\] The | **\[2\] Compromise** | **\[3\] Ratification | | Convention** | | Debate** | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Shays' Rebellion | Great Compromise | Federalists | | | | | | Constitutional | Three-Fifths | Anti-Federalists | | Convention | Compromise | | | | | George Washington | | | Virginia Plan vs. New | | | | Jersey Plan | Bill of Rights | | | | | | | bicameral legislature | *Federalist Papers* | | | | | | | Electoral College | *Anti-Federalist | | | | Papers* | | | Commerce Compromise | | | | | | | | Fugitive Slave Clause | | | | | | | | Presidency Compromise | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+