Convention and Constitution The Call for Convention The Convention The Controversies a Virginia Plan b New Jersey Plan The Final Product Ratification Federalists and Antifederalists I II III IV V VI I II Virginia legislature invites states to send delegates to Annapolis for a convention HUGE failure Only 5 states send delegates which was a total of 5 people Hamilton gets a draft resolution to congress to authorize a convention in Philadelphia to revise and approve the Articles nothing happens Shay s Rebellion was more of a symbol than an event Historians say Shay leads farmers to protest to take over federal depot for the government to fall apart historians say Shay leads smaller group of farmers to protest to take over the federal depot government and had it under control People freak out because what if was the symbol of weakness of the Articles of Confederation Didn t have a national government strong enough for the space Consider to actually revise the Articles of Confederation Calls for the Convention 74 delegates elected by states Only 55 ever show up and 39 actually sign the constitution First thing they do is elect George Washington to preside over the Constitution Franklin Madison Hamilton James Wilson Roger Sherman were all there Thomas Jefferson was in Paris and John Adams was in London were not there A lot of elites were there Led by elites Dominate and it was a guiding process Missing Radical voices Patrick Henry smelled a rat Sam Adams and Thomas Paine attempted to sell Iron Bridge Rhode Island sent no one 19th century historians thought the Constitution and Convention were extraordinary events Perfect democratic document Constitution Charles Beard was a historian that wrote Economic Interpretation of the United States He argues they are self interested property owner because it s an elite process They have property and are not interested in equality Document protects their economic rights Founders weren t worried about anything but themselves 2nd thing they do is the secrecy rule They keep the windows closed and there are no leaks They didn t want the debate to get out III IV They had a problem with Ben Franklin though so people had to babysit him when he went out to the pub Virginia delegation sets plan to get out of the plan Edmund Randolph starts Virginia Plan which is heavily influenced by James Madison James Madison didn t propose it because he was too small This is NOT a revision It s a huge overhaul with big differences It offers strong centralized nation government There are 3 independent branches Bicameral legislature representation within legislature is by population in state House of Representatives lower house people vote for the House Senate will be chosen by the house Senate has broad powers example Congress veto state laws that they didn t like The legislative branch judicial branch both have lifetime terms and the executive branch with a president has a maximum of 2 terms Council of revision comprised of president and Supreme Court which could veto anything called absolute veto Controversy about representation New Jersey Plan William Patterson looks like a revision of the Articles of Confederation Adds Judicial branch adds executive committee not an independent branch and it s chosen by Congress Gives Congress commerce and trade power representation gives the states equal representation keeps power with states there is no centralized national government The Great Compromise or Connecticut Compromise sets up framework of government They take framework from the Virginia Plan 3 branches to make a strong central national government Senate has equal representation 2 from each state which is from the New Jersey Plan House of Representatives is based on population Virginia Plan Hamilton isn t happy because he wants more He gives a 6 hour speech saying he wanted a lifetime president and lifetime Senate Controversy about slavery Question was Slaves are property or individuals in the North and South South wants slaves defined as people when it comes to population but slaves are property and should be returned to their owners across state lines Northern states say it can t be both South won t ratify the Constitution that outlaws slaves as property The 3 5 Compromise says slaves count as 3 5 of a person for ONLY representational purposes Has a political consequence for the House of Representatives Framers avoided using the word slaves in the Constitution and compromises They could not ban the importation of slaves until 1808 Slaves DO have to be returned to their owners over state lines Article 1 legislative branch because it s the most important in the Republic section 1 says bicameral legislature Section 2 says the House members have a 2 year term and are directly elected by the people and it also mentions the 3 5 Compromise Section 3 says that there are 2 senators by each state for 6 years state legislature chooses There are 3 groups 1 st group had shortened terms 2 year 2nd had a 4 year 3rd had a 6 year 1 3 was up for election every 2 weeks Section 8 powers congress has to make all laws Elastic Clause Article 1 Sections 1 3 were the expressed or enumerated powers Article 6 Supreme law of the land supremacy clause law of the land Article 2 Executive branch s rules were vague Section 1 president with a 4 year term president chosen by Electoral College States receive votes from the Senate and House members cannot be in the Electoral College If you re in Congress Electoral College represents the state Article 3 Judicial branch Section 1 1 supreme court doesn t say how many justices sit on the Supreme Court though Congress creates the court system Article 5 How to change amend the Constitution Proposal side 2 3 of both house of congress and 2 3 vote for it OR 2 3 vote of national convention no one usually chooses this option Ratification side of state legislature OR of special state conventions this is used to repeal prohibition only used once for the 21st Amendment
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