Welcome to the Constitutional Convention!

Welcome to the Constitutional Convention!

Open Ended

Who is missing? Why?

Open Ended

You are a delegate from Virginia. How do you want to determine representation in Congress?

The Virginia Plan

• Edmund Randolph and James Madison

• Bicameral legislature

• Proportional representation - based on a state's population

Open Ended

You are a delegate from New Jersey. How do you want representation determined in Congress?

The New Jersey Plan

• Unicameral legislature

• Equality - one representative per state

Open Ended

How can we compromise?

The Great Compromise

a.k.a. The Connecticut Compromise

• Bicameral legislature:

  • House of Representatives - representation based on population

  • Senate - representation based on equality

Three-Fifths Compromise

• 3 out of 5 slaves counted as population in the South

• especially benefitted smaller Southern states

Open Ended

Should the citizens be able to directly vote for president? Why or why not?

The Electoral College

• Citizens vote in general election

• Those votes select the states' representatives to Electoral College

• Those representatives meet in their state capitals to cast their votes for president and vice president

Open Ended

Who should regulate commerce (trade) and levy taxes - the national government or the states? Why?

Commerce, Taxes, and Slavery

• The South agreed to the national government regulating interstate and foreign trade

• The North agreed to not interfere with the importation of slaves until at least 1808

• Import tariffs, but no export tariffs