The Constitutional Convention

In May of 1787, 55 delegates from twelve of the
thirteen states (minus Rhode Island) attended the
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to consider
amending the Articles of Confederation. They met in
the same room in Philadelphia where, eleven years
earlier, the Declaration of Independence had been
debated. James Madison took the most notes at the
convention, and would eventually go on to write most
of the Constitution.

⇨ These men were all members of the
country’s social, economic and political
elite.
⇨ Many had been members of the
Continental Congress.
⇨ All were white and male. Nearly all
were wealthy.
⇨ More than half were lawyers, and
more than half owned enslaved people.

As the men at the Constitutional Convention
were primarily white and wealthy, this
meant they were more concerned with the
issues that impacted them.

Even though Shays’ Rebellion was partly to
blame for the Convention, the issues
related to debt would be decided later -
when Washington became president.

Open Ended

Based on the information we know about the delegates, what do you think they will be concerned with at the Constitutional Convention?

The men who wrote the Constitution are
referred to by several different names.
These include:

Delegates - A representative sent to a
conference.
Framers - A person who shapes a
concept or plan.
Founding Fathers - The men who wrote
the Constitution.

Poll

How well do you understand what we’ve discussed so far?

• I've got this!

• I'm a little confused.

• I don't get this at all!

The men who wrote the Constitution were very
concerned with how the states would be represented
in the national government. The more votes a state
had in the government, the more power they would
hold in guiding the direction of the country. Large
states felt that they should have more votes because
they had a larger population. Smaller states felt that
each state should be represented equally, and have an
equal vote.

⇨ Power of the government would be
spread among three branches - the
executive, the legislative and the
judicial.

⇨ There would be two sections of the
legislative branch - the Senate and
the House of Representatives.

⇨ In both sections (or houses), the
number of representatives would be
based on the state’s population.

Open Ended

Why do you think the small states didn’t like the Virginia Plan?

⇨ There would be only one house in
the legislative branch.

⇨ Each state would only have one
vote.

Branch - Think of our government like a tree.
The different sections of government are
referred to as branches. We have three
different branches - the legislative, executive
and judicial branches.
House - In terms of our government, a house
is a section of our legislative branch. It’s
where the lawmakers write, debate, and pass
laws.

⇨ There would be three branches.
⇨ There would be two houses in the
legislative branch. One would be
called the Senate and the other the
House of Representatives.
⇨ The Senate would have two
representatives per state.
⇨ The number of representatives in
the House of Representatives
would be based on the population
of the state.

Open Ended

What did the small states gain from the Compromise?

Open Ended

What did the large states gain from the Compromise?

The men who wrote the Constitution were also
concerned with how slavery would be considered.
Northern states had increasingly begun to outlaw
slavery, while southern slave owners wanted the new
Constitution to protect slavery.

⇨ Enslaved people should only
count as property for taxation.

⇨ Enslaved people should not count
as population.

⇨ The National Government should
set a date to outlaw the
international slave trade.

⇨ Enslaved people should count as
part of the population for
determining the number of
representatives their state had in
the House of Representatives.

⇨ Enslaved people should not count
as property for taxation.

⇨ The National Government should
help southerners to help catch
runaways.

Open Ended

Why did southern slave owners want slaves to be counted as part of the population?

⇨ Each slave would count as
three-fifths of a person for
taxation and representation.
That meant that every 5,000
enslaved people would count as
3,000 “persons.”
⇨ The Constitution also required
that the importation of new
enslaved people from Africa
would end by 1808.

You might be confused by this
compromise. Obviously, it’s really unfair
to the people who were in slavery. The
people who owned them gained power
with this compromise.

Remember, more than half of the men at
the Convention were slave owners. There
weren’t many advocating on behalf of the
people who were in slavery. Those voices
just weren’t represented.

Open Ended

Why do you think the Constitution was unfair to African Americans?