The U.S. Constitution

The U.S. had some fundamental problems in the late 1780’s

Virginia vs. Maryland vs. James Madison

Nationalists

The Annapoli

s Conventi

onSeptember 1786

The Philadelphia Convention May 24, 1787

An Assembly of ‘Demigods’-Jefferson

George Washington

James Madison

Alexander Hamilton

Ben Franklin

Federalists vs. Anti-federalists

“… the executive authority, with few exceptions, is to be vested in a single magistrate. This will scarcely, however, be considered as a point upon which any comparison can be grounded; for if, in this particular, there be a resemblance to the king of Great Britain, there is not less a resemblance to the …khan of Tartary, to the Man of the Seven Mountains....”

—Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist Papers #69

Federal: State:

-Expressed Powers -Reserved Powers

-Elastic Clause-Implied Powers

The Great Compromise

•The small states would never agree to a purely representational form of government

•Large states felt the equal suffrage system to be inherently unfair, and were going to do everything they could to abolish it

The really big issue facing the Convention:

Representation

Sherman and the Connecticut Plan (Great Compromise)

"That the proportion of suffrage in the 1st. branch should be according to the respective numbers of free inhabitants; and that in the second branch or Senate, each State should have one vote and no more.“

In the House of Representatives, representation would be based on population.

In the Senate, representation would be equal.

The 3/5th Compromise Southern Delegates:

Wanted slavery to prop up the Southern economy and count as “whole persons”.

Northern Delegates:Seen as property and should be treated as such, removing slaves completely from population counts.

The deal allowed the South to keep the three-fifths count for representation as long as they also had a three-fifths count for calculation of taxes.

The Slave Trade Compromise

In exchange for a ban on export taxes, the South agreed to allow the slave trade to continue for 20 more years, and for imported slaves to be taxable. The slave trade could constitutionally be prohibited on January 1, 1808.

Federalists vs. Anti-federalists

Federalists supported Constitution and federal government over state governments (James Madison, Alexander Hamilton)

Antifederalists wanted state governments to be supreme and include a Bill of Rights (John Hancock, Patrick Henry)

As a result of this Constitutional Convention, the Framers were able, in less than 4 months, to create a Constitution which lasted for more

than 200 years.