Drafting the Federal Constitution

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Drafting the Federal Constitution
2
Shay's Rebellion

• Poor Massachusetts farmers rebelled because they
  were seeking
• equitable political representation
• tax reform
• The abolition of imprisonment for debt
• It was led by Daniel Shay and primarily consisted
  of posturing and parading through towns and
  villages.
• The rebels were able to operate largely unimpeded
  through much of the fall and winter of 1786 and
  1787.
• A militia defeated the main body of rebels,
  largely ending the rebellion.
• Shay and other rebel leaders fled to Vermont,
  where they were captured and sentenced to be
  hanged.
• They were later pardoned by Massachusetts
  Governor John Hancock.

3
Mt. Vernon Conference

• In 1785 representatives from Maryland and
  Virginia met at the Mt. Vernon estate of George
  Washington to discuss a trade dispute involving
  the navigation of the Potomac River.
• The delegates resolved far broader issues of
  trade and mutual policy between the two states.
• The General Assembly of Virginia proposed a
  broader trade conclave to be held in Annapolis,
  Maryland the following year.

Washingtons Mt. Vernon Estate
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Annapolis Convention

• Some Americans began contemplating radical
  changes because they were unhappy with the
  impotence of the Articles of Confederation.
• The Annapolis Convention was organized to address
  issues related to commerce.
• James Madison and Alexander Hamilton used the
  meeting to advocate a new form of federal
  government.

The Maryland State House above was the site of
the Annapolis Convention
5
Constitutional Convention

• 74 delegates were selected, but only 55
  eventually came to Philadelphia for the
  convention.
• George Washington was elected president of the
  convention.
• Talk quickly shifted from ways to modify the
  Articles of Confederation to ways to replace the
  Articles.
• Debate centered on a democratic plan offered by
  Virginia and a more constrained plan offered by
  New Jersey.
• Secrecy was paramount to the delegates, because
  of this little is known about happened inside of
  the convention.

6
The Virginia Plan

• James Madison argued that no confederacy could
  endure if it acted upon states only and not
  directly upon individuals.
• He outlined a new system of government, the basis
  of the "Virginia Plan" presented in the
  convention by Edmund Jennings Randolph.
• That Madison and Randolph were able to enter the
  Constitutional Convention with a plan of
  government conferred an enormous political
  advantage.
• The Virginia Plan became the basis for the early
  debate on a new structure of government.

James Madison
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The New Jersey Plan

• New Jersey delegate William Paterson introduced a
  competing plan designed to protect the power of
  the small states.
• Patersons plan maintained many aspects of the
  Articles of Confederation.
• It also gave equal representation in the
  legislature to all states regardless of
  population .

William Paterson
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The Great Compromise

• The Constitutional Convention was deadlocked
  between supporters of the two plans.
• The larger states preferred the Virginia Plan
  while, the smaller states preferred the New
  Jersey Plan.
• Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman Roger Sherman
  eventually proposed a compromise that was
  acceptable to both factions.
• The Great Compromise, retained the bicameral
  legislature envisioned by Madison, but
  apportioned the lower house by population and
  granted equal representation to all states in the
  upper house.

Roger Sherman
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3/5 Compromise

• With it decided that the lower house would be
  apportioned by population another difficulty
  arose for the convention.
• Slave states wanted their slaves counted as
  population, despite having denied them all
  political rights.
• Free states saw this as unacceptable because
  slave states would be able to dominate the
  congress.
• James Wilson proposed that all unfree labor
  should count as 3/5 of a person for apportionment
  purposes.

James Wilson
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Drafting the Constitution

• The new constitution went through several drafts.
  
• Charles Pinckney submitted a plan that had
  considerable influence on the final draft.
• Alexander Hamilton, a known Federalist, was
  far-reaching in both his influence and his
  involvement in the process.

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The Constitution

• On 17 September 1787, the document was presented
  to the convention and signed by 39 of the 55
  delegates.
• With the endorsement of the convention, the
  constitution was sent to the states for
  ratification.
• The states were instructed to either ratify or
  reject the constitution in its entirety.
• Contrary to the Articles of Confederation, which
  required unanimous consent from the states for
  any change in the national government, the
  constitution required only the consent of 9
  states to be ratified.

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Media Citations

• Slide 2 http//www.kirkwood.k12.mo.us/parent_stud
  ent/khs/plattes/topics3and4/topics3and415.jpg
• Slide 3 http//www.archeologymapping.com/graphics
  /mtvernmap.jpg
• Slide 4 http//www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_book
  s/constitution/images/fig7.jpg
• Slide 5 http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/images/
  2conv0698b.jpg
• Slide 6 http//www.columbia.edu/itc/law/witt/imag
  es/lect9/fx04_james_madison_2.jpg
• Slide 7 http//www.constitution.org/img/william_p
  aterson.jpg
• Slide 8 http//www.constitution.org/img/roger_she
  rman.jpg
• Slide 9 http//chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/w
  /wilsonJ.jpg
• Slide 10 http//www.trumanproject.org/images/draf
  ting.jpg
• Slide 11 http//content.answers.com/main/content/
  wp/en/9/95/Constitution_signatures.jpg