The U.S. Constitution

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The U.S. Constitution

• From the Convention to Ratification

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The Mount Vernon Meeting

• Meeting called by George Washington 1785 to
  discuss trade
• Maryland and Virginia attended
• Led to a call for interstate meeting the
  following year

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Annapolis Convention 1786

• Convention called by Virginia to discuss
  regulation of commerce
• 5 states attended
• Led to a call to meet in Philadelphia to discuss
  changes to the Articles
• Independence Hall, Philadelphia ?

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The Philadelphia Convention

• Called for the express purpose of revising the
  Articles
• Decided to start over rather than revise
• Closed all sessions to outsiders to allow freer
  expression

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The Delegates

• Average age was 42
• Most had studied law
• Most had served in state government, or the
  federal Congress
• They were well versed in Enlightenment political
  thought

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Who WAS present?

• George Washington
• Presided over the convention
• His reputation brought dignity and respect for
  the work produced

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Who WAS present

• Benjamin Franklin
• The oldest delegate to the convention
• Brokered many of the compromises
• What kind of government? A republic, if you can
  keep it

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Who WAS present?

• Alexander Hamilton
• Strongly nationalistic
• Put forward a draft plan that resembled British
  government

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Who WAS present?

• James Madison
• Father of the Constitution
• Kept daily notes of the proceedings
• Co-sponsored the Virginia Plan or large state
  plan

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Who WAS present?

• George Mason of Virginia
• Author of Virginias Bill of Rights
• Proposed creating a national Bill of Rights

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Who was NOT present?

• Patrick Henry of Virginia
• He chose not to attend because he smelt a rat
• Feared strong national government at the expense
  of the states

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Who was NOT present?

• Thomas Jefferson of Virginia
• Was in France at the time serving as Americas
  minister to France

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Who was NOT present?

• John Adams of Massachusetts
• Was serving as minister to England at the time of
  the convention

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Who was NOT present?

• Samuel Adams of Massachusetts
• Worked in the state of Massachusetts on the state
  constitution
• Initially opposed the Constitution, but came to
  support ratification

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Divisions of Power

• Federal System national vs. state
• Delegated Powers given to national govt.
• Reserved Powers reserved to state govt.
• Concurrent Power Both National and State
• Limited Government limited by Constitution

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Foresight of the Forefathers?

• Convention made the Constitution flexible enough
  to adapt to the future
• Elastic Clause
• Amendment Process

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Ratification Debate

• The Constitution was submitted to the states to
  be ratified
• Immediately, this escalated into a major debate
  over the Constitution
• FEDERALISTS supported it
• ANTI-FEDERALISTS opposed it

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Federalists

• Included those that wanted a stronger central
  government
• Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison wrote a
  series of anonymous essays The Federalist Papers

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Anti-Federalists

• Opposed the constitution for a variety of reasons
• No Bill of Rights
• Fear of strong central/executive authority
• Weakening of state governments