The Constitution and Compromises

1. The Constitution andCompromises

2. Call for Convention Why did the convention take place? • Trade between the states led to arguments over taxes on goods • Shays’s Rebellion – a protest from farmers who fought during the Revolutionary War that came back home facing heavy taxes to pay for the war. They couldn’t afford the taxes and might lose their farms to creditors. • The first challenges to the Articles of Confederation had happened

3. The Convention • The Philadelphia Convention took place in May 1787 • Representatives were there from 12 of the 13 states (all except Rhode Island) • Delegates were lawyers, merchants and planters • Some attenders were: Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, James Madison, and Roger Sherman

4. Issues at the Convention • George Washington wanted the meeting to be private so the representatives could be honest • Some of the big problems discussed were: • Small States vs. Large States • Regional Differences

5. Small States vs. Large States • Delegates from small states were worried that large states would control government. • The delegates needed to address the issue with a plan that both small and large states could accept.

6. Regional Differences • Representatives from New England and the Middle states were focused on farming and trade • Representatives from Southern states were focused on cash crops and slavery • The representatives needed to come up with plans that would include both of these issues.

7. Plans for Representation • The issue of Representation between the small states and the large states was the first thing discussed • The Virginia Plan – Proposed legislature with two houses with representatives based on population (small states did not like this plan) • The New Jersey Plan – Proposed one house with each state having equal number of representatives (large states did not like this plan)

8. Great Compromise • Roger Sherman suggested the Great Compromise • This plan combined the Virginia and New Jersey Plans in a way that everyone could accept. • This plan offered: • A two-house Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) • Senate would have equal representation • House of Representatives would be based on population • Representatives to both houses would be elected by the people

9. The Three-Fifths Compromise • The issue of representation had been addressed but now the issue of slaves and representation had to be addressed. • The Three-Fifths Compromise agreed that 3/5 of a state’s slaves would be counted as part of the population for representation and taxation.

10. The Slave Trade • The issue of counting the slaves had been addressed but the issue of the slave trade had not. • The slave trade had stopped during the Revolutionary War and Southern states were ready to start it again • Southern states were afraid Congress would stop the slave trade if it were allowed to regulate trade • The compromise allowed Federal Government to regulate trade but prevented it from ending the slave trade for 20 years.

11. Read “One American’s Story” on page 132 and answer the following questions. _____1. What did Daniel Shays’s do for a living? A. A general B. A farmer C. A politician _____2. Why was he on the brink of failure? A. He owed a lot of tax money B. He gambled his farm C. His crops had died _____3. What did he have “too little” of? A. Crops B. Training C. Paper money _____4. Why did farmers want the courts closed? A. So they could control trade B. To stop the taxes C. To stop the army _____5. What happened when the farmers asked the courts to help them? A. They put them in jail B. They agreed to help them C. They did not help _____6. What is a creditor? A. A person who owes money B. A person you owe money to C. A member of Congress _____7. How many farmers did Shays lead in the rebellion? A. 1,000 B. 10,000 C. 1,200 _____8. What did the revolt by the farmers mean? A. That the government was doing a good job B. That the government was making good decisions C. That the government had problems _____9. What does “discontent” mean? A. Not happy B. Happy C. Disappeared _____10. Where did Daniel Shays live? A. Maryland B. Washington C. Massachusetts

12. One American’s Story – Daniel Shays Daniel Shays was angry. A veteran of the Revolutionary War battles at Bunker Hill and Saratoga, he had returned to his farm in western Massachusetts. Because of the heavy debt that he carried, however, he faced debtors’ prison. After risking his life in the Revolutionary War, he was not on the brink of failure. The problem for Shays was the he was the victim of too much taxation and too little paper money with which to pay his taxes. Like Shays, many farmers in Massachusetts had reached the breaking point in 1786. People in the coastal towns, where merchants had sold goods to farmers on credit, had pushed through a state tax that fell heavily on farmers in the western part of the state. The farmers petitioned the assembly for relief but their please fell on deaf ears. The assembly included only a few representatives from western Massachusetts. All through the summer and fall of 1786, farmers kept demanding the courts be closed so they would not lose their farms to creditors. Their discontent boiled over into mob action in January of 1787 when Daniel Shays led a motley army of 1,200 farmers in forcing the courts to close. Shays’s army then marched through the snow toward the arsenal at Springfield. State officials hurriedly called out the militia to head off the army of farmers. Four of the rebels were killed and the rest were scattered. Clearly, though, if farmers were rebelling, there was something seriously wrong with the new government.

13. Read the “Key Conflicts in the Constitutional Convention” chart on page 134 and answer the following questions. _____1. Who believed that slaves should not be counted when deciding the number of congressional delegates? A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States _____2. Who believed that authority should come from the states? A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States _____3. Who believed Congress should be composed of 2 houses? A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States _____4. Who believed Congress should be composed of 1 house? A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States _____5. Who believed slaves should not be counted when levying taxes? A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States _____6. Who believed each state should have one vote? A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States _____7. Who believed the central government should be stronger than the states? A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States _____8. Who believed that slaves should be counted when determining congressional representation? A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States _____9. Who believed states should remain stronger than the central government? A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States _____10. Who believed delegates to both houses should be based on population? A. North B. South C. Large States D. Small States E. Central Government F. Strong States

14. What do you remember?