Constitutional Convention
Adrieanne Covey
What is the Constitutional Convention?
The Constitutional Convention was set in Philadelphia in 1787. The intended purpose was to make adjustments to the Articles of Confederation. Many of the people attending were actually thinking about starting a new government. By the end of the convention they created the U.S. Constitution.
Virginia Plan
The Virginia Plan favored bigger states. The focus of the Virginia plan was to get votes based off of population. Slaves would count as 3/5th of a vote each. It was drafted by James Madison.
James Madison
Fourth President of the United States. Helped write up the Virginia plan.
George Washington
First President of the United States. Was an important leader in the Revolutionary war.
Edmund Randolph
Representative from Virginia. Contributed to the writing of the Virginia Plan.
New Jersey Plan
Each state had the same number of votes despite population. They did not want larger states to run the government. This plan was thought up by William Paterson.
William Paterson
Leader of the New Jersey Plan. Second Governor of New Jersey.
Luther Martin
Proposed the New Jersey Plan. Refused to sign the constitution because he felt it went against states rights.
John Dickinson
Helped write all the papers to the king in order to try to compromise.
Problems
The convention's main problems were that large states and small states could not agree on how to be represented. Larger states wanted representatives to be based on population, while smaller states wanted one representative per state. No one knew that they were creating a new government all together, they were supposed to just be adjusting the one they had.
Websites Used
Boundless
https://www.boundless.com/political-science/textbooks/boundless-political-science-textbook/the-constitution-and-the-founding-of-america-2/the-constitutional-convention-25/the-virginia-and-new-jersey-plans-150-8337/Teaching American History
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/static/convention/themes/3.html
Wikipedia!