Constitutional Convention
By: Jazzlyn Alvarez
The Constitutional Convention
- Took place on May 14, 1787
- Took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Was first set up to revise the Articles of Confederation, but then it was later intended to create a new government.
- George Washington was elected leader of this convention
- The convention resulted in the creation of our United States Constitution.
- Included in the convention was
The Virginia Plan
- Was created by James Madison
- Proposal for new form of government
- Main purpose of the plan was to protect large states interest in the new government
- Had 15 resolutions, some based on the ideas of Montesquieu
- Proposed a separation of powers; Judicial, Legislative, Judicial
- Proposed checks and balances
- Wanted each state to be represented by their proportion to the number of free inhabitants
The New Jersey Plan
- Was proposed by William Patterson
- Was a counterproposal to the Virginia Plan
- Proposed on June 15, 1787
- Legislature would be unicameral
- States would be represented equally, each with one representative.
- Believed states were independent entities, and they would remain free and individual
Supporters of the Virginia Plan
James Madison
- Was an political theorist, American statesmen, and the fourth President of the United States
- Lived March 16, 1751- June 28, 1836
- First man at convention
- Known as the "Father of the Constitution"
George Washington
- Was the first President of the United States
- One of the Founding Fathers of the United States
- Born in 1732
- Was elected Commander in Chief for the Continental Army in 1775
- When the Constitution was ratified the Electoral College elected him president.
Supporters of the New Jersey Plan
William Paterson
- New Jersey statesmen
- Signed the U.S. Constitution
- Proposed the New Jersey Plan
- Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
- Federalist party
Luther Martin
- Politician
- One of the Founding Fathers
- Refused to sign the Constitution because he felt it violated state's rights.
- Consistently sided with small states.
- Helped create the Virginia Plan
Problems at the Convention
Some issues revolved around..
- Representation; How many representatives would each state have? And how would you count slaves into the population? Did they count?
- If slavery would continue to be allowed or not
- The way a President would be elected and how long would their terms be
- States rights
- The way that the central government's power would be limited to prevent peoples right to be taken away
Citations
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Convention_(United_States)
- http://study.com/academy/lesson/the-virginia-plan-description-facts-quiz.html
- http://www.usconstitution.net/plan_nj.html
- http://haynes.jpschools.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/119/2013/07/new_jersey_plan_vs_virginia_plan.pdf
- http://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-constitution-amendments/james-madison/
- https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600presidents/georgewashington