brief description of the compromises of the Constitutional Convention of 1787

1. Compromises and Plans
Creating the U.S. Constitution

2. Articles of Confederation
● 1st constitution of the U.S.
● Established a system of cooperation or a “league of friendship”
among the 13 independent states
● Set up a 1-house legislature, each state had 1 vote (Congress)
● Congress was the only government body with control over the army
and authority to deal with foreign countries on behalf of the states.
● Congress powers very limited
● Congress had no power to enforce its laws and no power to tax
● Articles allowed the Congress to ask the states for money but not to
demand it.

3. Weaknesses of the Articles
● Congress could not require the
states to do anything.
● Congress could not pass a law
unless 9 states voted in favor of it
● Any attempt to change the Articles
required an unanimous vote of all 13
states
● Articles did not provide for a
governor or for courts.
● By early 1787, it was clear the
national government needed to be
stronger.

4. Constitutional Convention

5. Virginia Plan
● Written by James Madison
● called for a government with 3
branches
o legislative (the lawmakers)
o executive (carry out the laws)
o judicial-a system of courts- (interpret and apply laws)
● the legislature would be divided into 2 houses (states represented
by population)
● large states would have more votes than small states
● Appealed to delgates from Mass., Penn., N.Y., and Virginia

6. New Jersey Plan
● Written by William Patterson
● 3 branches of government
● legislative branch would only have 1 house,
and each state would get 1 vote, as they did
under the Articles
● made smaller states equal to the larger states
● Appealed to the delegates from Delaware, N.J.,
and Maryland

7. The Great Compromise
● A committee headed by Roger Sheman
● looked at both the Virginia and New
Jersey Plans
● sometimes known as the “Connecticut
Plan”
● Congress will have 2 houses
o Senate-each state have equal
representation
o House of Representatives -
representation based on population

8. Three-Fifths Compromise
● concerning how to calculate the population for purposes
of representation
● Southern States wanted to count slaves,
Northern States did not
● delegates agreed=every five enslaved
persons would count for three free
persons
● used for representation Congress
and in figuring taxes

9. Trade (Commerce) Compromise

10. The Presidency Compromise

11. Works Cited
Text:
• Civics Today: Citizenship, Economics, & You. McGraw-Hill
Companies Inc.: Glencoe, 2005, pages 40-41, 55-57.
Video:
• www.discoveryeducation.com (search Constitutional Convention)
Images:
• www.google.com (search engine for each topic)
• http://regentsprep.org/regents/ushisgov/themes/government/conve
ntion.htm