The document summarizes the key events and outcomes of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. It notes that 55 delegates from 12 states (except Rhode Island) attended, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison. They decided to discard the Articles of Confederation and write a new Constitution. There were opposing plans from James Madison and the small states, which were resolved by compromises, including equal representation of states in the Senate and proportional representation in the House. The Constitution was then ratified after intense debate between Federalists and opponents.

2. Charles Pinckney

3. Who Attended the Constitutional
Convention?
• Each state except Rhode
Island sent delegates to
Philadelphia to fix the flaws
in the Articles of
Confederation.
• Most of the 55 men were
well-educated and
experienced in politics.
• Native Americans, African
Americans, and women were
not included.
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4. Who Attended the
Constitutional Convention?
• -Benjamin Franklin was the
oldest delegate at 81.
• He was a diplomat, writer,
inventor, and scientist.
• Two delegates–George
Washington and James
Madison–would later become
presidents.

5. • Thomas Jefferson and John
Adams could not attend.
• They were in Europe as
representatives of the
United States government.
• Patrick Henry opposed the
convention and did not
attend.
Who Attended the
Constitutional Convention?

6. What Decisions Where Made?
• The delegates chose George
Washington to preside.
• Washington chose a
committee to set rules for
conducting the convention.
• The committee decided that
decisions would be made by
majority vote, with each
state having one vote.
• Delegates agreed to keep all
discussions secret to enable
all to speak freely.

7. • No formal records were kept.
•
• Most of what we know comes
from James Madison’s
personal notebook of events.
•
• The delegates decided to
discard the Articles of
Confederation and write a
new constitution.
• Thus the meeting came to be
known as the Constitutional
Convention.
Who Attended the
Constitutional Convention?

8. Roger Sherman

9. What Were the Two
Opposing Plans?
• James Madison designed the
Virginia Plan. It called for a
government with three
branches: the legislative
branch (lawmakers), executive
branch (to carry out the
laws), and judicial branch (a
system of courts to interpret
and apply the laws).
• The legislature would have
two houses, with the states
represented by basis of
population

10. What Were the Two Opposing
Plans?
• The Virginia Plan appealed
to the large states.
• The small states feared a
government dominated by
large states would ignore
their interests.
• The New Jersey Plan also
called for three branches
of government.
• The legislature would have
one house and each state
would get one vote.
• This plan would give equal
power to large and small
states.

11. What Compromises Were Made?
• -Roger Sherman’s
committee proposed a
Senate and a House of
Representatives.
• Each state would have equal
representation in the
Senate. Representation in
the House would be based
on population.
• The delegates accepted this
Great Compromise or
Connecticut Plan.

12. What Compromises Were Made?
• Southern states wanted to
count enslaved African
Americans as part of their
population in determining
representation in the
House.
• Northern states opposed
this plan.
• In the Three-fifths
Compromise, delegates
agreed that every five
enslaved persons would
count as three free
persons for determining
congressional
representation and figuring
taxes.
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13. • -Northern states wanted
Congress to be able to
regulate foreign trade and
trade between the states.
• Southern states feared
Congress would then tax
their exports and stop the
slave trade.
• They agreed to give
Congress the power to
regulate trade, but it
could not tax exports or
interfere with the slave
trade before 1808.
What Compromises Were Made?

14. • Delegates disagreed on
whether Congress or the
voters should choose the
president.
• The solution was the
Electoral College, a group
of people named by each
state legislature to select
the president and vice
president.
• Today, the voters in each
state, not the legislators,
choose electors.
What Compromises Were Made?

15. Approving the Constitution
• Ratification required at least
9 of 13 state conventions to
vote “yes.”
• Supporters of the
constitution called
themselves Federalists to
emphasize that the
Constitution would create a
system of federalism, a form
of government in which
power is divided between the
federal, or national,
government and the states.
• Federalists argued for a
strong central government.
• Federalist Papers-
Hamilton, Madison, and
Jay

16. • The Constitution took
effect when New
Hampshire became the
ninth state to ratify it on
June 21, 1788.
Approving the Constitution