The Constitutional Convention: 1.4 Flashcards
boundary for original 13 colonies
Appellation Mountains
Mississippi River
boarder moves as Western boarder
George Washington
head of convention
James Madison
called “father of the Constitution”
when
began in May 1787; completed Sep 17, 1787 (constitutional day)
where
Independence Haul, Philadephia, PA
who
55 delegates appointed by the state legislatures
leadership
George Washington, Benjamin Franklin
authorship
James Madison, Governeur Morris, James Wilson
The Virginia Plan
legislative branch, upper and lower house, support larger populous states, opposition smaller states, strong executive branch chosen by national legislator, judicial branch national
legislative branch V
strong national legislature with 2 houses (bicameral)
upper house V
executive, chosen by the lower house
lower house V
judicial, chosen by the people
support V
larger populous states
opposition V
smaller populous states that wanted more independence
executive branch V
strong executive chosen by the national legislature
judicial branch V
national judiciary appointed by the national legislature
The New Jersey Plan
legislative branch with one house, opposition for larger states, weak executive branch, limited judicial branch
legislative branch NJ
national legislature with one house (unicameral), one vote for each state; independent states continue as confederation; congressional power to impose taxes and trade regulation
opposition NJ
larger states who wanted their populations to carry more weight in the national legislature
executive branch NJ
weaker executive, consisting of more than one person, chosen by the national legislature (presidential board)
judicial branch NJ
limited national judiciary appointed by executive
The Connecticut Compromise
legislative branch with 2 houses, executive branch with presidential term, judicial branch appointed by the executive
legislative branch C
2 houses; house of reps: # of reps based on each state’s population (lower house) favored large; senate: 2 members from each state regardless of population, elected by state legislatures favored small; congressional power to impose taxes; laws for taxing/spending begin in the House
executive branch C
president chosen by the Electoral College system (voters from the states electors choose president); 4 year term
judicial branch C
national judiciary appointed by the executive (president) and confirmed by the state
3/5 Compromise
northern and southern state delegates disagreed on how to count slaves with representation and taxation; southern states wanted all slaves counted to give more representation in Congress, didn’t want for taxes; northern states wanted slaves counted for tax not representation in Congress
compromise solution
only 3/5 of slaves counted for taxation and representation in the south
