Compromises of the Constitution



Compromises of the Constitution

A. Background

By 1787, the colonist realized that there were problems with their new government under the Articles of Confederation. Shay’s Rebellion was the final straw and a Constitutional Convention was called to order in Philadelphia. At this convention there were 55 delegates (representatives) from 12 out of the 13 states. Rhode Island did not attend. This convention ran from May 25, 1787 to September 17, 1787. The debates at the Constitutional Convention involved much disagreement and compromise. The issues that had to be negotiated (and compromised on) were: representation in Congress; counting slaves within the population to include them in representation and regulating foreign and domestic (trade between states).

B. Shay’s Rebellion

Daniel Shays led a group of farmers in an armed rebellion in 1786-1787 seeking to end imprisonment for debt, stop the foreclosure of farm mortgages [lose their farms], and force the state to issue cheap paper money. The debtors seized a number of courthouses and tried to seize the United States arsenal [where military weapons were stored] at Springfield. When the national government failed to do anything, the Massachusetts state militia (citizen army) finally put down Shays’ Rebellion. Here is what one man thought of the rebellion.

“I am a plain man, and get my living by the plow -- he’s a farmer. I have lived in a part of the country where I have known the worth of good government by the want [lack] of it. There was a black cloud [Shays Rebellion] that rose in the east last winter, and spread over the west…It brought on a state of anarchy [chaos, disorder]. People that used to live peaceably, and were before good neighbors, got distracted, and took up arms against government…” Jonathan Smith, Massachusetts farmer

C. Framers – Reasoning and Those Present

The Constitution was a compromise between slaveholding interests of the South and the mainly manufacturing and shipping of the North. In order to unite the thirteen states into one great market for commerce, the northern delegates wanted laws regulating interstate commerce, and urged that such laws require only a majority of Congress to pass. The South agreed to this, in return for allowing the trade of slaves to continue for twenty years.

-- Howard Zinn

“Inasmuch as the primary object of a government, …is making of rules which determine the property relations of members of society, the dominant classes whose rights are thus to be determined must obtain from the government such rules as are consistent with the larger interests necessary to the continuance or their economic progress…” –Charles Beard

How many Framers were slaveholders?

More than 100 slaves:

G. Mason, VA……………………300 + slaves 10-50 Slaves:

J. Rutledge, S.C……………………243 A. Martin, N.C……………………47 Fewer than 10 slaves:

G. Washington, VA……………………260 W. Davie, N.C……………………36 J. Madison, VA

P. Butler, S.C. ……………………143 W. Blount, N.C……………………30 L. Martin, MD

C. Pickney, S.C……………………111 D. Jenifer, MD……………………20 G. Read, DEL E. Randolph, VA……………………16

50-100 Slaves: J. Blair, VA……………………15

R. Spaight, N.C……………………71

C.C. Pickney, S.C……………………70

D. Carroll, MD……………………53

D. Compromising!

Directions: Pretend your group has been put in charge of finalizing the Constitution. Unfortunately, there are still some issues that are still not resolved concerning representation, slavery, and the rights of the people. You will compare the two sides of each issue and create a compromise that will make everyone happy!

|Conflicting Groups |Disagreements |Compromise that was reached |How does this compromise satisfy the |

| | | |needs of those involved? |

|Small States |Made the national government primary and reduced the | | |

|vs. |states to secondary position. It envisioned the United | | |

|Large States |States as one large country. Under the Virginia Plan, | | |

| |representation for each state in both the Senate and the | | |

| |House of Representatives is based on taxes paid to the | | |

| |national government or the number of free residents (both | | |

| |of which favor large states). One provision of the plan | | |

| |gave the national government the right to veto | | |

| |legislation. This was a reform of the Articles of | | |

| |Confederation instead of a whole new plan. There was a | | |

| |single legislative (law making) group; in which each state| | |

| |would have equal representation (favors smaller states). | | |

| |It gave Congress greater powers over commerce (trade). The| | |

| |New Jersey Plan also created the executive and judicial | | |

| |branch. | | |

|Southern States |The Southern states wanted to obtain maximum | | |

|Vs. |representation but minimum taxation, the Southern states | | |

|Northern States |propose that (a) slaves be counted as part of the | | |

| |population for representation in the House of | | |

| |Representatives, and (b) slaves not be counted for the | | |

| |purpose of direct taxation by the National government. | | |

| |The Northern states opposed this plan because they did not| | |

| |have slaves and therefore received no benefit from this | | |

| |plan. | | |

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|Trade |Most of the men who would be involved in Congress were | | |

|and |living in the north – mostly manufacturers – they wanted | | |

|Commerce |to make sure a strong federal government would control the| | |

| |trade laws. | | |

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|Federalists |Federalist: wanted a strong national government to provide| | |

|Vs. |order and protect the rights of the people. | | |

|Anti- Federalists |Anti-Federalists: wanted a weak national government so | | |

| |that it would not threaten the rights of people and | | |

| |states, therefore favored an assurances of rights. | | |

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