Preview

Constitutional Convention Dbq Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
896 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Constitutional Convention Dbq Analysis
In 1786 an incident in Massachusetts caused many Americans to question the national government. The rebellion led by Daniel Shay worried many Americans especially the wealthy, the nation's leaders realized there was a need for a stronger central government. In May of 1787 delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia with the purpose to revise the Articles of the Confederation. The Articles had many weaknesses one of its main weaknesses was the power that each individual state had, along with each states representation in Congress. This would be known as the Constitutional Convention, the delegates present were all came from the upper class of American Society they were well educated and wealthy. These men came together with the mission of making …show more content…
In order to assuage this issue a representative of a large and small state presented proposals that of what they believed the representation should be. The Virginia Plan or large states plan was proposed by Edmund Randolph, and written by James Madison. This document recommended a bicameral legislature whose membership was determined by the size of that states free population. The lower house would be elected by the people and the upper house was to be chosen by the members of the lower house. An executive would be chosen by the legislature for an unspecified term and would not be reelected. A judiciary branch would consist of supreme courts and lower courts implemented by the legislature. The Virginia Plan put more power into the hands of the larger states. Each government would make specific powers to check and balance the other, making the branches …show more content…
The conflict derived from the fact that many states had a large population of slaves, counting these slaves would greatly effect a states population. States with large slave populations wanted all of their slaves to count in the population in contrast the states with low to no slaves wanted only the free population counted. The proposal that was adopted was the three-fifths compromise. With this every three out of five slaves would be counted for representation and taxation. The method for counting the population would be by a census every ten
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Constitution Guard Against Tyranny Dbq Analysis
    • 162 Words
    • 1 Page

    Constitution Guard Against Tyranny Dbq Analysis

    The Constitution guarded against tyranny through checks and balances. Checks and Balances is where the three branches work together to make sure no one branch has too much power. Each branch receives control over the other branches. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote the federalist papers in 1787 and 1788. According to Doc. C, and Federalist paper number 51,” Constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices is in such a manner… check on the other.” James Madison, is explaining how the government got split into three branches. Next he explained that the three branches were framed/setup to check on each other…

    • 162 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Short Summary: The Virginia Plan
    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Short Summary: The Virginia Plan

    The Virginia Plan stood on the claim of expanding national power over the states and to have representation to states based on their amount of population. One of the delegates whom were for a stronger national government had mentioned the new country was ready for tyranny. I believe that the thought of having a country under tyranny is dangerous and feeding the national government too much power, especially since the states have already suffered under the harsh rule of tyrant leader, King George III.…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What Is The Purpose Of The Constitutional Convention Dbq
    • 106 Words
    • 1 Page

    What Is The Purpose Of The Constitutional Convention Dbq

    In 1787, the Constitutional Convention started in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA. The purpose of the convention was to make changes to the Articles of Confederation. The Great Compromise - It was decide that the House of Representatives was to be based on population and Senate would have two members. The three-fifths compromise - each slave was counted as 3/5 of a person in the state’s population. The Commerce and Trade Compromise promised that Congress would not tax exports and could regulate trade. It also was decided that there was a need for separation of power and a system was set up for checks and balances.…

    • 106 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Constitution Guard Against Tyranny Dbq Essay
    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Constitution Guard Against Tyranny Dbq Essay

    Without the decisions the government made together we would've never came into an equal equality, without solving the world’s biggest problems. In the summer of 1787 , fifty five delegates representing twelve of the thirteen states met in philadelphia to fix the national gov’t. The problem was that the government under the articles of confederation, the challenge was to create a strong central government without letting anyone get too much power. How did the Constitution Guard against Tyranny? In further reading you will see how they divided the powers that were given to them to help the nation and states around the world, that fills up the world’s problems.…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Compare And Contrast The Three Fifths Compromise
    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Compare And Contrast The Three Fifths Compromise

    The three-fifths compromise was system in between the states to determine a person who is enslaved as a three-fifths of a person. The south was overpopulated and continued to grow due to slavery James Wilson proposed this in 1787 and this showed how proslavery was forced during those times. Because the Virginia Plan was denied, the three-fifths compromise was suggested and made the cut for the south to be powerfully represented in the House of Representatives and have too much power when electing presidents. Compared to the northerner states they seemed to disregard slavery. The difference between he northerner states and southern was that the northerner states counted one free man as one vote and one slave not a vote to southern states counting the slaves as a vote as well as one free man as a vote.…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Alexander Hamilton's Three Compromises
    • 152 Words
    • 1 Page

    Alexander Hamilton's Three Compromises

    In 1786 Alexander Hamilton called for a Constitutional Convention to discuss the lack of a central government and to fix the Articles of Confederation. The colonies were told to send delegates to the convention. The 55 delegates met, they were composed of merchants, farmers, lawyers and crafters. They were supposed to fix the Articles of Confederation but they decided to create a whole new document and call it the Constitution. This new government would have three branches the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. They also designed a system of Checks and Balances that would make sure that no branch would become too strong. They also made the Constitution able to be changed if necessary. Not all the delegates were professional people they were…

    • 152 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing James Madison's Letter To The Constitution
    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Comparing James Madison's Letter To The Constitution

    Twelve years after declaring independence, the American people were struggling to articulate their vision for government. They were acutely aware of the shortcomings of a weak central government under the Articles of Confederation, yet they still felt strongly that the individual states maintain their power. James Madison drafted the Virginia Plan in 1787, with a goal of stabilizing the budding nation by according more authority to a central government than before. These resolutions would ultimately become a new Constitution. It was in January 1788, after five states had ratified but eight were still skeptical, that Madison penned a letter to the Independent Journal, wherein he detailed his rationale for the larger federal government.…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Articles Of Confederation Dbq Essay
    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Articles Of Confederation Dbq Essay

    For example, when the topic of limiting the importation of slaves was discussed at the Convention, the representatives from the southern states threatened to leave the union over it. The southerners were fearful that their entire economy and way of life would be destroyed, as they depended on the continuation of slavery for a cheap labor. Alternatively, slavery was largely distasteful to many northerners. Northern parties at the Convention typically understood that it was disadvantageous to them, that slaves would be treated as people in population count for representation purposes, but as untaxed property for import purposes. In the end, both the southerners and the northerners voted with their pocketbook; they were fearful of the financial consequences for their constituents.. A compromise was reached to appease the south, that slave importation would not be limited for the next 20 years. However, to appease the north, Congress would be permitted to levy a duty of $10 per head on each slave that was imported. In reaching this solution, unity was thus preserved, by quelling the parties’ fears over financial…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Three Fifths Compromide Of Slavery In American History
    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Three Fifths Compromide Of Slavery In American History

    The Three Fifths Compromise made it fair for all involved or so the states would want us to believe such nonsense. The population numbers detremine the taxes as well the representation of each state. Who would be counted as population in the census became a big debate among the states.…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Importance Of The Three-Fifth Clause
    • 181 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Importance Of The Three-Fifth Clause

    The Three-Fifth clause is a compromise that said for every five slaves, three of them would count towards the state’s population. The Three-Fifth clause conference was held at the United States Constitutional Convention in the year 1787 and was enforced in states that allowed slavery. The reason for the Three-Fifth clause is because the states had to figure out a system of representation and didn’t know how to count the slaves. The Northern states didn’t want the slaves to be counted towards the population because the slaves were seen as property in the Southern states and the Northern states were concerned that if the Southern states had too many representatives, they would be able to out vote the North on many issues including slavery and…

    • 181 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Constitutional Convention: Attempt To Amend The Articles Of Confederation
    • 248 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Constitutional Convention: Attempt To Amend The Articles Of Confederation

    The Constitutional Convention began as an attempt to amend the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention directed at making an entirely new government. The meeting was privately held, which permitted the members to talk their intellectual capabilities without fear of political retribution. A single matter on which there was complete agreement that George Washington should be the head of state in the Convention. Incorporating, Washington, there was forty-five other representative attended. The states had voted for members to go to the convention who were, for the most part, members of the academic and community elite. The members were rich, and desire to strengthen the national government to protect trade and upgrade financial…

    • 248 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Great Compromise
    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Great Compromise

    The Virginia Plan was written by James Madison, but presented by Edmund Randolph. This Plan was presented to the Constitutional Congress on May 29, 1787. The Virginia Plan proposed the three branches in America. The legislative, judicial, and executive branch. The role of this document is very important and strong. It was the first document to produce a separation of powers in different branches. The Virginia Plan when through more than one revision before it was finally done. There were two houses throughout this plan. The House and the Senate. One of them with members elected from…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Constitution Dbq
    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Constitution Dbq

    The Constitution was originally thought of as an instrument of national unity, but by the 1850s, that thought was debatable. The document was interpreted differently in the North than in the South, which naturally created tensions. The North and the South’s argument was whether or not slavery was constitutional. The Constitution did not say anything upfront about slavery, which caused problems and confusion. However, the Constitution was not a source of sectional discord, and it did not contribute to failure of the union it had created.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    James Madison's Contribution To The Constitution
    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages

    James Madison's Contribution To The Constitution

    “The Virginia Plan proposed a strong central government composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial” (ourdocuments.gov). “This was a proposal for a new form of government and called for the number of votes each state received in Congress to be based on population rather than each state receiving one vote. The purpose of the plan was to protect the large states' interests in the new government, which would be stronger federally than under the Articles of Confederation” (Study.com). It also detailed in Voices of a People's History of the United States, “however the republic may be, the representatives must be raised to a certain number, in order to guard against the cables of a few’ and that, however large it may be, they must be limited to a certain number, in order to guard against the confusion of a multitude” (112). This plan had a Worldwide influence and it works until nowadays. The Virginia Plan was published at National Archives and Records Administration which is an “independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives”…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Three-Fifths Compromise
    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Three-Fifths Compromise

    The ratification of the United States Constitution depended on the agreement of the North and the South, and the issue of slavery was a major obstruction to this agreement. Each state’s representation was determined by the number of person’s residing in that state. The North did not want to count the slaves as part of this number because it would mean less representation for them in the government. Their argument was that since slaves were considered property, they should be equated with other chattel property, like cattle and mules. The South, on the other hand, was determined to count slaves into their population due to the high proportion of slaves in the southern region of the country. Without the support of the South, the ratification of the Constitution was doubtful, so the 3/5 Compromise was written. Article 1, section 2 of the Constitution states that “population for the purposes of representation and taxation would be determined by adding the whole number of free people, including indentured servants, plus 3/5 of all slaves”. This was also called The Enumeration Clause.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics