Lesson 4 of 11
Compromises in Philadelphia, then the fight to ratify.
Delegates met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles. They soon decided to write a new constitution instead. George Washington presided. James Madison took careful notes and pushed a stronger national plan, which is why he is called the Father of the Constitution.
The meeting was secret so delegates could change their minds. Rhode Island refused to send anyone. The work lasted through a hot summer.
The Virginia Plan favored large states: representation by population, and a strong national government. The New Jersey Plan favored small states: equal votes for every state, closer to the Articles.
The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise) created a two-house Congress. The House of Representatives is based on population. The Senate gives every state two seats.
The Three-Fifths Compromise counted three-fifths of the enslaved population for representation and direct taxes. It was a deal between slaveholding and free states. It did not say an enslaved person was three-fifths of a human in a moral sense — it was a political formula, and it increased Southern power in the House. It is a stain the later amendments had to confront.
The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise let Congress regulate trade, but it barred Congress from banning the international slave trade before 1808. Another compromise created the Electoral College so presidents would not be picked only by a direct popular vote or only by Congress.
Remember: Great Compromise = House by population + Senate equal. That is the compromise the EOC loves.
Federalists supported ratification. They wanted a stronger national government that could tax, regulate trade, and keep order. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay wrote the Federalist Papers to explain and defend the Constitution.
Anti-Federalists feared a distant government that could crush liberty. They wanted a bill of rights and worried the new government had no term limits on judges and too much taxing power. Famous voices included Patrick Henry and George Mason.
The deal that got the Constitution ratified: Federalists promised to add a bill of rights after ratification. The Constitution took effect in 1788 after nine states approved it. The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.
Remember: Federalists = yes to the Constitution. Anti-Federalists = protect liberty, demand a bill of rights.