Part 1: Do Now: What were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
Part 2 Notes
https://youtu.be/uihNc_tdGbk
1. Why did they want to keep the Convention a secret?
2. The document drafted by the Convention delegates did not originally apply to women or people of
color but, through amendments and Supreme Court decisions, has evolved to include many such
groups. How do you think the Framers would react to these changes if you could speak with them
today?
3. Assume today’s Congress called for a national meeting of delegates from each state to discuss
proposed amendments to the Constitution. What do you think some of the significant differences
would be between the Grand Convention and this hypothetical convention?
The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Many Compromises
In 1787, the states elected representatives to go to the ​Constitutional Convention​ in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to rewrite the ​Articles of Confederation​. But after looking at how
terrible the Articles of Confederation were, they decided to write a brand new Constitution. But
the United States had different groups of people who had very different ideas about what would
be a fair government. These groups arose from the specific needs of each state.
4. Below are the 13 States in 1787 and their populations (total and enslaved)
a. What trends do you notice about population vs free people?
State
Population
Free people
Enslaved People
% Enslaved
% Free
New Hampshire
141,885
141,727
158
1%
99%
Massachusetts
378,787
378,787
0
0%
100%
Rhode Island
68,825
67,877
948
1.5%
98.5%
Connecticut
237,946
235,182
2,764
1%
99%
New York
340,120
318,796
21,324
6%
94%
New Jersey
184,139
172,716
11,423
6%
94%
Pennsylvania
434,373
430,636
3,737
1%
99%
Maryland
319,728
216,692
103,036
32%
68%
Delaware
59,096
50,209
8,887
15%
85%
Virginia
691,737
399,110
292,627
42.5%
57.5%
North Carolina
393,751
293,179
100,572
25.5%
74.5%
South Carolina
249,073
141,979
107,094
43%
57%
Georgia
82,548
53,284
29,264
35.5%
64.5%
Total
3,582,008
2,900,174
681,834
81%
19%
5. List the States in order of their population, from largest to smallest:
Virginia, Pennsylvania, ​North Carolina, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, South
Carolina, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Georgia, Rhode Island, Delaware
6. List the States in order of who has the highest percentage of slaves to who has
the lowest percentage of slaves:
7. Pick 3 States from above and organize their data into the chart below
State
Population
# Enslaved
Northern/Southern-
In your own words
describe what this
state’s ideal
government is
regarding
representation and
views on slavery
NY
340,120
21,324
Northern
Bc NY has a large
population it would
favor the Virginia
plan and would
probably want to
include slaves in
their population
because it made up
6% of their total.
8. What is the difference between the NJ Plan and the Virginia Plan?
According to the Virginia Plan, states with a large population would have more
representatives than smaller states. Large states supported this plan, while
smaller states generally opposed it. Under the New Jersey Plan, the unicameral
legislature with one vote per state was inherited from the Articles of
Confederation.
9. What would be your solution at the Constitutional Convention?
A convention of delegates from all the states except Rhode Island met in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in May of 1787. Known as the Constitutional
Convention, at this meeting it was decided that the best solution to the young
country's problems was to set aside the Articles of Confederation and write a
new constitution.