PEOPLE

Benjamin Franklin

. Inventor, scientist, printer, politician, and diplomat,

. Helped draft both Declaration of Independence and Constitution

. Presided over Pennsylvania delegation to Constitutional Convention

Alexander Hamilton

. First Secretary of the Treasury

. Leading Federalist, believed in strong central government and wrote many of the Federalist Papers

. Wanted proportional representation in both houses of Congress

. Considered founder of American financial system

. Killed in duel with Aaron Burr, 1804

James Madison

. Virginian most responsible for designing the Constitution

. Nationalist, helped write Federalist Papers

. Despite initial misgivings, helped pass Bill of Rights

. Later became president

George Mason

. Virginia planter, major Anti-Federalist

. Despised slave trade but held hundreds of slaves

. Fought against ratification of the Constitution

Edmond Randolph

. Virginia lawyer who fought in Revolutionary War

. Author of the Virginia Plan of proportional representation in both houses

. Ensured Virginia's ratification of Constitution, 1788

Roger Sherman

. Connecticut delegate to the Constitutional Convention

. Author of the Great Compromise (or Connecticut Compromise) regarding composition of Senate and House

George Washington

. Virginia planter and first President of the United States

. Led American army during Revolutionary War

. Established two-term precedent for American presidency

. More important as stabilizing force than as a creative thinker

EVENTS

1787 Philadelphia Convention

. Debate over structure of Constitution raged through hot summer

. Relative merits of Virginia, New Jersey Plans debated by framers

. Convention adopted Constitution and Congress submitted it for ratification to states in same year

1787 Northwest Ordinance

. Organized settlement of Ohio and Midwest

. Divided each area into townships of equal size

. Guaranteed self-government and religious toleration for settlers

. Allowed for new states to enter US as equals of original 13 states

1787 First Federalist Papers Published

. Built public support for Constitution

. Published anonymously

. Authored by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay

. Still intellectually significant

1788 Constitution Ratified

. New York was last state to ratify before Constitution took force

. George Washington elected first president in same year

. Rhode Island last of original 13 states to ratify in 1790

1792 Bill of Rights Added

. First debate over amendments began in 1789

. Only ten of twelve proposed amendments actually accepted

GROUPS

Anti-Federalists

. Believed in small, local government

. Feared centralized power and tyranny from afar

. Mostly based in the South (Virginia especially)

. Included Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, Patrick Henry

CONCEPTS

Checks and Balances

. Branches of government have powers that counter each other

. Ensure no branch will become disproportionately powerful, even within its own jurisdiction

. Fundamental concept underlying the separation of powers in U.S. government

Electoral College

. System by which president is elected

. Each state gets votes equal to number of representatives plus senators in Congress

. In original system, state legislatures selected electors, who then cast votes for president

. Now, almost all states assign their electoral votes to the winner of the state popular vote

. Indirect form of election; candidate can lose popular vote but win electoral college as in the 2000 election

Great Compromise

. a.k.a. Connecticut Compromise

. Allocated representation in House proportional to population, but representation in Senate equal for all states

. Saved convention from dissolution; resolved dispute between small and large states

New Jersey Plan

. Proposed that each state would receive the same number of votes in Congress

. Endorsed by small states only

Original Intent

. Judicial doctrine that insists that Constitution should be interpreted the way that framers intended

. Recently embraced by conservative (or strict constructionist) courts and jurists

. Liberal courts, however, feel government should be more responsive to changing attitudes and needs of the people

Republicanism

. Ideology of government in which authority derives from consent of the people

. Success of system depended on virtue of its citizens

. Republican citizens were property-owners willing to subordinate their own interests to that of the community as a whole

Separation of Powers

. Federal authority is split among three branches of government

. Prevents tyranny by not vesting all power in a single governmental body (such as a king)

. Central component of American system of government

Three-Fifths Compromise

. Each slave counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of calculating representation in Congress

. Boosted southern power in Congress significantly

Virginia Plan

. Proposal to base representation in both houses of Congress on population of states

. Endorsed by big states like New York, Virginia

PLACES

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

. Site of Constitutional Convention, 1787