3.04 We Can Make a Difference In 1787, delegates chosen to represent the people of all 13 states gathered at the in Philadelphia.
was chosen president of the Constitutional Convention.
They chose to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new constitution.
The Framers wanted to ensure that the people could be involved in the decision making process of the government through acts like voting. This is called .
After much debate, the Framers created a constitution with branches; the . The Framers used a system of to ensure that no one branch gained too much power.
During the convention, took careful notes at each session. This is why we know so much about the debates and the issues the Framers faced.
The first issue of creating a new constitution had to do with representation. The big states liked the , but the smaller states saw the as unfair. They believed that representation should be equal, no matter a state’s size.
They proposed the . or was proposed by and it brought the big states and smaller states together by taking parts from both plan and creating the bicameral (two houses) legislature.
The issue of also challenged the Framers at the Constitutional Convention.
The South wanted to count slaves in the population to determine . Many Northern delegates had a problem with the issue of slavery and did not want slaves (remember, slaves were considered) to be counted in the population.
They Northern delegates also saw this as a way for Southern states to increase their representation or power in Congress.
The Southern states were also worried about on exports. The Southern states exported cash crops to and worried that Congress could severally damage their economy if exports were taxed.
The stated the three-fifths of a state’s slaves would be counted in the population when determining representation. This is a reflection of the Framers decision to use population as a basis for tax rates. The said that export taxes would not be allowed and Congress could consider ending the slave trade in 1808.
The Framers also had to decide how the executive branch should be organized and the elected.
The Framers did not want choosing the President. They were afraid that would give Congress too much power and could lead to the formation of special interests in Congress.
of Pennsylvania proposed a system for electing the president known as the .
The Electoral College is the group of people who officially elect the president of the United States. One main problem with the Electoral College system of electing the President is the Electoral College votes sometimes do not reflect the .