Ap Us History Dbq Research Paper

Question: Was the Constitution written to be a landmark document or was it simply a compilation of compromises?

After the American Revolution had ended in 1783, the states were left in a vulnerable position. Although the states had won the war and gained their independence, there was still a huge war deficit, fear of invasion from England or other countries like France or Spain, a virtually non-existent army of 600 men, no strong trade route to bring in money, Indian hostilities and a very weak economy. The majority of Americans did not want a national government, they were afraid to establish one after fighting a long war to gain independence from England. Initially the Articles of Confederation had served as a united agreement between the states but gave each independent state the right to govern
themselves with little or no intervention from a national government. There was an established congress but it was powerless without the approval of the states. Congress could raise an army and navy, borrow money and handle foreign and Indian affairs, and pass laws, but couldn’t make the states obey them or help control uprisings within each state, it was virtually a co-operation that gave the states the power. Once the economy began to decline due to England (major trade route), refusing to trade with America, it became more evident that the 13 states were vulnerable to its enemies and that a National Government was indeed necessary. At the time that the Constitutional Convention met (May 14, 1787), each state had functioned on its own and would most likely have a problem relinquishing power into a much feared national government. As a result when representatives met from 12 of the 13 states (except Rhode Island) they had to draw a series of compromises so that the Northern States, Southern States, Small States and Large States would all agree to the establishment of a national government. There were two types of parties at this time, the Federalists, who supported a unified government “Federal Government” and Anti-Federalists, who were mostly agrarian and supported state government. At this meeting of 55 men from 12 states, federalists & anti-federalists had to agree and compromise. The Virginia Plan (Large State Plan) presented by Edmund Randolph, proposed that the legislature consist of two houses (bicameral) and that representation would be based on population. That the chief executive was to be chosen by the legislature and the judiciary was to be chosen by the legislature. This plan brought about the New Jersey Plan (Small State Plan) presented by William Patterson, which proposed that legislature be composed of one house (unicameral) and that the representatives had an equal number of votes from all states.
Then the great compromise was reached on June 29, 1787. This was a combination of the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan Connecticut Compromise, which stated that there would be two houses (bicameral). One house would have equal representation and the other would be based on population. It was called the Connecticut Compromise because Roger Sherman, who had offered a compromise dealing with the issues of slavery and representation, was from Connecticut. Members of the House of Representatives (lower house) would be appointed among the states according to population and would be elected by the people. Members of the Senate (upper house) would be chosen by the lower house and would have an equal number of representatives for each state. The House has the power to originate all bills for raising or spending money (they write the bills to be passed) and the Senate favors the smaller states with two senators for each state. This compromise also included the Three-Fifths Compromise which tackled the issue of slaves being
counted for representation in the House. Every 5 slaves would be counted as three. This method would also be used for taxation determination. Aside from these compromises there was also the Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise which gave congress control over foreign and interstate commerce, but that power could not be used to restrict slavery prior to 1808, which was the fear of the Southern States who depended heavily on slavery. There was also the Presidential or Electoral College Compromise which stated that there would be an “Electoral College” equal to the representation in congress for each individual state. The Electors would be selected by its state and the electors would vote for the president. So as you can see from the compromises listed the Constitution was based on a series of compromises so that each state would ratify and create the much needed National Government.