Chapter 13
– Lesson 2
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Delegates met in Philadelphia to discuss changing
the Articles of Confederation so that the United States government could work
better for all Americans.
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55 delegates attended the meeting. All were white men who owned property. Most of them had fought beside Washington in
the Continental Army.
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James Madison proposed the Virginia Plan. He thought that the Articles of Confederation
should be thrown out.
Virginia
Plan
1.
Central
government should have 3 branches or parts.
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Legislative or law-making body, called the
Congress
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Executive
-
Judicial
2.
The number of representatives each state would
have in Congress would be based on population.
New Jersey Plan
1.
All states
would have the same number of representatives in the Congress.
Many Compromises
Compromise – each side gives up something it wants in order to
reach an agreement
What was decided:
1.
Three main
branches
2.
Congress would have (2) separate houses.
a. House of
Representatives – each state’s representatives would be based on population
b. Senate –
each state would have (2) representatives
3.
People
would vote for members of an Electoral College.
The Electoral College would then vote for a President.
4.
Every (5) slaves would be counted as (3).
The
Constitution of the United States was signed on September 17, 1787.
