Constitutional Convention Dbq

The Constitutional Convention was a meeting held in Philadelphia in 1787 to frame the Constitution. During this convention, the thirteen original states or colonies were the first to ratify this document. Under the Articles of Confederation, many leaders believed that the central government did not have enough authority. Therefore, instead of amending the Articles of Confederation, delegates, from different states, drafted a new written document with rules and regulations for a new federal government. In this government, three branches of government were formed: legislative, judicial and executive. Under these three branches of government, the legislative branch (also known as Congress) creates laws. The executive branch enforces the law and

In Federalist No. 10, Madison stated that factions were created by a common interest and that getting rid of factions would be difficult. People took advantage of their state of nature and started factions to voice their opinions. The people, who carried out personal interests, thought that they were addressing community issues, but were only addressing their own opinions. However, Madison came to the conclusion that the more factions there were, the better it was. If there were many factions under the federal government, there would be a less chance for the factions to take control over the government due to competition. In other words, it would be more challenging to find a representative in a majority group that competed with other interest groups for control over power. Madison also knew that if power was controlled by one representative, the people would be in the hands of tyranny. This was like the elitism theory. By having a diverse group of republican governments or lower leveled governments, this would decrease leadership by

In Federalist No. 10, Madison discussed a new idea of checks and balances. Checks and balances would interrupt faction plans. By using this idea, the government would avoid factions started by the majority, mainly the poor. Checks and balances allowed all levels of government to operate their respective duties. In other words, the three branches of government would be able to have control of the other. For example, the legislative branch has the job of making effective bills and pass them. However, if the president vetoes the bill, the legislative branch still has the right to ignore the president and pass the bill. The framers also incorporated a strong central government because many of the individual states had conflicts about jealousy and competition of power. Madison’s principles were influenced by a common theme: compromise. For instance, Madison came up with the three-fifths compromise; a five to 3 ratio. This compromise settled disputes between northern and southern states about slaves. The final decision concluded 3/5’s of slaves would count as population and taxes. Madison was also a firm believer of people working together as a team to have successful and effective outcomes. All the work could not be one person’s work where others helped promote the idea. Everyone needed to contribute ideas. Madison also thought that popular elections would help avoid a messy government (James