ipl-logo

Constitutional Convention Pros And Cons

692 Words3 Pages

10/23/14 Sarah LeBoeuf POLS 1113 Dr. George Black The Constitutional Convention The Constitutional Convention took place secretly in place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Some well-known delegates who attended include George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. After much discussion, the 55 delegates decided to completely new articles rather than attempt to revise the Articles of Confederation. Governor Edmund Randolph proposed The Virginia Plan, also called the Large State Plan, at the convention. This proposal took into account many of James Madison’s opinions. Randolph proposed the use of a bicameral legislature, with the people electing the lower house, and the lower …show more content…

Pickney wanted a treaty among the 13 states. He also proposed having a bicameral legislature, with a Senate and a House of Delegates. The House would have one representative for every one thousand citizens. The House would elect Senators who would serve for four years and preside over one of four regions. Congress would meet to elect a President and appoint members of the cabinet. Congress would work as the court of appeal of last resort in disputes between states. Pinckney also proposed having a supreme Federal Judicial Court. William Paterson proposed the New Jersey Plan, also known as the Small State Plan. The existing Continental Congress would remain, but it would be given new powers, such as the power to charge taxes and force their collection. An executive branch would be elected by Congress. The executives would serve a single term and were subject to recall should the state governors demand. The executives would also appoint a judiciary that would serve for life. Paterson also proposed that any laws made by Congress would take precedence over state …show more content…

Sherman proposed having a two-house national legislature of the Virginia Plan, but proposed that the first house would be comprised of representatives according to the geographical number of citizens, but that in the second house (Senate) each state would get one vote. Sherman’s plan was critiqued and eventually accepted. In the final draft of the Constitution, Benjamin Franklin added the condition that revenue bills originate in the house, and that state delegates could vote as free agents. The Senate would give the government a federal character, not because senators were elected by state legislatures, but because each state was equally represented. The government would have three branches; a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary. The legislative branch would be composed of the House and Senate (Congress). The legislative branch would be responsible for making all laws, declaring war, regulating interstate and foreign commerce and controlling taxing and spending policies. The executive branch would be composed of the President, his or her advisors and various other departments. This branch would be responsible for enforcing the laws. The Judicial branch would contain the courts, including the nine justices who make up the highest court (the Supreme Court). According to the Constitution, "[t]he judicial Power of the United

Show More
Related
616 Words | 3 Pages

This men in this house would be elected using the popular vote for each state. The second house would be called the Senate. The men in the House of Representatives would elect members for this house. This proposal favored the larger, more populous states. The smaller states reacted by proposing their own plan, the New Jersey

Read More
309 Words | 2 Pages

In 1978, two plans were put forth regarding how each state in the union would be represented in the national legislature. The two plans put forth were the, “Virginia Plan” (which favored big states), and the “New Jersey Plan.” (which favored small states) Edmund Randolph of Virginia proposed the Virginia plan. The plan laid out a system in which states would be represented in the national legislature based on their population and/or by how much revenue they contributed to the national government.

Read More
1152 Words | 5 Pages

For this purpose, a special convention was held in Philadelphia for delegates to “overhaul” the Articles of Confederation and “render the constitution of the Federal government adequate to the exigencies of the union” (161). During what came to be known as the Constitutional Convention, many issues were debated and

Read More
1276 Words | 6 Pages

In Virginia plan some of the specific powers include, that the national legislature to consent in all situations to which the separate states are unskilled or in which United States consistency may be disturbed by the claim of individual regulation and also assign inferior tribunals. The executive has the power to carry into execution of national laws, and to adverse any legislative act which shall not be passed after wards unless through permission from two third of each branch of national legislature. The judiciary has the power to handle all the circumstances regarding collection of national revenue, impeachment of any state, officers and questions that comprise of national coherence. In New Jersey plan some of the powers that are presented are partially similar to those in Virginia plans but not completely

Read More
728 Words | 3 Pages

These men being known as the founding fathers The Virginia plan was to create a government consisted of what Edmond Randolph proposed that the national government be compiled of a supreme, legislative, executive and judiciary. It was also consisted of 2 houses. The lower house would represent states with the largest population. The members of the upper house would be elected by the lower house making the smaller states have little or no representation in the upper house at all.

Read More
297 Words | 2 Pages

In May 25, 1787, a convention was called in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to express the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. However, the intention from many delegates was to draft a new constitution; create a new government rather than fix the existing one. Rhode Island was the only one of the 13 original states to refuse to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention. At the Convention, the first issues they had to address was the representation in Congress.

Read More
1680 Words | 7 Pages

There would still be a bicameral legislature in congress, but instead the upper house, the House of Representatives, be provided proportional representation with every thirty thousand peoples equaling up to one representative. This suggestion was adopted from the Virginia plan, which pleased the large states. In the lower house, the Senate, the compromise was two representatives per state, despite population. This equal representation reflected the New Jersey plan, which pleased the smaller states. The Great Compromise fulfilled some of the requests from both proposed plans and was accepted

Read More
537 Words | 3 Pages

The upper house would be elected by the lower house, thus ensuring that there is always at least one representative in the upper house. The New Jersey Plan preserved an existing unicameral legislature, in which each state would have equal representation. The compromise that was made called for a bicameral legislature, like the 1 Virginia Plan. However, the lower house number of representatives was determined by the size of the state, and the upper house each state had equal representation. This was just part of the Great Compromise, the subject of slavery had divided the Northern and the Southern states.

Read More
725 Words | 3 Pages

Everyone who had any sense knew that the Articles of Confederation were weak and unsuccessful, and they knew that they had to fix it. So delegates from all of the states decided to meet in the Pennsylvania. However, Rhode Island did not send any delegates over to make suggestions for the Articles of Confederation. Over the course of a few months, the delegates worked on adding and strengthening the government that they spoke about in the Articles. At the end, thirty-nine of the fifty-five present delegates signed the Constitution.

Read More
483 Words | 2 Pages

This, later know as the Great Compromise, was an idea by Roger Sherman from CT. At the time, this was called the CT Compromise, as they likely did not understand how big of a deal this would become. It was simply a combination of both the Virginia and New Jersey plans. It took the two houses from the Virginia plan, but they decided the Senate would be equal, pleasing the small states, and then House of Representatives would then be based off population, satisfying the larger states. This is so important because they created a government we would continue to use for hundreds of years to come, including

Read More
298 Words | 2 Pages

The plan proposed by Virginia otherwise known as the “large-state plan.” Which proposed “a bicameral legislature, in which the lower house would be elected proportionately and the upper house would be selected from a list of nominees sent from the state legislatures on the basis of equal representation for the states. ”(add footnote) As the smaller states feared that this plan would lose a voice in the federal government if they continued with the Virginia plan, they opposed this plan and came up with one for themselves which would be known as the “small-state plan.” The small-state plan would propose “a unicameral Congress, with equal representation for each state, with all the powers of the Confederation Congress.

Read More
868 Words | 4 Pages

However, a delegate named Edmund Randolph proposed that the delegates create an entirely new, strong national government instead of editing the Articles. He introduced the Virginia Plan, which was largely the work of James Madison. This plan was a two-house legislature, a chief executive chosen by the legislature, and a court system. The members of the lower house of the legislature would be elected by the people and the members of the upper house would be chosen by the lower house. In both houses, the number of representatives would be proportional to the population of each state.

Read More
576 Words | 3 Pages

This plan proposed a structure of government to the Constitutional Convention. However this did not apply for everyone, because this would mean that states with a larger population will get more representatives so they supported this plan while the smaller states were opposed to the plan. There was an alternative option offered called the New Jersey Plan. This plan was also known as the Small State Plan which consisted of 11 resolutions. The New Jersey Plan would be a new process that ensures there is an unbiased selection of State representatives to a centralized legislative body.

Read More
1593 Words | 7 Pages

After deciding to write a new constitution, the delegates could not decide what new form the government should take. One of the options was the Virginia Plan created by Edmund Randolph and James Madison. The plan included a strong government with three branches (the legislative branch, The judicial branch, and the executive branch). In the Virginia Plan, the legislator would consist of two houses and seats would be awarded on the basis of the population. Due to the fact that the seats are awarded based on population, larger states would have more representatives than smaller states.

Read More
773 Words | 4 Pages

The United States federal government is comprised of three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Within the judicial branch there is the federal court and the state court. The job of the court is to interpret the laws and hold the people accountable for the laws that were passed by the legislative branch. Additionally, the Judicial Branch settles legal disputes, determines punishment for breaking the law, and protects the individual rights of each state.

Read More

More about Constitutional Convention Pros And Cons

Related Topics

Open Document