AP Gov | 1.5 Ratification of the U.S. Constitution | NEW!
Summary
TLDRThis video delves into the U.S. Constitution's creation, highlighting the pivotal role of compromise. It discusses the Virginia and New Jersey Plans, leading to the Great Compromise which established a bicameral legislature. The Electoral College and the Three-Fifths Compromise are also covered, revealing how they balanced power and representation. The video concludes by noting the Constitution's flexibility for future amendments, emphasizing its enduring relevance.
Takeaways
- 📜 The U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787 with the initial goal to amend the Articles of Confederation, but it evolved into a replacement document.
- 🤝 The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, led to a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate with equal representation for each state.
- 🏛️ The Grand Committee was instrumental in negotiating the bicameral legislature, ensuring large states agreed by allowing tax and revenue bills to originate in the House where they had more influence.
- 🤔 The Electoral College was a compromise between direct election of the president by citizens and selection by Congress, resulting in an indirect election process.
- 🔢 The Three-Fifths Compromise controversially counted five slaves as three people for congressional representation, which benefited the South and perpetuated slavery.
- 🚫 The compromise on the importation of slaves allowed the slave trade to continue for 20 years after the Constitution's ratification before it could be banned.
- 📝 The lack of a Bill of Rights was a point of contention raised by Anti-Federalists, leading to James Madison introducing amendments that became the Bill of Rights.
- 🛠 Article 5 of the Constitution provides a process for amending the Constitution, either through a proposal by 2/3 of Congress followed by ratification by 3/4 of the states, or by 2/3 of state legislatures followed by the same ratification process.
- 🌟 The Constitution, while providing a framework, left many issues unresolved and open to interpretation, acknowledging that it was not perfect and allowing for future changes.
Q & A
What was the primary goal of the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787?
-The primary goal was to amend the Articles of Confederation, but it became clear that James Madison and others had intentions to draft a new constitution.
What were the two main plans discussed at the Constitutional Convention?
-The two main plans were the Virginia Plan, which advocated for a stronger central government with a bicameral legislature based on population, and the New Jersey Plan, which proposed maintaining a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state.
What was the outcome of the Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise?
-The Great Compromise established a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate with equal representation for each state, each having two senators.
How did the Grand Committee persuade large states to agree to equal representation in the Senate?
-They made a deal that all tax and revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives, where large states had a significant advantage.
What was the Electoral College designed to achieve, and how did it compromise between direct election and congressional selection?
-The Electoral College was designed as a compromise between direct election by citizens and selection by Congress, allowing people to vote for electors who then elect the president.
What was the three-fifths compromise, and how did it impact representation in the House and the Electoral College?
-The three-fifths compromise stated that for congressional representation purposes, every five slaves would count as three people. This led to the South being over-represented in both the House and the Electoral College.
What was the compromise regarding the importation of slaves, and how long did it last before it could be banned?
-The compromise allowed the slave trade to continue for 20 years after the ratification of the Constitution before it could be legally banned.
How did the lack of a Bill of Rights initially impact the debate over the ratification of the Constitution?
-The lack of a Bill of Rights was seized upon by Anti-Federalists as a significant issue, leading Madison and Hamilton to eventually relent and introduce amendments that became the Bill of Rights.
What does Article 5 of the Constitution outline, and how does it provide for future changes to the Constitution?
-Article 5 outlines the amendment process, providing two methods: one where 2/3 of both houses of Congress propose an amendment, which then needs to be ratified by 3/4 of the states, and another where 2/3 of state legislatures can propose an amendment, which also needs to be ratified by 3/4 of the states.
What does the script suggest about the Constitution's ability to address all issues and disagreements?
-The script suggests that while the Constitution provides a framework, it leaves many issues open to interpretation and disagreement, and acknowledges that it did not get everything exactly right.
Outlines
🏛️ Introduction to the U.S. Constitution and Compromises
The video begins by welcoming viewers to a discussion on the U.S. Constitution, encouraging engagement through likes. It delves into the historical context of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where the original intent to amend the Articles of Confederation was overshadowed by James Madison's proposal for a new constitution. The video emphasizes the theme of negotiation and compromise, highlighting the Virginia Plan's call for a stronger central government with proportional representation and the New Jersey Plan's preference for equal state representation. A significant focus is on the Great Compromise, which led to a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate with equal representation. The video also touches on the Electoral College as a compromise between direct election and congressional selection, the contentious Three-Fifths Compromise regarding the counting of slaves for representation, and the compromise on the slave trade, which allowed it for 20 years post-ratification. Lastly, it mentions the introduction of the Bill of Rights as a response to Anti-Federalist concerns and concludes by noting the Constitution's flexibility for future amendments.
🔍 Conclusion and Future Discussion
The second paragraph serves as a conclusion to the video, summarizing the key points discussed and hinting at further exploration of the Constitution's nuances in upcoming videos. It acknowledges the ongoing debates and disagreements over constitutional interpretations and unaddressed issues, emphasizing the document's adaptability and the importance of the amendment process outlined in Article 5. The host signs off by promoting the Ultimate Review Packet as a resource for viewers and expresses anticipation for the next installment of the series.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Constitutional Convention
💡Articles of Confederation
💡Virginia Plan
💡New Jersey Plan
💡Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)
💡Electoral College
💡Three-Fifths Compromise
💡Slave Trade Compromise
💡Anti-Federalists
💡Bill of Rights
💡Amendment Process
Highlights
Introduction to the U.S. Constitution and its significance.
The summer of 1787 marked the Constitutional Convention with 12 states in attendance.
James Madison's pivotal role in drafting a new constitution.
The Virginia Plan proposed a stronger central government with a bicameral legislature based on population.
The New Jersey Plan advocated for a unicameral legislature with equal representation for all states.
The Great Compromise led to a bicameral legislature with the House based on population and the Senate with equal state representation.
The Grand Committee's role in negotiating the Great Compromise.
The Electoral College as a compromise between direct election and congressional selection of the president.
The Three-Fifths Compromise and its impact on congressional representation and the electoral college.
The debate over the importation of slaves and the resulting 20-year delay before banning the slave trade.
The Anti-Federalists' argument for a Bill of Rights and Madison's eventual introduction of amendments.
Article 5 of the Constitution outlines the amendment process with two methods for proposing and ratifying amendments.
The Constitution provides a framework but leaves room for future changes and interpretations.
The video concludes with a teaser for Unit 5, which will delve deeper into the Electoral College.
A call to action for viewers to check out the Ultimate Review Packet for further study.
Transcripts
Hey everybody, welcome back! It’s finally time to discuss the U.S.
Constitution! Be sure to smash that like button and let’s get right to it.
Alright so in the summer of 1787 twelve states have agreed to send representatives
to the Constitutional Convention with the stated purpose to amend the Articles of Confederation
but as soon as they get there it's very clear that James Madison has other ideas
and they begin to draft a new constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.
The major focus of this section is negotiation and compromise, so we’re going to see how
several key portions of the Constitution are the result of compromise. Remember,
the sign of a good compromise is when nobody likes the outcome.
First up is the great compromise, but before we get to the compromise, let’s briefly discuss the
two main plans, known as the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. The Virginia Plan wanted
a stronger central government with a bicameral legislature in which both houses of Congress would
be based on population, letting the large states receive more representation. The small states
were obviously like, no way man, we’re not gonna just stand here and get stomped by the big states.
The New Jersey plan said hey let's just do what we were sent here for and amend
the Articles Confederation. It wanted to maintain a unicameral one house Congress
in which each state had one vote which gave the small states a big advantage in
Congress. So each side wanted what was best for themselves. Shocking, I know.
So, this leads to the great compromise, aka the Connecticut compromise,
and established a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives based off
population while in the Senate each state would be represented equally with two senators per state.
The grand committee, I mean what a name, was formed to work out this compromise. But how
exactly did they get the large states to go along with equal representation in the Senate?
They made a deal that all tax and revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives
where the large states had a huge advantage, so they went along with the bicameral legislature.
Next, everybody’s favorite the Electoral College was also the result of compromise. Some delegates
wanted citizens to directly elect the president while others believed Congress should choose
the president. The Electoral College kinda takes a little from each of those ideas,
today people in each state get to vote for who will represent their state in the
Electoral College and then the Electoral College elects the president. In Unit 5
I’ll teach you all the ins and outs of the Electoral College, so stay tuned.
Next is the infamous three-fifths compromise, which was the result of the debate over whether
slaves counted as people for the purpose of congressional representation. The southern
states who always maintained that slaves were property no no no they're not people
so they don't have any rights, well, all of a sudden in this issue the southern states
are like oh yeah no slaves are definitely people when we’re counting the population
to determine how many members we get to send to the House of Representatives.
Northern states were like no way you guys cannot have it both ways they don't count
as people for representation because you said that they're not people and they're not gonna
be represented anyway. The outcome was the three-fifths compromise which meant that
every five slaves counted as three people for congressional representation purposes.
This led to the south being over-represented both in the House and the electoral college,
greatly empowering the South and protecting slavery until the Civil War.
Next is the compromise on the importation of slaves. This one’s even more ethically blurry
than the last one. Northern states wanted to ban the slave trade, but that was a line in the sand
for southern states who would never ratify a constitution that banned the slave trade.
The compromise was that the slave trade couldn’t not be banned for 20 years after
the ratification of the Constitution. On the first day it could legally be banned,
Congress did so and Thomas Jefferson signed the ban into law.
All four of those occurred at the Constitutional Convention,
this next one happened during the debate over ratification. Recall that the Anti-Federalists
seized upon the lack of a Bill of Rights, and while Madison and Hamilton tried to defend the
conspicuous absence of a Bill of Rights they eventually relented and Madison introduced the
amendments that became the Bill of Rights early in the first session of Congress.
So those are our big four compromises, but it’s also important to point out that the frames left
the door open to future changes, knowing they didn’t get everything exactly right. Article
5 lays out the amendment process, actually there are two methods. The primary one is
that 2/3 of both houses of Congress propose an amendment and then 3/4 of the states ratify it.
Alternately, 2/3 of state legislatures can propose an amendment which would
then need to be ratified by 3/4 of the states.
As we go further in this unit and the course, it’ll be clear that while the Constitution
gives us a framework, there are still lots of issues that are left up in the air and lots
of disagreement over what to do about things that aren’t even mentioned in the Constitution.
Alright, well that’s it for this one. Until next time, this has been a LaMoney Production
Thanks again for watching, be sure to check out the Ultimate
Review Packet if you haven’t already, and I will see you in the next video.
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