RATIFICATION of the Constitution [AP Government Review, Unit 1 Topic 5]
Summary
TLDRIn this educational video, we explore the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, focusing on the critical role of political negotiation and compromise during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Key compromises like the Great Compromise, the Electoral College system, and those concerning slavery are discussed, highlighting their enduring impact on today's debates over government power, state authority, and individual rights, such as those surrounding government surveillance and education policy.
Takeaways
- π The script discusses the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and the political negotiations and compromises that shaped it.
- ποΈ The Constitutional Convention, also known as the Philadelphia Convention, aimed to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
- π£οΈ A key debate was over representation in Congress, leading to the Great Compromise, which created a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives and the Senate.
- π’ The Great Compromise included the Virginia Plan (favoring large states) and the New Jersey Plan (favoring small states), resulting in proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate.
- π€ The Electoral College system was established as a compromise for presidential elections, with each state's electors determining the president.
- πͺ The Three-Fifths Compromise addressed the contentious issue of how enslaved individuals would be counted for representation and taxation.
- π’ The Compromise of 1787 delayed the abolition of the slave trade for 20 years, which was eventually ended in 1808.
- π The framers of the Constitution recognized the need for an amendment process, leading to Article 5, which outlines the proposal and ratification stages for amendments.
- π The script highlights that the debates from the Constitutional Convention continue to resonate in contemporary issues such as government surveillance and education policy.
- π The ongoing debate between central government power, state authority, and individual rights is a theme that connects historical and current political discourse.
Q & A
What was the main purpose of the Constitutional Convention of 1787?
-The main purpose of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation by drafting a new Constitution that would strengthen the federal government.
What was the Virginia Plan and how did it propose to apportion representatives in Congress?
-The Virginia Plan proposed that representatives in Congress should be apportioned based on population, which would give larger states more representatives and smaller states fewer.
What was the New Jersey Plan and how did it differ from the Virginia Plan?
-The New Jersey Plan argued for equal representation in Congress, with each state receiving one vote regardless of size, which would favor smaller states.
What is the Great Compromise and how did it resolve the debate between the Virginia and New Jersey Plans?
-The Great Compromise resolved the debate by creating a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives where representation is based on population and a Senate where each state has equal representation.
How was the method for electing the President of the United States decided upon?
-The method for electing the President was decided through a compromise known as the Electoral College system, where each state has a number of electors equal to its total representation in Congress.
What is the Three-Fifths Compromise and how did it affect representation and taxation?
-The Three-Fifths Compromise stated that for purposes of representation and taxation, three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted, which meant that states with more enslaved people would have more representatives and pay more taxes.
What compromise was made regarding the importation of slaves, and when did it take effect?
-A compromise was made that the importation of slaves would not be abolished for 20 years after the Constitution was ratified, which eventually occurred in 1808.
Why did the framers of the Constitution establish a method for amending the Constitution?
-The framers established a method for amending the Constitution because they recognized the difficulty of amending the Articles of Confederation, which required unanimous agreement from all states.
How many times has the United States Constitution been amended, and what is significant about the first ten amendments?
-The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times, with the first ten amendments collectively known as the Bill of Rights.
How does the debate over government surveillance relate to the historical debates during the Constitutional Convention?
-The debate over government surveillance relates to historical debates as it involves the balance between central power (in the form of national security measures) and individual rights (such as privacy), similar to the debates during the Constitutional Convention.
What is the No Child Left Behind Act, and how does it connect to the historical debate over federal versus state power?
-The No Child Left Behind Act is a federal law that sets criteria for schools to meet in order to receive funding. It connects to the historical debate as it represents an instance of federal overreach into what has traditionally been a state domain, education.
Outlines
π Ratification of the Constitution and Compromises
This paragraph discusses the process of ratifying the U.S. Constitution and the key compromises made during its creation. The Constitutional Convention of 1787, also known as the Philadelphia Convention, aimed to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The debate over representation in Congress led to the Great Compromise, which resulted in a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate with equal representation for each state. Additionally, the Electoral College was established as a compromise for presidential elections. The paragraph also covers the Three-Fifths Compromise and the 20-year delay on the abolition of the slave trade, reflecting the contentious nature of slavery within the constitutional debates. The framers recognized the need for an amendment process, which is outlined in Article 5, requiring proposal by either Congress or state conventions and ratification by three-quarters of the states.
π½ Ongoing Debates and Constitutional Amendments
The second paragraph delves into the ongoing debates that stem from the Constitution's creation, focusing on government surveillance and education as contemporary examples. It mentions the USA PATRIOT Act passed in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which aimed to prevent future attacks by expanding surveillance but also raised concerns about privacy rights. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is highlighted as an instance where federal standards for education sparked debates about federal overreach into state authority. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing that the foundational debates about central versus state power and individual rights are still relevant today, and it provides a brief overview of the Constitution's amendment process, noting that it has been amended 27 times, with the first ten amendments being the Bill of Rights.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Constitutional Convention
π‘Articles of Confederation
π‘Great Compromise
π‘Virginia Plan
π‘New Jersey Plan
π‘Electoral College
π‘Three-Fifths Compromise
π‘Slave Trade Compromise
π‘Amendment Process
π‘Ratification
π‘Debate on Central Power vs. Individual Rights
Highlights
Introduction to the ratification of the Constitution and its impact on political negotiation and compromise.
Discussion on the Constitutional Convention and its purpose to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
The shift from amending the Articles of Confederation to drafting a new Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention.
Explanation of the Virginia Plan, which proposed representation based on population.
Counterpoint of the New Jersey Plan, advocating for equal representation for all states.
The Great Compromise resulting in a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The Electoral College system as a compromise for presidential elections.
The Three-Fifths Compromise regarding the counting of enslaved people for representation and taxation.
The compromise on the importation of slaves, delaying its abolition for 20 years.
The necessity for a method of amending the Constitution, leading to Article 5.
Process of proposing and ratifying amendments to the Constitution.
The ratification process of the Constitution, with Rhode Island being the last state to agree.
Ongoing debates about central government power, state governments, and individual rights.
The impact of the USA Patriot Act on government surveillance and individual rights post-9/11.
The No Child Left Behind Act and its implications for federal involvement in state education.
Conclusion on the enduring nature of the constitutional debates in contemporary American politics.
Transcripts
hey there and welcome back to heimlich's
history now we've been going through
unit one of the ap government curriculum
and in this video it's time to talk
about the ratification of the
constitution so if you're ready to get
them brain cows milked with a good deal
of compromise well then let's get to it
okay in this video here's what we're
aiming to do explain the ongoing impact
of political negotiation and compromise
at the constitutional convention on the
development of the constitutional system
okay so here are two things the
constitutional convention and the
compromises necessary to create the
constitution so let's look at each in
turn okay first the constitutional
convention in the last video we talked
about america's first constitution
namely the articles of confederation and
how basically it was kind of a hot mess
of a governing document and had more
weaknesses than you could shake a stick
at so to remedy these problems a
constitutional convention also known as
the philadelphia convention was called
in 1787 and the stated purpose of this
convention was to shore up the
weaknesses of the articles of
confederation but thanks to the work of
folks like alexander hamilton the
convention quickly became an effort in
drafting a new constitution that would
strengthen the federal government and
eliminate the weaknesses of the articles
if you've watched my other videos on
this topic you know that there was a
terrific debate over this new
constitution not only in the
ratification stage but also just to get
the thing written and out for
ratification okay now let's have a look
at some of the main compromises that you
need to know from the constitution and
by the way the us constitution is one of
your required documents for this course
so i have a whole video on it you can
check it out right here here we're only
going to consider the compromises
embedded in it the first compromise you
need to know is the great compromise and
the debate here was over how the people
would be represented in the new congress
remember the constitution would
establish a republican-style government
in which representatives of the people
did the work of government so the main
question was how do we decide how many
representatives each state gets and
there were two opposing solutions to
this problem first was the virginia plan
which argued that representatives ought
to be apportioned by population so in
that case bigger states would have more
representatives and smaller states would
have less and it's not hard to
understand why virginia would want a
plan like that since it was among the
most populous states of the union now on
the surface that sounds pretty fair
right but think about it for a moment if
the big states always had more
representatives then the interests of
the small states would never prevail
like just because of their size the
small states would never win under this
system so the virginia plan favored
large states okay now second was the new
jersey plan which argued that
representatives ought to be apportioned
equally each state gets one vote so in
this case small states have the
advantage it's not hard to understand
why if you have two groups and then the
first group is 10 people and the second
group is 10 000 people and each one has
one vote clearly the group with 10 has
way more power than the one with 10 000
and of course the big states like
virginia would lose in the system so the
great compromise took both of those
plans and brought them together in a
bicameral legislature which is to say a
congress with two houses in the house of
representatives the people's
representatives will be apportioned by
population so big states have more and
small states have less in the senate
representatives would be apportioned
equally with each state no matter the
size granted to senators now that debate
had a lot of heat but so did the
compromise over how the president was
going to be elected in this debate there
were again several options some groups
argue that the president should be
elected by the people others argue that
the president should be elected by state
legislatures then still others argue
that congress should be responsible for
this task and the compromise they
ultimately agreed upon for presidential
elections was the electoral college
system in this system each state is
given the same number of electors as
they have representatives in congress
and it is the electors who put the
president into office now states can
make their own decisions about who those
electors are going to be but regardless
the presidential election is in their
hands and in no one else's now there are
two more compromises you need to know
and they both deal with slavery which as
you can imagine was a topic that got a
little uh tense the first compromise on
slavery was known as the three-fifths
compromise the debate was over how
enslaved people would count for
representation in the house of
representatives northern delegates to
the convention said that representation
ought to be reckoned by the free
population only and that makes sense
right like if the whole institution of
slavery was as southerners claimed built
on the fact that enslaved people were
property not people then northerners
wondered why should you count them for
purposes of representation to which the
southern delegates said well son don't
go pointing out contradictions in our
world view that ain't polite anyway this
argument got so heated the southern
delegates threatened to leave the
convention and if they did that there
would be no constitution so the
compromise they eventually came to was
to count three-fifths of the enslaved
population for purposes of
representation and they would also count
three-fifths of them for the purposes of
taxation as well so if you want more
representatives you're about to get more
taxes too the other compromise on
slavery was about the importation of
slaves people some delegates wanted to
officially abolish the slave trade in
the constitution and those from the
south
you probably already know what they
thought about that so a deal was struck
that the slave trade wouldn't be touched
for another 20 years after which it
would be abolished which it was in 1808
so those are some of the main
compromises you need to know but you
also need to know that in the process of
those debates some of which almost
brought the convention to the breaking
point the framers of the constitution
became convinced that a method of
amending the constitution was needed now
remember how difficult it was to amend
the articles of confederation it
required unanimous agreement from all 13
states and even if 12 states agreed you
know who's about to come in and mess
this whole thing up right
it's always your fault anyway the
framers of the constitution recognized
the impossibility of the amendments
under the articles and so laid out in
article 5 of the constitution a more
attainable means of amending it so there
are two stages to amending the
constitution proposal and ratification
so how is an amendment proposed well
either congress can propose an amendment
or special state conventions can and a
two-thirds vote is required to pass the
amendment on to the next stage once that
happened the proposed amendment must be
ratified or accepted by three quarters
of the states and that can be done
either by state legislatures or state
ratifying conventions if three quarters
of the states vote to approve it becomes
an official amendment to the
constitution and just for poops and
giggles it might be helpful for you to
know that the constitution has been
amended 27 times although the first ten
are the bill of rights and those were
added all at once okay now despite all
the fighting and compromise necessary to
get the constitution in its final form
they finally hammered it out and
presented it to the states for
ratification and it took until 1790 for
all the states to ratify and you're
never gonna guess who was the last state
holding out to the last possible moment
to say yes was it south carolina it
wasn't south carolina no it was rhode
island it was
anyway the debate over the role of the
central government the power of state
governments and individual rights which
essentially summarize the debate of the
convention still goes on to this day and
let me just mention two areas in which
we still see this debate government
surveillance and education and what the
curriculum is trying to get you to see
here is that these debates weren't just
confined to a moment of time when the
ratification of the constitution was at
stake or the writing of the constitution
was at stake these debates have followed
us to this day so with respect to
government surveillance let's talk about
what happened in the wake of the
terrorist attacks of september 11 2001.
on that day terrorists representing the
group known as al qaeda crashed
passenger airliners into both towers of
the world trade center in new york
another into the pentagon and another
crashed into the pennsylvania
countryside now these men had been
living in the united states learning to
fly and coordinating their plans for
upwards of 18 months and after the
attacks were carried out it was shocking
to discover that these men had lived
among americans for so long like how
could we have missed what they were up
to so in order to make sure that didn't
happen again congress passed the usa
patriot act which aimed to find and stop
future terrorist attacks and hey that's
great well how are they going to do that
well by tapping a butt load of phones
and monitoring americans emails but
eventually a public outcry started
growing regarding the patriot act and
its potential to violate fourth
amendment rights to be secure against
unreasonable searches and seizures so
there you have the old debate about
central power versus individual rights
now this debate also rages around the
topic of education now historically
education falls within the domain of
state authority but in 2001 congress
passed the no child left behind act
which stipulated that in order to
receive federal funding schools would
have to meet certain criteria and as it
turns out those benchmarks were very
much out of reach for a lot of teachers
in schools and when they didn't pass
muster the federal government imposed
sanctions on those states and here we
have the same debate again as states
were slapped with federal sanctions
there was an outcry from the states that
this law represented way too much
federal overreach into the dominion of
state power so at the end of the day the
debates which created our nation are the
same debates we're still having today
okay that's what you need to know about
unit 1 topic 5 of the ap government
curriculum if you need help getting an a
in your class and a five on your exam
may then click right over here and grab
a view pack if you want me to keep
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