The Constitutional Convention | Period 3: 1754-1800 | AP US History | Khan Academy

Summary

The video script discusses the formation of the U.S. government system post-Revolutionary War. It highlights the initial Articles of Confederation, which favored a loose confederation of states with limited central power. The script details the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where delegates sought a balance between a strong central government and the risk of tyranny. The Great Compromise resulted in a bicameral legislature, with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate providing equal representation for all states.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ The United States government system is composed of three branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.
• 🗽 The Constitutional Convention of 1787 established the current U.S. government system.
• ⏳ There was an 11-year period between the Declaration of Independence and the creation of the modern U.S. Constitution.
• 🔄 The Articles of Confederation, in place before the Constitution, emphasized limited government and a loose confederation of states.
• 💡 The Articles of Confederation faced issues like difficulty in raising taxes and a weak central government.
• 🤝 The Constitutional Convention aimed to balance a strong central government capable of action without becoming tyrannical.
• 🗳️ The Virginia Plan proposed a bicameral legislature with representation based on state population.
• 🔄 The New Jersey Plan countered with equal representation for all states, similar to the Articles of Confederation.
• 🤝 The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise) combined elements of both plans, creating a bicameral legislature with proportional and equal state representation.
• 🗳️ The House of Representatives would have members elected based on population, while each state would have two senators in the Senate.

Q & A

What is the significance of the year 1787 in the context of the United States government?

The year 1787 is significant because it marks the Constitutional Convention where the system of government we know today was created.

What was the main issue with the Articles of Confederation?

The Articles of Confederation had a very strong sense of limited government, which led to a weak central government that struggled to get things done, like raising taxes or a military.

Why did the United States initially adopt a system of limited government?

The United States initially adopted a system of limited government because they had just revolted against a monarchy and wanted to avoid creating a similar system.

What was the Virginia Plan and how did it propose to structure the legislature?

The Virginia Plan proposed a bicameral legislature with a lower house where representation would be based on population and an upper house appointed by state legislatures.

What was the New Jersey Plan and how did it differ from the Virginia Plan?

The New Jersey Plan proposed a unicameral legislature where each state would have one vote, similar to the Articles of Confederation, giving equal representation to all states regardless of population.

Why were smaller states opposed to the Virginia Plan?

Smaller states were opposed to the Virginia Plan because it would give more power to larger states due to the population-based representation in the lower house.

What is the Great Compromise or Connecticut Compromise?

The Great Compromise was a solution that combined elements of the Virginia and New Jersey Plans, creating a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate with equal representation for all states.

How did the Great Compromise address the concerns of both large and small states?

The Great Compromise addressed concerns by giving large states more representation in the House of Representatives and ensuring all states had equal representation in the Senate.

Who were some notable figures present at the Constitutional Convention?

Notable figures present at the Constitutional Convention included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison.

Why did Rhode Island not participate in the Constitutional Convention?

Rhode Island did not participate in the Constitutional Convention because it was not a big fan of central government.

What was the main challenge faced by the delegates at the Constitutional Convention?

The main challenge faced by the delegates was to create a stronger central government without creating a tyranny, while balancing the interests of large and small states.

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ Origins of the U.S. Government System

The paragraph discusses the familiar tripartite structure of the U.S. government: the Executive Branch led by the President, the Legislative Branch consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Judicial Branch with the Supreme Court at its head. It highlights the Constitutional Convention of 1787 as the pivotal event that established this system, which occurred over a decade after the Declaration of Independence. During this interim period, the United States operated under the Articles of Confederation, a system characterized by a very limited central government. This system was akin to a loose confederation of states, each with equal legislative power, requiring unanimous consent for amendments. The paragraph also touches on the challenges faced under the Articles of Confederation, such as the inability to raise taxes or a military, and the subsequent call for a stronger central government, leading to the Constitutional Convention.

05:00

🗳️ The Virginia and New Jersey Plans

This section delves into the debate over the structure of the legislative branch during the Constitutional Convention. The Virginia Plan proposed a bicameral legislature with representation in the lower house based on state population, which favored larger states like Virginia. In contrast, the New Jersey Plan advocated for a unicameral legislature with equal representation for all states, irrespective of size, mirroring the Articles of Confederation. The paragraph outlines the concerns of smaller states about being overshadowed by larger ones in terms of legislative power and introduces the concept of the Great Compromise, which aimed to balance the interests of both large and small states by combining elements of both plans.

10:02

🤝 The Great Compromise

The final paragraph summarizes the resolution of the debate between the Virginia and New Jersey Plans, known as the Great Compromise or Connecticut Compromise. This compromise resulted in a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives having members proportional to each state's population and the Senate having two members per state, regardless of population size. This arrangement ensured that larger states had more influence in the lower house while all states had equal say in the upper house. The paragraph also notes that while the representatives of the House were directly elected, senators were appointed by state legislatures until the 20th century. The paragraph concludes by mentioning that further compromises were made during the Constitutional Convention, which will be discussed in subsequent videos.

Keywords

💡Constitutional Convention

The Constitutional Convention refers to the gathering of delegates in 1787 to draft a new constitution for the United States. This event is central to the video's theme as it marks the creation of the U.S. system of government we know today. The convention aimed to address the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation and establish a stronger central government.

💡Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States, in place before the current Constitution. It established a very weak central government with a strong emphasis on states' rights. The video discusses how the Articles were not effective in governing the new nation, leading to the Constitutional Convention.

💡Executive Branch

The Executive Branch is one of the three branches of the U.S. federal government, headed by the President. The video mentions it as part of the system established by the new Constitution post-1787. It is responsible for enforcing laws made by the Legislative Branch.

💡Legislative Branch

The Legislative Branch, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, is responsible for making laws. The video discusses the evolution of this branch, particularly the debate between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan, which shaped its current structure.

💡Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch, headed by the Supreme Court, interprets laws and ensures they are constitutional. The video briefly mentions it as one of the three branches of government established by the new Constitution.

💡Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan was a proposal for the structure of the Legislative Branch during the Constitutional Convention. It suggested a bicameral legislature with representation based on state population, favoring larger states. The video uses this plan to illustrate the debate over representation.

💡New Jersey Plan

The New Jersey Plan was an alternative proposal to the Virginia Plan, advocating for equal representation of each state in the legislature, regardless of size. This plan is mentioned in the video as a response from smaller states to the Virginia Plan.

💡Great Compromise

The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, was a solution reached at the Constitutional Convention to balance representation between large and small states. It resulted in a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate with equal representation for each state. The video highlights this as a key outcome of the convention.

💡House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is the lower house of the U.S. Congress, where members are elected based on the population of their respective states. The video explains how this body was established as part of the Great Compromise to address the concerns of larger states.

💡Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, where each state has two senators regardless of population size. The video describes how the Senate was created to ensure that smaller states have an equal voice in the legislative process.

💡Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which a single person, usually a king or queen, holds ultimate authority. The video discusses the founders' desire to avoid a strong central government that could resemble a monarchy, which they had just revolted against.

Highlights

The United States has a system of government with three branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.

The Constitutional Convention in 1787 created the current system of government.

The period between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution was marked by the Articles of Confederation.

The Articles of Confederation represented a loose confederation of states with a very limited central government.

The Revolutionary War was fought and won during the period before the modern U.S. Constitution.

By the late 1780s, it was clear that the Articles of Confederation were not effective.

The central government under the Articles was too weak to perform essential functions like raising taxes or a military.

Delegates from 12 of the 13 states met in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Prominent figures like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison were present at the Constitutional Convention.

The delegates aimed to create a stronger central government without reverting to a monarchy.

The Virginia Plan proposed a bicameral legislature with representation based on population.

The New Jersey Plan suggested a unicameral legislature with equal representation for all states.

The Great Compromise combined elements of the Virginia and New Jersey Plans to balance state representation.

The House of Representatives would have members proportional to state populations, elected by the people.

The Senate would have two senators per state, providing equal representation for all states.

Senators were appointed by state legislatures until the 20th century.

The Constitutional Convention made several compromises to balance power among different states and interests.

Transcripts

- [Instructor] In the United States today,

we know our system of government so well

that it hardly bears thinking about.

We know that there's a president

who's the head of the Executive Branch,

there's Congress, which is made up

of the House of Representatives and the Senate,

and there's the judicial branch, which has the Supreme Court

as its head of a whole court system

that stretches throughout the United States.

But how did the United States end up with this system?

We frequently forget that the Constitutional Convention

which created this system we know today happened in 1787.

That was more than a decade

after the Declaration of Independence.

So there was this 11-year plus period

before the United States had its modern day constitution

and during that time, fought the Revolutionary War,

won in 1783,

and tried out a completely different system of government

called the Articles of Confederation,

which we talked a little bit more about in another video.

Now the Articles of Confederation

had a very strong sense of limited government.

In fact, you could think of the Articles of Confederation

as being a little bit more

like a loose confederation of states,

where each state had one vote in the legislative branch,

the branch that makes laws,

and they had to really agree on most things,

nine out of 13 for most legislation

and unanimous agreement

for any kind of amendments to this system.

And I think it's clear why the founders

first went with this system of limited government

because they had just revolted against a monarchy.

They thought of the states as being

in what they call just kind of a league of friendship,

can almost see it as being similar

to the European Union today,

independent nations who do some things together

for foreign policy reasons and economic reasons.

Now by the late 1780s, it was becoming clear

that the Articles of Confederation were not working.

With such a weak central government,

it was really hard to get things done.

They couldn't raise taxes.

They couldn't raise a military.

Some states were even putting taxes

on the goods of other states.

So in 1787, delegates from 12 of the 13 states,

Rhode Island did not participate because Rhode Island

was not a big fan of central government,

came together in Philadelphia,

in the same place where they had signed

the Declaration of Independence,

to think about how to revise the Articles of Confederation.

And some very notable figures were there.

George Washington is one of them.

See Ben Franklin over here,

and James Madison.

Although some people that you might have expected

to be at the Constitutional Convention were not,

namely, Thomas Jefferson

and John Adams

who were out of the country being diplomats at the time.

So the delegates at the Constitutional Convention

have a pretty difficult problem to solve.

They want to have a stronger central government,

one that can get things done,

make sure the states play well together,

raise armies, raise taxes,

but they don't want a central government that is too strong

because they just escaped from monarchy.

They don't wanna recreate monarchy in the United States.

So they're looking for a very delicate balance

of a government strong enough to get things done

but not so strong as to promote tyranny.

Now even though the delegates were supposed to be revising

the Articles of Confederation,

some people had, in secret,

been considering completely throwing out

the Articles of Confederation and starting anew.

But one of the biggest hurdles they had to solve

was what would a new sort of legislature look like.

So the Virginia delegates

suggested a plan for the legislature,

it's the law-making body,

that would be bicameral,

means two room or two house

from bi, meaning two,

and camera, Latin for room.

And their idea was that there would be a lower house,

similar to the House of Commons in English Parliament,

that would be directly elected

as individuals would vote for the representatives

but the number of representatives that each state would get

would be decided by their population.

Now Virginia was the largest state by population by far

and so, this plan would have worked out

pretty well for them because they would have gotten

the largest proportion of representatives.

Small states like Delaware, and Georgia, Rhode Island,

would have very few representatives indeed, comparatively.

They also wanted to have an upper house,

similar to the House of Lords in the British Parliament,

which would be appointed

by state legislatures.

But just like the lower house,

the number representatives

would also be determined by population.

Now as you can imagine, the small sates

were not big fans of having representation

based just on population,

so they came back with a different plan.

This was called the New Jersey Plan.

So the little states said, "All right, the Virginia Plan

"gives way too much power to the big states.

"We want an equal voice in legislation."

So the New Jersey Plan,

much like the Articles of Confederation,

gave one vote

to each of the states

so that the small states

would have the same representation in Congress

as the large states

and their plan was for a single chamber

or unicameral legislature.

So this really wasn't much different

from the Articles of Confederation at all.

So how did the delegates resolve this issue

of how to balance the voices of large states

with large populations

with small states that had small populations?

Because in a situation where all states

have an equal number of votes,

like in the New Jersey Plan,

the 60,000 residents of Delaware

could have as much say

as the almost 700,000 residents of Virginia.

Meaning that the people who live in Delaware

were in fact more powerful.

But at the same time, you wouldn't want it

so that people living in the larger states

could get their way all the time.

What if the people in Delaware

had a very legitimate concern

that those in Virginia didn't share?

It would be impossible

to get all of these states to agree, to amend,

or replace the Articles of Confederation

if some of them felt like their interests

aren't being taken into account at all.

So to solve this issue of how to weight

the representation of the states,

the delegates came up

with what's called the Great Compromise

or sometimes the Connecticut Compromise.

And in a way, what they did was combine these two plans.

They made a legislative branch

that was bicameral, two house,

with a lower and an upper house

and this lower house become the House of Representatives,

where each state would have representatives

in proportion to their population.

So states that have large populations

have more representatives.

States with small populations have fewer representatives.

And those representatives

would be directly elected by the people.

Now, and this time,

the people was a fairly small proportion

to vote in 1790s.

You had to be a white man

with fairly significant property,

so it wasn't full suffrage.

It wasn't event full suffrage for white men,

but these folks were elected by vote.

And then this upper house would be the Senate.

And in the Senate, each state would have two senators,

regardless of their size,

so that as legislation moved through Congress,

first from the lower house, where it would be approved

and if approved, sent to the upper house,

there, all states would have an equal voice

in whether legislation was passed.

And in this upper house,

the senators would not be directly elected

but rather appointed

by state legislatures.

And in fact, senators were appointed into the 20th century.

Now the Great Compromise wasn't the only compromise made

at the Constitutional Convention.

They made a number more

and we'll talk more about those

and about the other two branches of the government

in the next video.