Lesson 1.5 · Unit 1 · CED topic 1.5
Ratification of the Constitution
The Constitution was not handed down finished. Delegates at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 disagreed about representation, slavery, executive power, and the role of the states, and the document that emerged was a bundle of compromises. Then the states had to ratify it, and ratification brought a second round of bargaining. This lesson walks through the compromises the CED names, the amendment process the framers built to handle future disagreement, and the problems the compromises left behind.
Learning objective.
- 1.5.A. Explain the impact of political negotiation and compromise at the Constitutional Convention on the development of the constitutional system.
Essential knowledge.
- 1.5.A.1. Compromises deemed necessary for ratification of the Constitution included the following:
- Great (Connecticut) Compromise, which created a dual (bicameral) system of congressional representation with the House of Representatives based on each state’s population and the Senate representing each state equally
- Electoral College, which created a system for electing the president by electors from each state rather than by popular vote or by congressional vote
- Three-Fifths Compromise, which provided a formula for calculating a state’s enslaved population for purposes of representation in the House and for taxation
- Postponing until 1808 a decision whether to ban the importation of enslaved persons
- Agreement to add a Bill of Rights to address concerns of the Anti-Federalists
- 1.5.A.2. Debates about self-government during the drafting of the Constitution necessitated the drafting of an amendment process in Article V that entailed either a two-thirds vote in both houses or a proposal from two-thirds of the state legislatures, with final ratification determined by three-fourths of the states.
- 1.5.A.3. The compromises necessary to secure ratification of the Constitution left some matters unresolved that continue to generate discussion and debate today.
- 1.5.A.4. The debate over the role of the national government, the powers of state governments, and the rights of individuals remains at the heart of present-day constitutional issues about democracy and governmental power, as represented by:
- Debates about government surveillance resulting from the federal government’s response to the 9/11 attacks
- Debates about the role of government in public school education
The compromises
- Great (Connecticut) Compromise. Large states wanted representation based on population, and small states wanted equal votes. The solution was a bicameral Congress: the House apportioned by population and the Senate with two senators per state.
- Electoral College. Delegates disagreed over whether the people, Congress, or the states should choose the president. They settled on electors from each state, a number equal to the state's House seats plus its two senators.
- Three-Fifths Compromise. Southern states wanted enslaved people counted for representation, and northern states resisted counting them as people while the system treated them as property. The compromise counted three-fifths of the enslaved population for House representation and direct taxes.
- Postponing the slave trade question until 1808. Congress was barred from banning the importation of enslaved persons before 1808.
- A Bill of Rights. Several states ratified only after Federalists promised to add one, answering Anti-Federalist fears about liberty. (See Lesson 1.3.)
Amending the Constitution
The debate about self-government produced Article V. An amendment can be proposed by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress or by a convention called at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures. It must then be ratified by three-fourths of the states. Every amendment so far has been proposed by Congress. The bar is high on purpose, so that changes need broad agreement across the country and not just a temporary majority. That answers the problem of the Articles, which required unanimity and was almost impossible to change.
What the compromises left unresolved
The CED stresses that compromises secured ratification but left matters unresolved that still generate debate. The Three-Fifths Compromise and the slave-trade delay postponed the moral and political question of slavery, which led to the Civil War. The Electoral College remains controversial, because a candidate can win the presidency without winning the most votes nationwide. Questions about how much power the national government should have, how much states should have, and how individual rights fit between them also remain, as the CED notes in debates over government surveillance after the attacks of September 11, 2001, and over the role of government in public education.
Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863).
...all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.
Sourcing. Lincoln issued the proclamation as commander in chief during the Civil War, so it was justified as a war measure. That is why it applied only to areas in rebellion, not to the loyal border states, and why it did not by itself end slavery everywhere. The audience was the Confederacy, the Union, and foreign governments, and the purpose was military and moral: weaken the South and make the war about freedom. The proclamation shows the unresolved question left by the original compromises. Slavery was finally ended nationwide by the Thirteenth Amendment (1865), which was added through the Article V process.
Scenario. A new country is writing a constitution. Delegates from large provinces want a legislature based on population, while delegates from small provinces want equal representation.
Question. Describe a constitutional compromise from the United States that addressed the same conflict, and explain how it works.
Model. The Great Compromise divided Congress into two chambers. The House of Representatives is based on each state's population, which favors larger states, and the Senate gives each state two senators, which protects smaller states. The result is a bicameral legislature in which both principles are present, and legislation needs the agreement of both houses.
Question. Explain how the Emancipation Proclamation shows that the Constitution left an issue unresolved in 1787.
Model. The Constitution delayed any ban on the slave trade until 1808 and counted three-fifths of the enslaved population for representation, so it avoided deciding whether slavery was compatible with the nation's founding ideals. By 1863, the unresolved issue had produced a civil war, and Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation as a war measure that declared people held as slaves in rebel states "forever free." Its limits, applying only to rebelling areas, show that a full resolution still required a constitutional amendment, the Thirteenth.
LO 1.5.A asks you to explain the impact of negotiation and compromise at the Convention. Be able to name each compromise, say what disagreement it settled, and state one lasting consequence. Remember Article V numbers: two-thirds to propose (in Congress or the state legislatures), three-fourths of states to ratify.
- What did the Great Compromise create?
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A bicameral Congress, with the House based on population and the Senate giving each state equal representation.
- How did the Three-Fifths Compromise count the enslaved population?
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Three-fifths of the enslaved population counted toward a state's representation in the House and its direct taxes.
- What vote proposes an amendment in Congress, and how many states ratify it?
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Two-thirds of both houses propose it, and three-fourths of the states ratify it.
- Why did some states ratify the Constitution only after being promised a Bill of Rights?
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Anti-Federalists feared the new government would threaten individual liberty, and the promise addressed that concern.
- Why did the Emancipation Proclamation apply only to states in rebellion?
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It was issued as a war measure by the commander in chief, so it targeted areas at war with the United States, not loyal states.
- Name one issue left unresolved by the Constitution's compromises that is still debated.
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Examples: the Electoral College, the balance of national and state power, government surveillance, or the role of government in schooling.