Conceived of Compromises: Creating the U.S. Constitution By USHistory.org, adapted by Newsela staff on 05.18.17 Word Count 802 Level 570L The signing of the Constitution at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 17, 1787. Photo from Wikimedia The American Revolution ended in 1783. Before the revolution, America was controlled by the British. After a hard war, Americans were able to send away the British army. Now, leaders of the new United States had to think of a new government. In 1787, the U.S. was made up of 13 states. All states had to agree on how they wanted to run the country. They came together to write a new law of the land, called the Constitution. This meeting was called the Constitutional Convention. The Constitutional Convention Each U.S. state has its own state government. Along with state governments, the country also has one national government. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1
Before the Constitution, the country already had a set of laws. They were called the Articles of Confederation. These laws gave states more power than the national government. For example, the national government could ask a state to pay tax money. However, it could not force the states to pay it. At the Constitutional Convention, leaders of the country talked about giving the government more power. They wrote new laws as a list of articles. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2
Separation of powers Article I of the Constitution says that the U.S. government should have a Congress. This is the part of government that makes laws. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3
Congress is split into two houses. One house is called the Senate. The other is the House of Representatives. Article II states what powers the U.S. president has. Article III describes the Supreme Court. This court is made up of expert judges. Together they make sure that the rest of the government follows the Constitution. Checks and balances The founders of the United States were careful. They did not want to give the national government too much power. America's founders built a system with many parts, or branches. Each branch can check the powers of the other branches. For example, state lawmakers might try to make a law. The president can say no to that law. Every law also has to respect the Constitution. If it does not, the Supreme Court will not allow it. Big and small states Almost every state took part in the Constitutional Convention. The leaders who went were called delegates. For example, James Madison and George Washington went for the state of Virginia. Washington had fought in the American Revolution. He was a respected army general. Pennsylvania sent Benjamin Franklin. He was a smart and famous inventor. Madison offered a first plan for the new government. His idea was called the Virginia Plan. Madison's plan gave the national government more power than the states. It also separated the national government into three parts. One part made laws. Another made sure the laws were followed. A third carried out trials if people broke the law. This plan is close to what the U.S. has today. Congress is the part that makes laws. The president makes sure the laws are followed. The Supreme Court puts people on trial if they do not respect the law. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4
Still, Madison's plan had a problem. The more people a state had, the more lawmakers it could have in Congress. These states would have more power than other, smaller states. Smaller states offered their own plan. They proposed the New Jersey Plan, where each state only had one vote in Congress. This way, all states would have equal power. Constitution through compromise Finally, the state leaders were able to agree. The Senate would have two people for each state. Small states and large states would both have the same number of lawmakers. In the House of Representatives, each state would have a different number of lawmakers. States with more people could have more lawmakers. Still, there were a few other problems. States in the South had slavery. A slave is a person who is forced to work for free. Southern states wanted to keep having slaves. States in the North wanted slavery to be against the law. In the end, the delegates wanted to agree on a Constitution. States with slaves and states without slaves had to come together. So, the delegates let slavery continue. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5
If a state had more people, it could have more lawmakers in Congress. Slave owners wanted their slaves to be counted. This did not mean slaves could vote. It meant states with slaves could have more power. States without slaves would have less power. So, the delegates decided a new rule. It would take 5 slaves to count as 3 non-slaves. After years of planning, the new Constitution was signed. A small group of national leaders had created a new government. To this day, the U.S. Constitution is the longest-lasting written constitution in history. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6
Quiz 1 What is the MAIN reason WHY leaders created a Supreme Court? (A) (B) (C) (D) to make sure the whole government follows the Constitution to make sure each state obeys the government's laws to make sure everyone gets a fair trial in their state to make sure the president follows the Constitution 2 Which of the following BEST explains WHY there was a Constitutional Convention? (A) (B) (C) (D) because Americans did not want to be ruled by the British king because leaders wanted to keep the Articles of Confederation because leaders needed to create a new government plan because states did not think they should have to pay taxes 3 Read the section "The Constitutional Convention." Which paragraph gives information about a previous set of laws in America? 4 What is the purpose of the section "Big and small states"? (A) (B) (C) (D) to show how the national government was led by George Washington to show how different state sizes made it hard for leaders to agree on a plan to show how many lawmakers each state could have in Congress to show how larger states wanted more power than smaller states This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 7