What were the two sides of the constitutional Convention?
Asked by: Ivory Lockman | Last update: February 16, 2026Score: 4.7/5 (28 votes)
The two primary "sides" at the Constitutional Convention were those favoring a strong central government (later called Federalists) and those fearing centralized power and prioritizing states' rights (later called Anti-Federalists), but within the convention itself, factions debated intensely over representation (large vs. small states), federal power vs. state power, and slavery, leading to major compromises like the Great Compromise and Three-Fifths Compromise to bridge these divides.
What were the two opposing factors that came out of the Constitutional Convention?
Of all the debates during the Summer of 1787, the most contentious involved two major issues: Representation & Slavery. In this video, we briefly discuss how these debates unfolded and the Framers' compromise for each.
What were the two goals of the Constitutional Convention?
Two primary goals of the Constitutional Convention were to create a stronger, more effective federal government to replace the weak Articles of Confederation and to balance power between the federal government and individual states, establishing a system of separation of powers and checks and balances to prevent tyranny.
When were the two constitutional conventions?
Constitutional Convention and Ratification, 1787–1789.
What are two compromises of the Constitutional Convention?
It was decided that Congress would have the authority to control domestic and foreign trade, but that it would not have the authority to control the slave trade for at least 20 years. The Electoral College Compromise: The issue of how the president would be elected was resolved by this arrangement.
Constitutional Convention
What were the two sides of the Electoral College compromise?
The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The Founding Fathers established it in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.
What happened at the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia, with delegates from all states except Rhode Island, met to fix the weak central government under the Articles of Confederation, ultimately deciding to scrap them and write a new U.S. Constitution, creating a stronger federal system with separation of powers (executive, legislative, judicial) and major compromises like the Great Compromise (bicameral legislature with proportional House and equal Senate) and the Three-Fifths Compromise, establishing the framework for the U.S. government.
What are the constitutional conventions?
A constitutional convention is a formal gathering of representatives, delegates, or leaders called to create a new constitution or significantly amend an existing one, establishing or changing fundamental laws, governance structures, and rights for a nation or state, like the famous 1787 U.S. event that drafted the Constitution.
Why are there two houses?
To balance the interests of both the small and large states, the Framers of the Constitution divided the power of Congress between the two houses. Every state has an equal voice in the Senate, while representation in the House of Representatives is based on the size of each state's population.
What do the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 14th amendments do?
The 4th Amendment protects against unreasonable searches; the 5th guarantees due process, no self-incrimination (pleading the fifth), and prevents double jeopardy; the 6th ensures rights in criminal trials like counsel and speedy trial; the 8th forbids excessive bail/fines and cruel/unusual punishment; and the 14th, via the Due Process Clause, applies these federal protections (including 4, 5, 6, 8) to the states, ensuring equal protection and citizenship rights.
What were the main points of the Constitutional Convention?
When the 55 delegates gathered in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation, there were several major issues on the agenda to discuss including representation, state versus federal powers, executive power, slavery, and commerce.
What were the two main goals of the constitution?
What are the 6 main goals of the Constitution? The Preamble of this document states its six main goals: to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, to ensure domestic tranquility, to provide for the common defense, to promote the general welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty.
What does "ratified" mean?
To ratify means to approve or enact a legally binding act that would not otherwise be binding in the absence of such approval. In the constitutional context, nations may ratify an amendment to an existing or adoption of a new constitution.
What topic were the two main arguments during the convention?
The major debates were over representation in Congress, the powers of the president, how to elect the president (Electoral College), slave trade, and a bill of rights.
What were the two biggest issues at the Constitutional Convention?
Like the issue of political representation, commerce and slavery were two issues that divided the Northern and Southern states. Southern states exported goods and raw materials and feared that the Northern states would take unfair advantage.
Is 3/5 of a man still in the Constitution?
After the Civil War
Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) later superseded Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 and effectively repealed the compromise.
What are the two houses known as?
The California State Legislature is a two-house (bicameral) body composed of an Assembly, whose 80 members are elected to two-year terms; and a Senate, whose 40 members are elected for four-year terms.
What is the difference between bicameral and unicameral?
Unicameral legislatures have one chamber for lawmaking, making them efficient and direct, while bicameral systems have two (an upper and lower house), providing checks and balances, better representation for diverse interests (like states or regions), and a more deliberative, though slower, process with potential for gridlock. The main difference lies in the number of legislative bodies, affecting efficiency, accountability, and representation.
What are the two wings of Congress?
The Surat Split was the splitting of the (INC) Indian National Congress into two groups - the Early Nationalists aka Moderates and Radicals aka Extremists - at the Surat session in 1907.
How many constitutional conventions were there?
Although there has never been a federal constitutional convention since the original one, at the state level more than 230 constitutional conventions have assembled in the United States.
What is the Constitutional Convention also known as?
The Convention (also known as the Philadelphia Convention, the Federal Convention, or the Grand Convention at Philadelphia) met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from May 14 to September 17.
What are 5 examples of conventions?
Five examples of conventions include writing rules (like using periods at sentence ends), social customs (shaking hands), literary genre norms (weddings ending comedies), legal/traffic rules (driving on the right), and formal meetings (political conventions). Conventions are shared standards that guide behavior, communication, and expectations within specific groups or contexts.
What are three facts about the Constitutional Convention?
The Constitutional Convention met at the State House in Philadelphia, PA, also known as Independence Hall. There were 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, although only 39 signed the document. Twelve of the 13 states were represented; Rhode Island did not send delegates to the Convention.
What happened at the end of the Constitutional Convention?
Franklin praised the work of his fellow delegates and urged them to sign the new Constitution—asking anyone “who may still have Objections” to “on this Occasion doubt a little of his own Infallibility.” Later that day, 39 delegates signed the new Constitution.
Who wrote the Constitutional Convention?
Managing History. In the 1820s and 1830s James Madison struggled to draft a "Preamble" and "Sketch never finished nor applied" for a preface to his planned publication of his "Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787," the convention that had drafted the U.S. Constitution.