Constitutional Convention 1787 — Philadelphia, 55 Delegates, Washington Presiding, Virginia Plan vs. New Jersey Plan, the Connecticut Compromise (iCivics 'Anatomy of the Constitution')

Recite THREE PROMISES + 1-minute review: 'Why did the Articles fail?' (review three weaknesses from Lesson 2)

• Three Promises standing
• Quick-review previous lesson
• Set up: 'So 55 delegates came to Philadelphia in May 1787. What did they DO for 4 months?'

May 25 - September 17 1787. Independence Hall (State House) Philadelphia. 55 delegates from 12 states (Rhode Island refused to send any). George Washington UNANIMOUSLY elected Convention President. The windows were SHUTTERED for secrecy (people would know the Convention was happening but not what was being discussed). James Madison's daily notes are the principal primary source — but Madison did not publish them until after his death in 1840, FIFTY-THREE YEARS after the Convention. Two opening plans: VIRGINIA PLAN (drafted by Madison, presented by Edmund Randolph May 29 1787) — STRONG NATIONAL GOVERNMENT + bicameral legislature with BOTH houses apportioned by state population (favored big states like VA, PA, MA). NEW JERSEY PLAN (presented by William Paterson June 15 1787) — keep equal-state representation as under the Articles (favored small states like NJ, DE, MD, CT). DEADLOCK for a month. THE CONNECTICUT COMPROMISE / GREAT COMPROMISE (proposed by Roger Sherman of CT and approved July 16 1787): bicameral legislature with HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES apportioned by state population (every 30,000 free residents = 1 House seat at the time, plus the Three-Fifths Compromise we'll cover in Lesson 4) AND SENATE giving each state TWO equal Senators. This is the structure we have today. THE 3-BRANCH DESIGN: ARTICLE I Legislative (Congress = House + Senate, makes laws), ARTICLE II Executive (President + Vice President, enforces laws), ARTICLE III Judicial (Supreme Court + lower courts created by Congress, interprets laws). At the end on September 17 1787, 39 of the 42 delegates present signed; 3 refused (George Mason, Edmund Randolph, Elbridge Gerry — for reasons including absence of a Bill of Rights). Show MG-3 Anatomy of the Constitution.

• Notice: this is a COMPROMISE — neither plan won; both were combined.

  model Senate: protects small states (DE today has the same 2 Senators as CA despite ~67× population difference). House: rewards big-population states (CA today has 52 Representatives, WY has 1). This dual structure was the Connecticut Compromise's design — balance state sovereignty AND popular representation.

  prompt Why does the Senate give every state two Senators regardless of population? Why does the House apportion by population?

• What did the Virginia Plan favor? The New Jersey Plan? Who proposed the Connecticut Compromise?
• Why did Madison wait until after his death to publish the Notes?
• How many delegates refused to sign? Why?

Full MG-7 routine on Madison's Notes July 16 1787 excerpt — the day the Connecticut Compromise was approved. SOURCING: Who wrote? When was it published? CONTEXTUALIZATION: What was the Convention's mood that day? CORROBORATION: What did other delegates record? CLOSE READING: What does Sherman's argument say? NMAI 5th: Whose voices were absent from the Convention room? (women, Black colonists, Indigenous nations, propertyless white men — though the Iroquois Confederacy's Great Law of Peace influenced Franklin's thinking, no Indigenous nation was consulted)

M-5-S-CIV-03-A Illustration

Reproduction of the famous Howard Chandler Christy painting (commissioned 1939 for the US Capitol; depicts the Convention's signing September 17 1787). The painting itself is from 1940 — 153 years after the event. Annotation overlay points out: this is NOT a primary source; Christy painted it from imagination using portraits + period research; many delegates are positioned for compositional effect. The painting STILL conveys the Convention's symbolism — but the Wineburg sourcing move is: 'Made when? By whom? From what evidence?' Annotation labels key figures: Washington presiding standing at center; Franklin seated; Madison taking notes.

M-5-S-CIV-03-B Diagram

3-column comparison chart 24 × 18 inches. Column 1 (VIRGINIA PLAN, blue): 'Bicameral. Both houses by population. Strong national government. Madison + Randolph + big states.' Column 2 (NEW JERSEY PLAN, red): 'Unicameral. Equal state representation. Keep Articles structure mostly. Paterson + small states.' Column 3 (CONNECTICUT COMPROMISE, purple = blue + red blended): 'Bicameral. HOUSE by population (rewards big states). SENATE equal 2 per state (protects small states). Sherman + adopted July 16 1787.' Below: 'This is the structure we have today.'

• Sort 12 plan-feature cards (population-apportionment, equal-state, strong-national, weak-national, etc.) into Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan, or Connecticut Compromise.

  scaffold Sentence frames: 'The ___ Plan favored ___ states because ___'
• In pairs, complete MG-7 first two pages (SOURCING + CONTEXTUALIZATION) for the Madison July 16 excerpt.

  scaffold Teacher models MG-7 page 1 SOURCING on a different excerpt

• Describe the Connecticut Compromise in one sentence.
• Name the three branches of the federal government and what each does.

• Place Constitutional Convention on MG-4 Chronology Strip Band 1 (May-Sept 1787)
• Preview Lesson 4 — the THREE compromises with slavery (trauma-informed protocol; MG-15 caregiver letter going home today)

• MG-15 trauma-informed advance caregiver letter for Lesson 4 (Three-Fifths Compromise) is delivered today via backpack mail with the standard 48-hour advance notice. Caregiver-signature line. Ask one caregiver: 'Which state did your family live in 1787, if you know? If not, which state would you want to research?' Bring back the answer.