The Constitutional Convention and the ratification debate

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to C on faction and the size of a republic (the excerpts are exact; card C is made up). Card A, "The Federalist No. 10". Who made it: James Madison, writing as Publius. When: November 1787. For whom: the people of New York. Why: to urge New York to ratify the Constitution. Excerpt 1: "There are two methods of curing the mischiefs of faction: the one, by removing its causes; the other, by controlling its effects." Excerpt 2: "Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires." Excerpt 3: "The inference to which we are brought is, that the CAUSES of faction cannot be removed, and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its EFFECTS." Excerpt 4: "The smaller the society, the fewer probably will be the distinct parties and interests composing it; the fewer the distinct parties and interests, the more frequently will a majority be found of the same party; and the smaller the number of individuals composing a majority, and the smaller the compass within which they are placed, the more easily will they concert and execute their plans of oppression." Excerpt 5: "On the other hand, the effect may be inverted. Men of factious tempers, of local prejudices, or of sinister designs, may, by intrigue, by corruption, or by other means, first obtain the suffrages, and then betray the interests, of the people." Card B, "Brutus No. 1". Who made it: an Anti-Federalist writing as Brutus; the author is disputed. When: October 18, 1787. For whom: the citizens of New York. Why: to argue against ratifying the Constitution. Excerpt 1: "In a republic, the manners, sentiments, and interests of the people should be similar. If this be not the case, there will be a constant clashing of opinions; and the representatives of one part will be continually striving against those of the other." Excerpt 2: "In so extensive a republic, the great officers of government would soon become above the controul of the people, and abuse their power to the purpose of aggrandizing themselves, and oppressing them." Card C, "Marsh Valley and Marsh County (made up)". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Marsh Valley is a town of 1,000 voters: 600 rent their homes and 400 own land. The renters, united by a wish to cap rents, vote to tax the landowners' barns, which does not help the town as a whole. Marsh County includes the valley. It has 20,000 voters in eleven towns and a board of 9 members, 3 from each of three districts of about equal size. Renters are 35 percent of the county's voters: 60 percent in District 1, 25 percent in District 2 and 20 percent in District 3. The county board voted down a county barn tax, 7 to 2.

2. 1.

   Marsh Valley weighs two fixes for the barn tax: ban the renters' association, or limit what taxes the council may set. Ren reads card A. Which fix does Madison reject, and why?

   • The tax limit: Madison holds that the causes of faction cannot be removed, so no rule on its effects can work
   • The ban: removing a cause by destroying liberty is folly, since liberty is to faction what air is to fire
   • Neither: the renters are 60 percent of the voters, so Madison would accept their tax as the will of the majority
   • Both: Madison trusts voters to correct a faction, so a rule on taxes or on groups would be an interference
3. 2.

   Marsh County's board voted down the barn tax (card C). Tala sets this beside card A, excerpt 4, and Brutus's excerpt 1. Whose claim does the county vote support?

   • Neither: one vote on one tax in one county cannot be used to test either claim made on the cards about size
   • Brutus's: the county has eleven towns with different interests, so its board must clash constantly and cannot act
   • Madison's: renters are only 35 percent of the county, mixed with other interests, so no one interest passed the tax
   • Brutus's: the county is large and its board sits far from the voters, so the vote shows representatives acting alone
4. 3.

   Suppose Marsh County's voters split strictly by renting versus owning, and each district elects its 3 members. Milo reads card C. What could the renters win?

   • No seats at all, because renters are a minority of the county's voters and so lose every district
   • Only District 1's 3 seats, 2 short of the 5 that a majority of the 9 needs to pass a tax
   • Enough to pass it, since they are 35 percent of the county and 60 percent of one district, which together make a majority
   • Five seats, because 35 percent of the voters is about 3 seats and each other district adds one more
5. 4.

   Brutus fears officers who escape the people's control (card B). Card A's last excerpt concedes a related risk. Bo compares them. Which statement is best supported?

   • Madison and Brutus agree that a small republic is safest, since both fear the officers of a large one
   • Madison's concession shows he would drop the large republic, since a risk of betrayal ends the case for it
   • Madison grants that representatives may betray the people, so both fear delegates, yet he still defends the large republic
   • Madison denies that representatives can betray the people, so he answers Brutus's fear in full without any concession

6. Use this

   Cards A to C on checks on power (the excerpts are exact; card C is made up). Card A, "The Federalist No. 51". Who made it: James Madison, writing as Publius. When: February 1788. For whom: the people of New York. Why: to explain how the Constitution's design checks power. Excerpt 1: "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition." Excerpt 2: "A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions." Excerpt 3: "In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this inconveniency is to divide the legislature into different branches; and to render them, by different modes of election and different principles of action, as little connected with each other as the nature of their common functions and their common dependence on the society will admit." Card B, "The Federalist No. 70". Who made it: Alexander Hamilton, writing as Publius. When: March 18, 1788. For whom: the people of New York. Why: to defend a single President. Excerpt 1: "The ingredients which constitute energy in the Executive are, first, unity; secondly, duration; thirdly, an adequate provision for its support; fourthly, competent powers. The ingredients which constitute safety in the republican sense are, first, a due dependence on the people, secondly, a due responsibility." Excerpt 2: "It often becomes impossible, amidst mutual accusations, to determine on whom the blame or the punishment of a pernicious measure, or series of pernicious measures, ought really to fall." Card C, "Norrow (made up)". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Norrow's town council has 5 members, all elected at large on the same day by the same voters. It writes the budget, spends the money and reviews its own accounts. A single mayor, elected separately, runs the town offices. In 2019 Norrow tried a three-member board in place of the mayor. In its first year a contract scandal arose, and each board member blamed the other two. Norrow went back to a single mayor in 2021.

7. 5.

   Norrow's council writes the budget, spends the money and reviews its own accounts (card C). Zee reads card A. Which change does Madison's reasoning point to?

   • Split the mayor's office among three officers, since ambition must be made to counteract ambition in the executive
   • Add a second council elected by the same voters on the same day, for one more check on the first council
   • Rely on the voters, since a dependence on the people is the primary control on the government and is enough
   • Divide the council into two bodies chosen in different ways, since the legislative authority predominates
8. 6.

   Madison divides the legislature; Hamilton keeps one executive. Jun compares cards A and B. Which statement is best supported?

   • Differently on purpose: the strongest branch is divided, and the executive stays single for energy and clear blame
   • They disagree: Madison wants each branch divided and Hamilton wants no branch divided, so the cards oppose each other
   • They answer different questions, so neither card bears on how Norrow should check its mayor or its council
   • They agree that division is the safeguard, so a single executive is a mistake by both of their own tests
9. 7.

   Claim: "Madison and Hamilton thought elections alone keep officers in check." Esme tests it against cards A and B. What is the best verdict?

   • False: Madison adds auxiliary precautions to dependence on the people, and Hamilton adds a due responsibility to it
   • True: both call a dependence on the people the first safeguard, so each holds that voters are enough to restrain officers
   • False of both, since neither mentions the voters in the lines on cards A and B, just the branches
   • True of Hamilton, false of Madison, since Hamilton lists just unity and duration as his safeguards for office

10. Use this

    Cards A and B on the ratification votes (card B is exact; card A is real data from the state conventions). Card A, "The votes of the state conventions". Who made it: written for this sheet from the record of the conventions. Table, columns State | Date | Yes | No: Delaware | December 7, 1787 | 30 | 0; Pennsylvania | December 12, 1787 | 46 | 23; New Jersey | December 18, 1787 | 38 | 0; Georgia | January 2, 1788 | 26 | 0; Connecticut | January 9, 1788 | 128 | 40; Massachusetts | February 6, 1788 | 187 | 168; Maryland | April 28, 1788 | 63 | 11; South Carolina | May 23, 1788 | 149 | 73; New Hampshire | June 21, 1788 | 57 | 47; Virginia | June 25, 1788 | 89 | 79; New York | July 26, 1788 | 30 | 27; North Carolina | November 21, 1789 | 194 | 77; Rhode Island | May 29, 1790 | 34 | 32. Notes in our words: each vote was cast by the delegates to a state convention, not by the voters. The new government began on March 4, 1789. Card B, "Article VII (1787)". Who made it: the Constitutional Convention. When: September 17, 1787. For whom: the states. Why: to say how the Constitution would take effect. Excerpt: "The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same."

11. 8.

    Massachusetts won 187 to 168 and New York won 30 to 27. Kira reads card A and asks which comparison of their margins is fair.

    • New York won more convincingly, because a convention of 57 delegates needs fewer to be persuaded than one of 355
    • As shares of the votes cast the margins are alike, near 53 percent yes, so the raw gaps of 19 and 3 mislead
    • The margins cannot be compared, because the two conventions had different numbers of delegates and so different bases
    • Massachusetts won more convincingly, because a margin of 19 votes is far larger than a margin of 3 votes
12. 9.

    Someone says: "The votes in card A show that the American people ratified the Constitution." Pia looks for the strongest objection. Which is it?

    • Each vote was cast by delegates to a state convention, not by voters, so it shows what delegates chose
    • Nine states were enough under Article VII, so the votes after New Hampshire's do not count as votes of the people
    • Rhode Island ratified last, in 1790, so by then its people had changed their minds about the Constitution
    • The close votes show the people opposed the Constitution in each state where the margin was small
13. 10.

    Claim: "Thirteen states had to ratify before the new government could begin." Noah tests it against cards A and B. What is the best evidence against it?

    • Rhode Island's vote of 34 to 32 shows that its delegates were the last to accept the plan, in 1790, after the start
    • Virginia ratified on June 25, 1788, and each of the thirteen had ratified by the time the government began in March 1789
    • Article VII asked for the conventions of thirteen states, which the votes in card A satisfy by the end of 1790
    • Article VII asks for nine; New Hampshire was the ninth, and the government began before North Carolina or Rhode Island voted