American Government › Section B · The Constitution › Topic B.3
Writing the Constitution
In the summer of 1787, delegates in Philadelphia had to build a government strong enough to work but limited enough to be trusted. Their answer combined compromises over representation and slavery with a design that separates, checks and divides power.
In this topic
- From Annapolis to Philadelphia
- Four points of contention
- Settling representation
- Bargains over slavery
- Separation of powers
- Checks and balances
- Worked example: checks on one bill
- Federalism: dividing national and state power
- The supremacy and elastic clauses
- Worked example: reading the elastic clause
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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