Oliver+Ellsworth-2

= Oliver Ellsworth = = = =Introduction:= The Constitutional convention was arranged to fix the government that was in place at the time. It was held in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. At first the convention was put together to revise the articles, but there were a few people that wanted to have a completely new government rather than revise the articles. The articles were too weak to govern all of the states and deal with all of their problems. All of the delicates decided to elect George Washington to lead the convention.

= Background Information = Oliver Ellsworth was born on April 29, 1745 and he died on November 26, 1807; he was born in Connecticut. And he attended Yale in 1762. Oliver had become a lawyer, but his law firm was so unsuccessful that he had to farm and chop wood to support himself. Also when he did have a case he had to walk twenty miles into town because he was to poor to buy a horse. He was one of the drafters of the constitution; he was on of the senators for Conneticut. He served six terms with Connecticut until 1783. Oliver Ellsworth got married to Abigail Wolcott in 1772. They had a total of nine kids. He was also in the commute of five that wrote up the first draft of the constitution. He was for the 3/5 compromise, but he was against the abolition of foreign slave trade. "A delegate from Georgia who kept careful notes about all his colleagues, said Ellsworth was ``a gentleman of a clear, deep, and copious understanding, eloquent in . . . public debate" That was taken from the notes of William Price.

= Role in the Convention: = Oliver Ellsworth role in the convention was as one of the delegates, but he was also part of the committee that wrote the first draft of the constitution. Oliver Ellsworth is known for changing name from national to United States. He didn't get to sign the document because he had to leave early, but he agreed with the ideas and safeguards. = = == = = DBQ: The small vs. large state is the idea that each state will get a certain amount of representatives depending on the size of the state. Also, it states that each state will have two senators. This evenly distributes all of the power between all of the states; with this plan not one state could really get to much power. He also was for the 3/5 compromise; so you can tell that he wanted every state to have a fair amount of representatives.

The checks and Balances are mint so that one part of the government can't get to powerful, and become tyrannical. Ellsworth was for checks and balances because he wanted the Connecticut compromise; this was an important check and balance for small vs. large states. Just by his opinion you can tell that Ellsworth agreed with the checks and balance system. This system of checks and balances is probably important to him because Connecticut is a smaller state he doesn’t want to get taken over.

The separation of powers is what it sounds like it’s the separation of powers among the government to keep one system from getting all of the power. From what I read I can tell that Ellsworth agreed with this system because he couldn't stay for the whole convention, but before he left him strongly advise that everyone sign the document. So if you look on the Constitution Oliver Ellsworth's signature is not on there.

Oliver Ellsworth also agrees with the safeguard of federalism because he agreed with the constitution. Federalism is just another way that the new government protects the country from becoming tyrannical. If I were at the convention I would agree with anything that protects against tyranny because that's what people came to this country to get away from.

= Constitution and Bill of Rights: = I think that Ellsworth would like the 1st amendment the most because of these reasons. It says that you have the freedom of speech. I can see Ellsworth liking this because he comes from a small state, and he would want his voice to be heard. When certain people get ignored they get annoyed, and that could lead to a war starting. Also, people want to say whets on their mind. With this amendment everyone can say what they want.

Attendance: You can tell by Oliver Ellsworth's attendance records that he really cared about the convention. He would've stayed for the rest of the convention, but he had to leave early. Also, by his involvement in the convention shows that he cares. He was one of the people that made the first draft of the Constitution. I think that you can tell just by that he cares enough to put his time and knowledge into making the document. = =


 * There or Probaly there || Absent ||
 * 70% || 30% ||





​ [|DBQ.doc] Work Cited: [] [] []