Edmund+Randolph-2

Alex Coray Edmund Randolph = = = Edmund Randolph =

=Introduction= On May 15, 1776 the second continental congress met made of 55 delagtes from all states but Rhode Island in Independence Hall Philadelphia to discuss a new plan of government. Everyone agreed that the government under the Articles of Confederation was too weak. some people wanted a strong central government and others wanted a government with the single state governments having the power. Edmund Randolph played a key role in making the constitution and the government we still use today.

=Background Info= Edmund Randolph was born in Tazewall Hall, Williamsburg, Virginia on August 10 1753. His parents were Ariana Jenings and John Randolph. He attended William and Mary college and also learned some law from his father. He moved in with his uncle when the revolution started because him and his father had different views. He was the conventions youngest member. He was married to Elizabeth Nicholas. Later on he became the mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia's attorney general and later on he would become the govenor of Virginia. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1779. On May 29 1787 he presented the Virginia plan. However he constantly changed his views from Federalist to Antifederalist. He sat in the committee that prepared the draft for the constitution but he declined to sign it because he did not agree with the idea of the one man exectutive branch. Randolph agreed that the articles of confederation was too weak but he also thought that the new plan of union had too many flaws. Edmund suffered from paralysis and died on September 2, 1813.

=Role At The Constitutonal Convention= Edmund Randoolph contributed to the constitution in a couple ways. One way is he proposed the Virginia plan. Part of the Virginia plan was used in the constitution like the amount of representatives being based on population. Second he sat in the commitee of detail that prepared the draft for the constitution. He also helped by trying to make Virginia approve of the Constitution.

=Dbq=

Federalism is a way of government that makes it so power is shared between national and state government but the federal is over the states. This was used when the constitution was made because some people feared that the central government would get too much power and it would become a tyranny like before. Most of them wanted the single state governments to have the power. So they met in the middle by making it so they had a central government but it did not have all the power. Randolph was a federlist and thought that there should be a strong central government.

Separation of powers was what was used to break up the power in the central government. To add another layer of protection against tyranny the government was split into three branches. They were legislative, executive and the judicial branches. Each branch had the power to do certain things. Also the executive and judicial branches were made of from groups of people from each state so each state has a say in the central government. Randolph would agree with the legislative and judicial branches being made up of groups but not the executive branch being made up of a single person.

Checks and balances was a system that allowed each branch of government to check each other and make sure one branch was not getting to much power and if they were they could limit their power. Randolph thought that the Constitution had insufficient checks and balances and this was another reason he refused to sign the constitution.

Big states vs. small states was the argument of how the government was going to be. the Virginia plan made by the bigger states stated that the number of representatives and senators should be based on population. The New Jersey plan proposed by the smaller states made it so each state had an equal number of representatives and senators. In the end half of each plan was used. the number of representatives was based on population and each state would get two senators. Randolph proposed the Virginia plan so he would agree with the number or representatives being based on population but not each state having an equal number of senators. = = =Attendance Record= Edmund Randolph Attendance Record =Constitutional Connection= Article 1 Section 2 1. The house of representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for the electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature.
 * =  ||= Present ||= Absent ||= Do Not Know ||= Probably Present ||= Probably Absent ||
 * = Act 1 ||= 15 ||= 1 ||= 0 ||= 6 ||= 0 ||
 * = Act 2 ||= 21 ||= 0 ||= 0 ||= 9 ||= 0 ||
 * = Act 3 ||= 21 ||= 0 ||= 0 ||= 2 ||= 0 ||
 * = Act 4 ||= 11 ||= 0 ||= 0 ||= 3 ||= 0 ||
 * = Totals ||= 68 ||= 1 ||= 0 ||= 21 ||= 0 ||
 * = % ||= 76.4 ||= .01 ||= 0 ||= 25.9 ||= 0 ||

Edmund Randolph would agree with this because he liked the idea of the branches being made of groups or people. He would also agree with changing them every two years so they had new members frequently. He did not like the idea of a one man exectutive branch and because they made the executive branch one person he refused to sign the constitution. =Bill Of Rights= 1st Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise there of, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of people peaccably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievences.

Edmund Randolph would agree with this because he beilieved that reigion was very important. He joined the Episcopal church in his life and was very religous. He said that the federal government was not above religion. A quote from him said "Congress has no power over religion and...the exclusion of religious tests for federal officeholders meant that "they are not bound to support one mode of worship, or to adhere to one particular sect." He added that there were so many different sects in the Unites States that "they will prevent the establishment of any one sect, in prejudice to the rest, and forever oppose all attempts to infringe religious liberty". =Work Cited= "Individual Biographies of the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention by Gordon Lloyd and Jeff Sammon." //TeachingAmericanHistory.org -- Free Seminars and Summer Institutes for Social Studies Teachers//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2010. <http://teachingamericanhistory

"Introduction to the Constitutional Convention & American Founding." //TeachingAmericanHistory.org -- Free Seminars and Summer Institutes for Social Studies Teachers//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2010. <http://teachingamericanhistory.org

"America's Founding Fathers - Delegates to the Constitutional Convention." //National Archives and Records Administration//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. "August « 2009 « Finding My Way." //Finding My Way//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2010. .

Chapter. "RossRights.com."//Georgetown University's Law School: Georgetown Law, the center for international legal studies.//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2010.

"Domitrovich History & Humanities Classes." //Re-direct to the System Computing Services//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2010. <http://www.tmcc.nevada.edu/~