Question

the framers meet

1. interpret the delegates who attended the philadelphia convention, and who came to be known as the framers of the constitution, included many outstanding individuals. yet, patrick henry remarked that he \smelt a rat\ and refused to attend the convention. to what would you attribute his comment?

the delegates adopt rules of procedure

1. determine central ideas what was the proposed reason for holding the constitutional convention? how did that idea change based on the resolution by edmund randolph from virginia?

two plans of government

1. draw inferences read the second paragraph of \the virginia plan.\ in the plan, virginia suggested that one way to determine representation would be based on financial contributions from each state. what does this fact tell you about virginia’s economy and population relative to the other colonies?

Explanation:

1. Patrick Henry was a strong advocate for states' rights and feared the Convention would create a powerful, centralized federal government that would undermine state sovereignty and individual liberties. He suspected the Framers had secret intentions to replace the Articles of Confederation rather than just revise them, leading to his "smelt a rat" comment and boycott.
2. The initial stated reason for the Constitutional Convention was to revise the Articles of Confederation to fix its weaknesses (like lack of federal power to regulate trade or tax). Edmund Randolph's Virginia Plan changed this goal: instead of revising the Articles, it proposed creating an entirely new, strong federal government with three separate branches (legislative, executive, judicial) and proportional representation in Congress.
3. Virginia's proposal to base representation on states' financial contributions reveals two key points: first, Virginia had a large, prosperous economy (it could contribute more funds to the federal government than smaller, poorer states); second, it had a large population (since higher financial contributions typically correlate with a larger tax base from more residents, including enslaved people who were counted for tax and representation purposes under the eventual Three-Fifths Compromise).

Answer:

1. Patrick Henry feared the Convention would create a powerful centralized federal government that would erode states' rights and individual freedoms, and he suspected the Framers aimed to replace (not just revise) the Articles of Confederation.
2. The original proposed reason was to revise the Articles of Confederation to address its flaws. Randolph's Virginia Plan changed this to proposing an entirely new, strong three-branch federal government with proportional congressional representation.
3. It shows Virginia had a larger, more prosperous economy (able to contribute more federal funds) and a larger population (a bigger tax base, including enslaved people) than most other states.