U.S. History / GovernmentGrades 8-128 roles65 min1 class period
U.S. History / GovernmentGrades 8-128 roles65 min1 class period
Independence Hall, Philadelphia - Summer 1787
A 2-period Constitutional Convention simulation scoped to federalism. Students play state delegations debating representation, the bicameral structure, the executive, and ratification. After voting, a Reckoning phase presents the Three-Fifths Compromise, slave trade clause, fugitive slave clause, and the Convention's Indigenous-policy decisions - alongside Black voices of the era and the abolition movement at and after the Convention (including the 1790 petitions to the First Congress, not to the Convention itself). Students do not vote on slavery; they write a past-tense analytical reflection on their state's historical delegates' arguments.
This is the Constitutional Convention lesson inside a U.S. History or Government unit on founding documents, and it needs two class periods. Do not start it if you only have one. Students need to know the Articles of Confederation failed and roughly why. They do not need to have read the Constitution, because the primary sources are in the game. Period one is the federalism argument students can actually win: representation, the executive, ratification. Period two is the Reckoning, and it is the reason to run this instead of a debate day. Students do not vote on the Three-Fifths Compromise, the slave trade clause, or the fugitive slave clause, because the people most affected never got a vote either. They read what was decided, what Congress did with the 1790 petitions, and then write about it in past tense.
What Students Will Learn
Analyze how competing state interests shaped the structure of Congress and the executive
Distinguish the federalism questions this simulation puts to a vote from the slavery and Indigenous decisions, which delegates also argued over but which were made without the people most affected
Read primary source positions from the Convention - including Madison's Virginia Plan, Paterson's New Jersey Plan, and Sherman's compromise
Examine the Three-Fifths Compromise, the slave trade clause, and the fugitive slave clause as constitutional provisions that protected slavery for 70+ years
Examine Black voices in 1787 (Prince Hall's petition, Elizabeth Freeman's case, the founding of the Free African Society, Belinda Sutton's reparations petition); the abolition movement at and after the Convention (the Pennsylvania Abolition Society memorial Franklin held back at the Convention, Gouverneur Morris's August 8 anti-slavery floor speech voted down by the Convention, the Quaker and PAS petitions submitted to the First Congress in February 1790); and Indigenous context (the Northwest Ordinance, the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, the United Indian Nations' December 1786 speech) - decisions made by people whose freedom and land were at stake but who had no vote in the Convention
Reflect analytically - as a student examining the historical record, not as a re-enacting delegate - on what the historical delegates from your state argued and what their positions reveal about the Convention's actual priorities
Cases Included
C3 Framework D2.His.1.6-8: Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts
C3 Framework D2.His.4.6-8: Analyze multiple factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras
C3 Framework D2.Civ.3.6-8: Examine the origins, purposes, and impact of constitutions
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2: Determine the central ideas of a primary source
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6: Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view
NCSS Theme 6 (Power, Authority, Governance): How governments are created and structured
C3 Framework D2.Civ.3.9-12: Analyze the impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements on the maintenance of national and international order
C3 Framework D2.His.1.9-12: Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole
Social & Emotional Learning (CASEL)
Aligned to the CASEL framework's core competencies. These are the SEL skills students actively practice while playing.
Social AwarenessEach delegate defends a region and economic interest that collides with others - students must reason from a stakeholder's perspective that is not their own.
Relationship SkillsNo role can win alone; students build cross-state coalitions, negotiate wording, and manage disagreement to reach ratification.
Responsible Decision-MakingEvery vote weighs competing goods with lasting institutional consequences, including the moral cost of the compromises the Convention actually made.
Flexible Class Sizes
Core (6 groups)
The essential delegations: large vs. small states, north vs. south, plus the mediator and the host. Every major federalism conflict is represented.
Standard (8 groups)
Adds Maryland (border state, suspicious of federal power) and Georgia (small state, dependent on federal support). More coalition possibilities.
How the Game Plays Out
Turn 1: The Reading Room
May 25, 1787 - Convention Opens
"What does your state want from the structure of this new government?"
Turn 2: The Representation Crisis
June-July 1787 - The Great Debate
"Should Congress represent people (proportional) or states (equal)?"
Turn 3: The Executive
September 1787 - Shaping the Presidency
"How do you give the executive enough power to govern without creating a new king?"
Turn 4: The Signing
September 17, 1787 - The Final Question
"Is this Constitution worth signing - knowing what else it contains that you have not voted on?"
Turn 5: The Reckoning
What Else This Convention Did
"What did this Convention do that you did not vote on in this simulation - and at whose cost?"
Roles Your Students Will Play
8 roles across 5 factions. Each has different information, different goals, and different leverage. Click any role to see their background and what they are trying to accomplish.
Virginia Delegation
large states
Virginia is the largest state, with nearly 750,000 inhabitants - of whom nearly 300,000 are enslaved. James Madison arrived in Philadelphia with a complete blueprint for a new national government - the Virginia Plan. George Washington presides over the Convention. Both Madison and Washington are enslavers. Washington held 216 people in bondage at Mount Vernon at the time of the Convention (1786 census), and 317 at his death in 1799. Madison's family held more than 100 enslaved people at Montpelier by 1801. Edmund Randolph will present the Virginia Plan formally. Your delegation believes a strong national government with proportional representation is the only way to hold the union together.
Population: ~747,000 (largest state)
Nearly 300,000 enslaved persons (292,627 in the 1790 census)
Lead delegates: Madison, Washington (presiding), Randolph, Mason
Washington held 216 enslaved people at Mount Vernon at the time of the Convention (1786 census; 317 by his death in 1799). Madison's family held more than 100 at Montpelier by 1801. Mason held more than 100 at Gunston Hall.
Madison drafted the Virginia Plan. Randolph will present it.
Virginia ratification is essential - without you, no union survives
Goals
Win proportional representation in at least one chamber of Congress (this is the question you will vote on)
Create a strong national government that can tax, regulate trade, and enforce laws
Build a coalition with other large states (Pennsylvania, Massachusetts) and persuade swing delegations
New Jersey Delegation
small states
New Jersey is a small state squeezed between New York and Pennsylvania, dependent on their ports for trade. Under the Articles of Confederation, each state gets one vote regardless of size - exactly how New Jersey likes it. William Paterson has prepared a counter-proposal to Madison's Virginia Plan that preserves state equality. Your delegation fears that proportional representation would let Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania run the country.
Population: ~184,000 (one of the smallest states)
Lead delegate: William Paterson
No major port - depends on NY and PA for trade
Began gradual abolition in 1804, but slavery still legal in 1787 - approximately 11,000 enslaved people in New Jersey at this time
Paterson has drafted the New Jersey Plan
Allied with Delaware, Connecticut, and other small states
Goals
Preserve equal representation - one state, one vote - in at least one chamber
Protect state sovereignty against federal overreach
Ensure small states cannot be permanently outvoted on taxation and trade policy
South Carolina Delegation
southern
South Carolina is one of the richest states, built on rice, indigo, and enslaved labor. Lead delegates Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, John Rutledge, and Pierce Butler are all enslavers. In the federalism debate, the delegation arrives with maximum leverage: enormous economic weight relative to its small free population, and a credible threat to walk out if the federal structure fails to recognize Southern political power.
Population: ~249,000 (over 100,000 enslaved)
One of the richest states
Economy dependent on enslaved labor
Lead delegates: Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, John Rutledge, Pierce Butler - all enslavers
Rutledge, Convention floor: 'Religion and humanity had nothing to do with this question. Interest alone is the governing principle with nations.'
Pinckney threatened that the Deep South would walk out if slavery were touched
Goals
Win the federalism debate in a way that maximizes Southern political weight (this is the question you will vote on)
Build a coalition with Georgia and other Southern delegations
Use the threat of walking out as leverage - even on questions where you have no strong preference
Massachusetts Delegation
northern
Massachusetts is a major trading state. Slavery in Massachusetts was effectively ended by Elizabeth Freeman's 1781 lawsuit (Brom and Bett v. Ashley) and the 1783 Quock Walker case. By 1787 the state has no enslaved people legally held. Lead delegates Rufus King and Elbridge Gerry want a government powerful enough to regulate interstate commerce and protect property rights. Massachusetts is also home to active Black political organizing in 1787 - Prince Hall, the founder of the African Lodge of Boston, submitted a petition to the Massachusetts legislature in January 1787 requesting funds for Black emigration and describing the "very disagreeable and disadvantageous circumstances" free Black Bostonians faced in the new republic.
Major trading economy - needs federal trade regulation
Lead delegates: Rufus King, Elbridge Gerry
Elizabeth Freeman's 1781 lawsuit and the Quock Walker cases (1781-1783) helped end slavery in MA four years before this Convention
Prince Hall's January 1787 petition to the MA legislature was active in this very year
Shays' Rebellion (1786) showed need for stronger government
Goals
Give Congress power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce
Create a stable government that can prevent rebellions like Shays'
Push for proportional representation as a large state
Connecticut Delegation
small states
Connecticut is a mid-sized state led by Roger Sherman, a veteran legislator. Sherman has a long legislative career. He signed the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He has been quietly drafting a compromise that might save the Convention.
Population: ~238,000
Lead delegate: Roger Sherman - a veteran legislator with a long career
Connecticut began gradual abolition in 1784, but slavery still legal in 1787
Approximately 2,800 enslaved people in CT at this time
Small enough to fear proportional representation, pragmatic enough to know equal representation cannot win either
Goals
Broker a compromise that keeps the Convention together
Protect small-state interests through equal representation in at least one chamber
Build a government strong enough to function but not so strong it crushes state autonomy
Pennsylvania Delegation
large states
Pennsylvania is the host state. Benjamin Franklin, at 81 the most famous American alive, presides over the Pennsylvania Abolition Society - founded in 1775 and reorganized in 1787 as the first abolition society in America. Gouverneur Morris is the delegation's best speaker and openly hostile to slavery. James Wilson is the delegation's leading legal mind. Just blocks from the Convention, in April 1787, the Free African Society was founded by Absalom Jones and Richard Allen - one of the first independent Black mutual-aid organizations in America. The Convention met within walking distance of Black abolitionists organizing for emancipation. Franklin himself, as PAS president, had a memorial against slavery prepared for the Convention - and chose not to submit it. Historians think he feared it would split the Convention; he left no record of his reason. Three years later, weeks before his death, Franklin signed the PAS petition to the First Congress in February 1790.
Population: ~434,000 (second-largest state)
Lead delegates: Benjamin Franklin (81), Gouverneur Morris, James Wilson
Franklin presided over the Pennsylvania Abolition Society - the first abolition society in America
Free African Society founded April 12, 1787 by Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, blocks from the Convention
Franklin (PAS president and Convention delegate) had an abolition memorial prepared for the Convention and chose not to submit it. The Quaker and PAS petitions went to the First Congress in February 1790
Pennsylvania began gradual abolition in 1780
Goals
Create a democratic government with checks and balances against tyranny
Establish a strong but accountable executive (not a king, not a figurehead)
Push for proportional representation
Maryland Delegation
border
Maryland is a border state - geographically between North and South. Lead delegates include Luther Martin (deeply suspicious of federal power) and Daniel Carroll. Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who signed the Declaration of Independence and was the wealthiest Catholic in America, was an enslaver who held over 300 people in bondage on his Maryland estates. Maryland has approximately 100,000 enslaved people in 1787. Martin is keeping detailed notes on every compromise he finds unjust, planning to publish them after the Convention.
Population: ~320,000 (~100,000 enslaved)
Border state
Lead delegates: Luther Martin (suspicious of federal power), Daniel Carroll
Charles Carroll (signer of Declaration, MD's wealthiest planter) enslaved 300+ people
Martin left before the signing and published 'The Genuine Information' opposing ratification
Goals
Limit federal power and protect state sovereignty
Demand explicit protections for individual rights (a bill of rights)
Prevent any single branch from becoming too powerful
Georgia Delegation
southern
Georgia is one of the least populous and most economically vulnerable of the original thirteen states, with only about 82,000 inhabitants - of whom approximately 29,000 are enslaved. Abraham Baldwin and William Few lead a delegation that wants federal economic and military support. Georgia's delegates depend on the federal government as much as any state at the Convention - and were willing to compromise on most federalism questions to secure that support.
Population: ~82,000 (one of the smallest at the Convention; ~29,000 enslaved)
Lead delegates: Abraham Baldwin, William Few
Economy dependent on enslaved labor
Federal support critical to state's economic and territorial development
Most flexible delegation on federalism questions
Goals
Secure federal support for Georgia's continued economic and territorial development
Build a coalition with South Carolina on Southern questions
Support whatever constitutional structure keeps the union strongest
Hand Each Student Their Own Sheet
One click on the teacher dashboard prints a dossier for every role - background, goals, key facts, and their confidential briefing - plus the primary-source packet and a vocabulary sheet. Print them, or save as PDF, so each student reads their role on paper instead of huddling around one screen. The app still runs the votes and the action; the paper just carries the reading.
Primary Sources
Every role includes real historical documents. Students read them because they need the information to make their case.
The Virginia Plan
The New Jersey Plan
Roger Sherman's Compromise Proposal
Benjamin Franklin's Closing Speech
Luther Martin's 'Genuine Information'
Abraham Baldwin on Georgia and a General Government
Gouverneur Morris on the Slavery Compromises
Prince Hall's January 1787 Petition
Elizabeth Freeman (Mum Bett)
Free African Society Founding
Belinda Sutton's Petition for Reparations
The Abolition Movement - 1787 and 1790
Benjamin Banneker's Letter to Jefferson
Frederick Douglass, 'What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?'
John Rutledge on Representation by Wealth
Rufus King on the Senate and State Sovereignty
Key Terms Students Will Learn
bicameralproportional representationequal representationratificationThree-Fifths Compromiseslave trade clausefugitive slave clauseNorthwest OrdinanceTreaty of Fort StanwixFree African SocietyPennsylvania Abolition SocietyElectoral CollegesuffrageCommerce Clausedelegatefederalism
After the Game: Debrief Questions
What did your state's historical delegates argue for on slavery at the Convention? Use each clause your Historical Record tab names: the Three-Fifths Compromise, the slave trade clause or the fugitive slave clause. Refer to specific delegates by name.
Franklin was president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society AND a delegate to this Convention. The PAS had a memorial against slavery prepared. Franklin chose not to submit it; historians think he feared it would split the Convention. Three years later, weeks before his death, he signed the PAS petition to the First Congress. Gouverneur Morris's August 8 floor speech against slavery WAS made at this Convention - and the Convention voted him down. What does it mean that men of the abolition movement were inside the room and the room chose silence anyway?
The Northwest Ordinance was passed July 13, 1787 - while this Convention was deadlocked. The same group of political leaders wrote both. The Convention's federal structure was being designed in part to dispossess Indigenous nations. How does this change the story of 'the Founders'?
Some historians read this Constitution as an institutional achievement. Others read it as a document that protected slavery. What evidence from the sources and votes supports each? Which reading did your role push you toward, and why?
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