Preview

The Great Compromise

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
202 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Great Compromise
The Great Compromise was the solution to struggle of representation in the Legislative Branch during the U.S Constitutional Convention in 1787. The states with bigger populations like Virginia favored the Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan called for representation based on the amount of people living in each state. Larger states favored this plan because they would have more power in making laws. On the other hand, smaller states like Delaware favored the New Jersey Plan, under which each state would send the same amount of representatives to Congress. Smaller states favored this because it meant equal power for everyone. This problem was solved by Roger Sherman. He proposed a bicameral legislature. Each state, as suggested by Sherman, would send an equal amount of Representatives to the House of Senate, and one representative for every 30,000 citizens to the House of Representatives. Today, the variable number of members of the House of Representatives is based on the State’s population as reported in the most recent decennial census. The process of determining the number of members of the House from each state is known as apportionment. Apportionment is the process of allocating the 435 House seats among the states according to each state’s population.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    I, Oliver Ellsworth representative of Connecticut, propose that the basis of representation in the legislative branch remain by state as under the Articles of Confederation. I support the system of government that maintains the principle of local rule and I understand central government as the body that will strengthen the rights of property and the harmony of the republic, therefore I claim “we” are partly national and partly federal. Under this I shall introduce the resolution with my ally Roger Sherman along with William S. Johnson, The Great Compromise, breaking the deadlock between the large and small states over representative, allowing United States senators to be elected by state legislature. I do agree with Randolph’s notion of a…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Missouri Compromise

    • 263 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Give two ordered pairs that are solutions and two ordered pairs that are not solutions.…

    • 263 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    As you know, we are going through the Great Compromise. Congress cannot decide whether or not it is fair to adopt the New Jersey Plan, or the Virginia Plan. This compromise (An agreement with two sides or more, where every side gives up some of what they may want.) is one that potentially will shape the future government. You might be in between the two plans, but after you read this, you’ll know why you should choose the New Jersey Plan. This plan is about having an organized government, and the ideas on what the Congress should have the power to do.…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Virginia plan is a good plan to not say the least. That the amount of representatives in congress should be based on population. But problems are aroused by this plan because it would tip the scale in congress toward the southern states. Reasons…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    14th Amendment Structure

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The issue still was how congress would allot for its representatives given the numbers of constituents in each of the states; originally they attempted one for every thirty thousand which if initially ratified would have fell short of the necessary three-fourths (Amar, Akhil Reed, 1992). Direct representation Madison would point out during the attempt to find a solution is impossible, even a tiny state like Rhode island would find it difficult to be at every assembly, he insisted on a smaller select group (Amar, Akhil Reed, 1992). The one in every thirty thousand would be later changed to one in every forty thousand and would be adjusted every ten years as the population grew (Amar, Akhil Reed, 1992). This mathematical formula made little sense as Mr. Amar states “if the population grew from eight to nine million in a decade the house would be 200 delegates” which would negate the condition that there not be more than one for every fifty thousand (Amar, Akhil Reed, 1992). This section changed in 1910 the basis of representation was one for every 210,000 inhabitants, and it wasn’t till the 1930’s by the act of June 1929 that the house was restricted to 435 members, now they just continue to divide the population to meet the electoral quota (Corwin et al., 1978). The senate allocations are extremely less problematic provided by section 3 of article one it simply states there will be two senators for each state, and even the addition in the 17th amendment does not change much but adds the basis if there are any vacancy (Corwin et al.,…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    (Population)…” But, on the other hand small states would have a disadvantage of representation in the House like, Rhode Island. Big state v. small state guarded against tyranny because we came up with a compromise of two senators for each state. Through the compromise no one state gains more control and has more power than the…

    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Murder. The unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. What could posses a person to do such a heinous crime when they have almost everything going for them? Almost does not count in the presidential elections. This was especially true with the Compromise of 1850. Two large faces in America at the time, John C. Calhoun and Daniel Webster, had opposing views on what would be the ideal decision for the better good. The Compromise of 1850 included five bills passed to keep power balanced between slave and non-slave states following America's investment in new territory after the Mexican-American War.1 During the 1850s there were influential speeches spoken by both Calhoun and Webster, could the difference and need of power have led to Calhoun's death?…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    One of these is the Virginia Plan, also called the Large State Plan, which advised that the representation in a bicameral legislature be proportional to property or population. The other is the New Jersey Plan, which called for equal representation for all states regardless to population in a unicameral legislature. Had the Virginia Plan been adopted entirely, large states would always have a dominant voice over the smaller states. On the other hand, if the New Jersey plan had been adopted entirely, bigger states with bigger needs would never prevail. When the delegates began to discuss this issue, they willingly agreed that a bicameral legislature is necessary for the new national government. They differed widely, however, in the representation of the two houses. Bitter debates followed until, finally, the compromise of equal representation in the House and proportional representation in the Senate was reached. In Henry Steele Commager 's article, "The Constitution, Was It an Economic Document?", he remarked that the framers "feared the powers of the majority, as they feared all power unless controlled" (141); the compromise of the representation of the houses underscores exactly this point because it prevents an absolute body majority which would prove to be fatal to the country had they had a malevolent intent. Furthermore, the compromise effectively appealed to all states and therefore…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The great compromise was an agreement between the states that government should be split into the two houses, House of Representatives and Senate. Document D, a section of the Constitution, explains what each of the two houses can do. In article 1, section 2, about the House of Representatives, it states, “Representatives...shall be apportioned... according to…(population)”. Later in article 1, section 3, this time about the Senate, it writes, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each state, chosen by the legislatures thereof for six years…”.…

    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1787 when delegates met for the Constitutional Convention they had to establish a way that states could have an equal say in government. They decided that the people should vote for their representation in government. The colonists would vote for senators and representatives which would be their voice in the government. This lead to the great compromise which was a debate between the smaller and larger states about who should have more say in the government. The small states wanted to have an equal amount of representation in government, that it why the Great Compromise was created.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What if the American Civil War never happened? It could have if the Crittenden Compromise would have passed. The Crittenden Compromise was one of the last attempts to stop a war from happening in America. The Crittenden Compromise is one cause of the Civil War. It would have allowed the southern states to have slaves, and the northern to not. It also would have allowed the Confederates to maintain their beliefs in slavery being useful and right.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Three Fifths Compromise made it fair for all involved or so the states would want us to believe such nonsense. The population numbers detremine the taxes as well the representation of each state. Who would be counted as population in the census became a big debate among the states.…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A compromise that was made was the Great Compromise. The Great Compromise was an agreement that small and large states made. This compromise stated the representation and legislative structure each state should have under the U.S. Constitution. The outcome of the Great Compromise was that each state would have two representatives in the upper house.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Compromise

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan, and the Great Compromise was a big part of America’s future. The Virginia Plan was for a legislative branch. It placed the broad outlines of what became the U.S. Constitution. The New Jersey Plan was a Small State Plan. It was a structure for the United States. The Great Compromise saved the Constitutional Convention. This had to do with the House and the Senate. All of these plans have played a big role in the way that America is today.…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If I lived in a bigger state, I would most likely be for proportional representation because there were probably more people in my state, but if I was a smaller state, I would most likely be for equal representation because I would feel like the bigger states would be at a bigger advantage with proportional representation due to their likely more populous size (Kennedy 170). I would feel like having one house be proportional representation and one being equal representation would be fair so that each state would have the advantages and disadvantages to each type of legislative representation. Another issue was whether to count slaves in representation or not. Being from the North, I would most likely agree with other northern states that wrong to count slaves if they weren't even counted as citizens, and even with the compromise, I would feel like the southern states would be at more of an advantage when it came to representation due to their large slave population (pg 172). Even with all this being said, I would not be able to know my situation or opinions if I actually lived in this time…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays