Compromises That Lead to the Constitution

In the period between the drafting of the Constitution and the start of the Civil War, compromise was a main part in the governing of the United States. The Constitution itself is often referred to as a “bundle of compromises” and because of the effectiveness of these compromises it has been able to withstand time and continue to be the main source of our government. Conflict arose even after the Constitution and compromises were made to try to keep the Union together and decrease tensions between the North and South. In this paper, I will discuss the compromises that made up the Constitution as well as the compromises that were implemented leading up until the Civil War. The drafting of the Constitution is compiled of great compromises that are the reason why our great government is still working today. James Madison created one of these compromises called the Virginia Plan. His plan called for a strong central government, one that had control to legislate, levy taxes, veto state laws, and authorize military force against states. His plan also called for a bicameral legislature and fixed representation in both houses of Congress proportionally to each state’s population. The people would select the lower house and those in that house would elect the delegates in the upper house who in turn would select the president and judges. This plan didn’t work because those smaller states felt they wouldn’t have equal representation in this house due to their population being smaller than the larger states. They feared that the large states would control the legislatures and the small states wouldn’t be able to get what they wanted done. After the Virginia Plan didn’t work, William Paterson of New Jersey offered another proposal called the New Jersey Plan. This plan stated that there should be a single chamber congress in which each state had an equal vote, just like the Articles. This plan also did not work because it gave too much power to the smaller states who only