Constitution Paper
Kyra Majors
Mrs. Rich
IB History I
October 19, 2014
The Compromises of the US Constitution From March 25, 1787 to September 17, 1787, 55 delegates from 12 of the 13 states of the United States of America met at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to draft a new Constitution. The bundle of compromises set forth by the Constitution solved the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation by establishing clear principles of how the federal government would be run. These Constitutional compromises were the Great Compromise or the Connecticut plan, the Three-Fifths Compromise and the Electoral College compromise. Initally, the Articles of Confederation had a unicameral house that was essentially powerless. This house was a legislative house whose responsibilities were few and definite. At the Constitutional Convention, two conflicting plans were introduced to solve the problem of how to establish the new Congress. It was decided that Congress would have the power to levy taxes and draft laws as well as have more powers. The big conflict was how many congressmen would serve as their states’ representatives. The Virginia Plan, proposed by James Madison and Edmund Randolph, called for a bi-cameral, or two-house, Congress. These men wanted the representation to be based on population, which would favor the large states. The conflicting plan was the New Jersey plan, proposed by William Patterson. This plan called for a unicameral Congress that would have equal representation from all states. The resulting compromise was the Great Compromise, also called the Connecticut Plan, proposed by Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth. This plan, a marriage of the two previously proposed plans, called for a bicameral legislature. One house, the Senate, was based upon equal representation, which satisfied the small states. The other house, the House of Representatives, was based upon representation based on population, satisfying the large states. This way, a legislature that
Mrs. Rich
IB History I
October 19, 2014
The Compromises of the US Constitution From March 25, 1787 to September 17, 1787, 55 delegates from 12 of the 13 states of the United States of America met at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to draft a new Constitution. The bundle of compromises set forth by the Constitution solved the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation by establishing clear principles of how the federal government would be run. These Constitutional compromises were the Great Compromise or the Connecticut plan, the Three-Fifths Compromise and the Electoral College compromise. Initally, the Articles of Confederation had a unicameral house that was essentially powerless. This house was a legislative house whose responsibilities were few and definite. At the Constitutional Convention, two conflicting plans were introduced to solve the problem of how to establish the new Congress. It was decided that Congress would have the power to levy taxes and draft laws as well as have more powers. The big conflict was how many congressmen would serve as their states’ representatives. The Virginia Plan, proposed by James Madison and Edmund Randolph, called for a bi-cameral, or two-house, Congress. These men wanted the representation to be based on population, which would favor the large states. The conflicting plan was the New Jersey plan, proposed by William Patterson. This plan called for a unicameral Congress that would have equal representation from all states. The resulting compromise was the Great Compromise, also called the Connecticut Plan, proposed by Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth. This plan, a marriage of the two previously proposed plans, called for a bicameral legislature. One house, the Senate, was based upon equal representation, which satisfied the small states. The other house, the House of Representatives, was based upon representation based on population, satisfying the large states. This way, a legislature that