Events leading to the
Great Compromise of 1787: The Virginia Plan (Large State Plan)
The events leading to
the Great Compromise of 1787 arose at the Constitutional
Congress (aka the Philadelphia Congress) related to the plans
submitted containing ideas for the power and structure of the United
States system of government. Fifteen resolutions were made in the
Virginia Plan (also called the Large
State Plan) that was written by James Madison and proposed by Edmund
J. Randolph. The Virginia Plan was strongly supported by the large
states because of the resolution suggesting proportional
representation. Proportional representation meant that the more
people a state had, the more representatives it would get in the
legislature (government).
Events leading to the
Great Compromise of 1787: The New Jersey Plan (Small State Plan)
The small states fiercely opposed the Virginia Plan because
the resolution for proportional representation would mean that
the small states would have less say in government than the large
states. If the
Virginia Plan was agreed each state would have a different number of
representatives based on the population of the state. The small
states, consisting of New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, and
Delaware therefore proposed the New
Jersey Plan. The New Jersey Plan consisted of eleven
resolutions, drafted by New Jersey delegate William Paterson, was
collectively proposed by delegates from the small states. The New
Jersey Plan detailed a legislature of only one house and featured
equal representation, in which each state had the same number of
representatives. The aim was for the small states to have the same
level of power in the legislature as the large states.
Great Compromise of 1787: The Deadlock
The
two opposing sides could not agree, their views were extreme
opposites. The Constitutional Convention reached a complete
deadlock over the
thorny issue of representation. It required the opposing sides
to make concessions enabling a breakthrough to the deadlock over
representation for the convention to continue.
Great Compromise of 1787: The Great Compromise on Representation
Connecticut delegates Oliver Ellsworth and Roger Sherman
then proposed a compromise to resolve the subject of Representation
in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Great
Compromise cleverly included elements from both the Virginia and
New Jersey plans. The 'Great Compromise' basically
consisted of proportional representation in the lower house
(House of Representatives) and equal representation of the
states in the upper house (the Senate).
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Members of the House of Representatives should be
apportioned among the states according to their population and
should be elected directly by the people
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In the Senate they
proposed that each state, regardless of size, population, or
wealth, should have two members
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The Senators would be chosen by
the state legislatures.
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The states
would be
equally represented in the Senate with two seats for each state
It was
also decided that the House of Representatives was the only
house of Congress that could write bills to create taxes.
Importance of the Great Compromise
The importance of the Great Compromise cannot be underestimated.
The issue of representation threatened to destroy the
convention. The merits of the Great Compromise was discussed and
debated and on July 23 the issue over representation was finally
settled.
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It was
decided that there would be two chambers in Congress: the
Senate and the House of Representatives
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The
House of Representatives would be based on population
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The
Senate would be based on equal representation of two seats
per state
The Significance of the
Great Compromise
The Significance of the
Great Compromise was that:
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The
Great Compromise ensured the continuance of the
Constitutional Convention
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The Great Compromise
established the Senate and the House of Representatives and
allowed for them to work efficiently
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The Great Compromise,
combining the best elements of the Virginia and New Jersey
Plans, established the Separation of Powers consisting of
the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary branches
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The Great Compromise
was included in the United States Constitution
Two other
major compromises were reached at the Constitutional Convention:
the
Three Fifths Compromise
and the
Commerce and Slave Trade
Compromise.
President George Washington Video
The article on the
Great Compromise provides the definition and history of one of the major
achievements of his presidential term in office. The following video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 1st
American President whose presidency spanned from April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797. |