Constitutional Convention Compromise

The Virginia Plan sparked debate over its legislative representative proposals. The plan proposed representation of the states by population. This proposition favored the larger states. The Jersey Plan also known as the smaller state plan rallied for equal representation for all states. A compromise was finally reached. One house of the legislature would consist of two representatives from each state. This satisfied the small states. The second house of the legislature would consist of representatives based on population, thus satisfying the larger states. The establishment of a fair measure to apply taxation and representation in the legislature was described in the Federalist Papers: The Apportionment of Members among the States. The government would conduct a census that would prevent the states from understating their population for taxation and overstating their population for representation. The “Great Compromise” resolving the issue of representation did not mean that the federalists and anti-federalists had come to agreement on the Constitution.

During the Philadelphia convention, the Framers ran into many problems when talking about representation. Plans were proposed on how to run the government, including the Virginia and New Jersey Plan. These plans were centered on representation in Congress and how many houses there should be. The Virginia Plan proposed for Congress to be a bicameral legislature and for both houses to have proportional representation while the New Jersey Plan focused on having one house in Congress and have it be based on equal representation. This sparked disagreements when delegates from smaller states believed their voices would not be heard if the Virginia Plan became the outline for government, likewise delegates of larger states thought that in equal representation their voices would not be

Of the many plans to structure the government present the two that drew the most attention were the Virginia and the New Jersey Plans. Both of these plans were decimated by members of the convention for various reason. The plan from Virginia was viewed as a structure that would be more beneficial to larger states because it recommended an executive and judicial branches of government in addition to a two chambered congress with all representation based on the population of the state which was less beneficial to smaller states such as New Jersey. While the plan recommend called the New Jersey Plan would be just the opposite of the Virginia Plan since it called for a stronger national government to support the Articles of the Confederation with the ability to tax and regulate commerce between states. The New Jersey Plan also called for a single chambered congress and each state having one single vote. Deliberations lasted many weeks until finally

This plan was known as the Great Compromise that combined element of both Virginia’s and New Jersey’s plans to appease both the small and large states. The plan had 2 house legislatures, initially called the “lower house” and the “upper house” due to their location in the two story building that would house them. Besides, upper house is the senate with 2 members per state, whereas lower house is the House of Representatives, based on population. According to the plan, all states would have the same number of seats.

During that time, slavery was an issue in the United States. The Southern states wanted their population, including their slave population to be counted toward their representation in the House of Representatives, the reason for this was because the higher the population, the more representatives they would receive; on the other hand, the Southern States did not want their slave population counted toward their taxes, this was because, the higher the population, the more taxes the south would have to pay; the Northern States disagreed with the Southern States on both matters, there were fewer slave states in the north so the sum of the slaves and the ordinary people would not help the northern states earn representation. Secondly, the northern states felt that if the southern states were allowed to count slaves as part of their population for representation, they should also be counted for taxation. The solution for this confusion was the Three-Fifths Compromise, which each slave would count as three-fifths of a person for both representation and taxation

The Virginia Plan is a document created by James Madison, presented on May 8, 1787, to the Constitutional Convention by Edmund Randolph (Munson). It entailed a proposal for a bicameral legislature, a plan to separate the legislative branch into two chambers, “the National Legislature ought to consist of two branches” (Madison). The Virginia Plan also suggested that the powers of the government be separated into branches, executive, legislative, and judicial. The significance of the Virginia plan was its call for a proportional representation of the states, which would result in a strong national government. This planned upstaged the smaller states, such as New Jersey, since they feared that the states would no longer have a voice in their society, creating the New Jersey Plan.

The 1787 Constitutional Convention was paramount in unifying the states after the Revolutionary War. However, in order to do so, the convention had to compromise on many issues instead of addressing them with all due haste. This caused the convention to leave many issues unresolved. Most notably were the issues of slavery, race, secession, and states’ rights. Through the Civil War and the Reconstruction, these issues were resolved, and in the process the powers of the federal government were greatly expanded.

It made several proposals regarding the structure and powers of the federal government. Under the Virginia Plan, both houses in the legislature would have their representatives decided according to a state's number of free citizens. It was assumed by Madison that both large and small states would agree to this proposal; however, the smallest states were opposed because they knew they would have less Congressional power under this governmental structure. Roche uses words like "militant" and "truly radical" when describing the structure of the federal government under the Virginia Plan. Both he and Lance Banning relate the support Madison's plan received to the delegates' memories of the behavior of state legislatures under the Articles of Confederation. It is not surprising, therefore, that some delegates first supported a plan that would protect against abuses of power by the states. In response to the Virginia Plan, states' righters began supporting the New Jersey Plan, which called for equal representation in every state. Roche describes it as a "reversion to the status quo under the Articles of Confederation with but minor

Virginia plan placed a lot of power in the legislative branch, and had a system very similar to the one we use today. The branch is split up into two houses, the House of Representatives, as well as the Senate. The number of officials in these institutions would be based solely on population, or their contribution to the federation. They would be voted on by the people, for the House of Reps, and the Senate would then be chosen by government officials. This was a very scary plan to the smaller states, who much rather favored the New Jersey plan. This option outlined a very equal playing field for all states. There is a one house legislature system, with equal representation across the board. All decisions were made based on the state’s

All throughout history before the Constitution was made, there were huge disputes about whether or not blacks should be included in taxes and in representation. To solve this dispute, the Three-Fifths Compromise was included into the writing of the Constitution. In document #3, it states, “Representatives...shall be determined by adding to the…number of free persons...three fifths of all other person.” This compromise gave states the ability to count slaves as three fifths a person instead of a full person because the citizens and the government didn’t want to give blacks and slaves full representation. They thought blacks were beneath them and not equal to them so they only counted them as part of a person. This was one of the most flexible aspects of the U.S.

This thought process is similar to the colonies thought process when it came to the intolerable acts. No taxation without representation. But the nonslave states argued that slaves should be counted the same as citizens to have a fair share of the tax burden. So in order to compromise they split the differences and came up with the Three-Fifths Compromise which made each slave get taxed as 3/5 of a citizen. But when it came to slave’s congressional representation both sides changed. The nonslave states didn’t want the slaves to count in determining the number of House representatives, but the slave states felt that each slave should be counted like every citizen was. So the Framers had to use the Three-Fifths Compromise again to settle this dispute. Both sides acted really hypocritical when it came to these two disputes has the nonslave states wanted slaves to count for taxes but not representation and then the slave states wanted them not to be taxed but be used in figuring the number of House representatives. At the time it is somewhat understandable because they needed to get rid of the Articles of Confederation but still wanted what was best for their

The plan of the delegates was to remedy the defects in the Articles of Confederation, but Virginia delegates had a new idea in mid and boldly proposed the Virginia Plan, which introduced a whole new national government instead of the confederation. The New Jersey Plan was also presented as an alternative, but it was based mainly on autonomous states being represented by a single chamber. When bicameral legislation was approved it effectively made the decision for the Virginia Plan, and allowed for the New

Still, it was apparent whom the Three-Fifths Compromise targeted, since it went a step further and addressed the issue of the African slave trade. Northerners expected the African slave trade to dwindle and eventually become unnecessary, and they wanted the Constitution to reflect that expectation. Southerners only knew that they had an immediate and ongoing need for slave labor in their fields and paddies, so they resisted slave trade restrictions.

Slaves were not considered people, they were considered property. Many slave owners thought of slaves the same way they thought of cattle or any other living property. Many believed that since slaves were referred to as property that they should not be allowed to be counted. However, southern states knew that slaves increased their population, which increased with the number of representatives that they had. The southern states were worried that if they did not have enough representatives that the northern states would try and do away with slavery. Therefore, they argued that slaves should be counted. Georgia and South Carolina threatened to secede if slaves weren’t counted. Following their threats the three-fifths clause was passed. In this clause, three- fifths of slaves were allowed to be counted in the representation. Slavery was not going to be allowed to be taken away with this clause in

A widely controversial issue while creating the Constitution was the number of representatives each state would receive. Larger states advocated for the Virginia plan where there would be a two-house legislature, one of which would comprise representatives directly elected by the population while the other was composed of those nominated by the legislators. This legislature would then be responsible for deciding the executive and judicial branches of the government. Smaller states backed the New Jersey Plan where a one-house legislature was supported, with each state receiving one vote. The representatives would be selected by the legislators and this new Congress would now have the power to collect fees and appoint Supreme Court members. The Virginia Plan would allow for larger states to have more power because representation was proportional to the population while the New Jersey Plan would allow smaller states to havae more power because they had the same amount of representation for a smaller population.