The Great Compromise Of The Constitution
It was during the Federal Convention at Philadelphia held during the year 1787 that the Great Compromise of the Constitution was born. It is also known as the Connecticut Compromise. There were eleven days of debate before the compromise could be reached. |
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At first, the large and small states could not come to an agreement. Each had a plan in mind to create a new branch of government. There was the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey plan.
The Virginia plan proposed bicameral or a two-chamber legislature. The first house would be directly elected by the people. The second would come into existence through the people of the first house nominated by the state legislature. Also, the national legislature would choose the president and the national judiciary. The states would be favored by the number of residents. This was, of course, favored by the large states, which would have more representatives.
The New Jersey or the small state plan put across a unicameral legislature. This meant one vote under one legislature for equal representation. This was due to the fact that the small states feared that they would be by-passed.
Here comes the Great Compromise of the Constitution. The two plans were merged to give both sectors a fair chance at sharing power in the new government of the United States. So, the current government came to be with two houses. One house was based on population, while the other had two senators appointed by state legislatures. A noteworthy point of the Great Compromise is that it also tackled differences between the states about slavery.
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