Isabella Carter
The US Constitution, ratified by all 13 states in 1789, is sometimes called a bundle of compromises due to the numerous concessions made by delegates to create a government charter acceptable to each state. One of the most notable compromises was the Three-Fifths Compromise, which addressed how slaves would be counted to determine congressional representation. Other key compromises include the Electoral College Compromise, which established the Electoral College system for electing the president, and the Great Compromise, which established a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate. These compromises were essential in shaping the US Constitution and resolving disagreements between states with varying interests and perspectives.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| The Three-Fifths Compromise | Every five enslaved people would be counted as three individuals in terms of representation |
| The Great Compromise | A bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate |
| The Electoral College Compromise | The Electoral College would be used to choose the president instead of the general public |
| Tariffs | Only allowed on imports from foreign countries and not exports from the U.S. |
| Interstate commerce | Regulated by the federal government |
| Commerce legislation | Passed by a two-thirds majority in the Senate |
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What You'll Learn
The Three-Fifths Compromise
The Southern states wanted to count the entire slave population, which would increase their number of members of Congress. The Northern delegates and others opposed to slavery wanted to count only free persons, including free blacks in the North and South. The Three-Fifths Compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney. It was an attempt to resolve this impasse. The compromise counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives, effectively giving the Southern states more power in the House relative to the Northern states.
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The Great Compromise
The disagreement over representation threatened to derail the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, with delegates from both sides threatening to reject the document if they didn't get their way. The delegates from smaller states continued to object and protest, threatening to unravel the proceedings. This led to the appointment of a "Grand Committee" to reach a final resolution.
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The Electoral College Compromise
The Electoral College is a process that was established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and the election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. The term "electoral college" does not appear in the Constitution, but Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment refer to "electors". The Electoral College process consists of the selection of electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for the President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress.
The Founding Fathers of the United States Constitution decided to create the Electoral College as a compromise between electing the President by a vote in Congress and electing the President by popular vote. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors drawn from the states and the District of Columbia. Under Article II of the Constitution, the states are given a number of electors equal to their Congressional delegation, and the 23rd Amendment granted Washington, D.C., three electoral votes.
The Electoral College has been criticised as "archaic" and "ambiguous" and there have been many proposals to reform or eliminate it. Over the past 200 years, more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. There have been more proposals for Constitutional amendments on changing the Electoral College than on any other subject.
The Electoral College has been defended by some as a way to balance the popular vote with the interests of smaller states. In the Electoral College, each state has a number of electors roughly proportional to its population. Citizens vote for electors bound to a particular candidate who then votes for the President. This allows for a more nuanced representation of the popular vote, as a candidate who wins the popular vote nationwide may not win in the Electoral College.
The Electoral College has been a part of the US Constitution since its inception and has been a controversial topic throughout its history. It remains a key compromise that helped shape the US Constitution and its unique system of electing the President.
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The Fugitive Clause
The Fugitive Slave Clause, also known as the Fugitive Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labour Clause, was a highly controversial aspect of the US Constitution. It is Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3, which requires a "Person held to Service or Labour" (usually a slave, apprentice, or indentured servant) who flees to another state to be returned to their master in the state from which they escaped.
The clause was a compromise between the Northern and Southern states, which had differing views on slavery. The Southern states, where the economy was heavily dependent on slavery, wanted to protect the existing property rights of slaveholders and build in protections against future anti-slavery attempts by Northern states. The Northern states, on the other hand, wanted to end the importation and sale of enslaved people.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was a compromise that allowed the Southern states to reclaim their escaped slaves from the Northern states. This compromise, along with the Three-Fifths Compromise, ensured that the Southern states had greater political power, as the number of representatives a state had was based on its population, and slaves were counted as three-fifths of a person.
The Fugitive Slave Clause was effectively nullified by the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery "except as a punishment for crime". However, even after the Thirteenth Amendment, there were attempts to strengthen the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Clause during the Civil War.
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Tariffs and interstate commerce
At the time of the Constitutional Convention, the North was industrialised and produced many finished goods, while the South had an agricultural economy, importing many finished goods from Britain. Northern states wanted the federal government to be able to impose import tariffs on finished products to protect against foreign competition and encourage the South to buy goods made in the North. This was a point of contention, with the South arguing for the continuation of slavery to maintain their economic model.
The delegates at the convention agreed on a compromise, known as the Three-Fifths Compromise, which allowed the Southern states to include a portion of their enslaved population in their overall population numbers for the purpose of representation. This gave the Southern states more representatives, and therefore more political power.
The issue of tariffs was addressed through the Import-Export Clause, which prevents states, without the consent of Congress, from imposing tariffs on imports and exports above what is necessary for their inspection laws. The federal government was given the power to regulate interstate commerce and secure revenues from tariffs on imports and exports. This was a significant source of revenue for the federal government, particularly for states with major ports.
The Connecticut Compromise, also known as the Great Compromise, addressed the issue of state representation. It proposed that the upper house, or Senate, would include two representatives from each state, regardless of population size, while the lower house, the House of Representatives, would have a number of representatives based on population. This balanced state sovereignty with popular sovereignty and gave smaller states a victory in terms of representation.
Overall, the US Constitution has been described as a "bundle of compromises", with the issues of tariffs and interstate commerce playing a significant role in shaping the final document and the country's economic and political landscape.
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Frequently asked questions
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement between the Northern and Southern states on how slaves would be counted to determine congressional representation. The Southern states sought to count slaves to increase their representation in Congress, while the Northern states thought they should not be counted. The compromise stated that every five slaves would be counted as three individuals, and the Southern states received additional representation in the House of Representatives.
The Electoral College Compromise resolved the issue of how the president would be elected. The Electoral College, instead of the general public, would choose the president. Each state is given a number of electors equal to its congressional delegation, guaranteeing every state at least three electors. This compromise aimed to balance the interests of the states and the federal government in the presidential election.
The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, addressed the issue of congressional representation. It established a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House of Representatives, based on state population, and equal representation in the Senate, with two representatives from each state. This compromise balanced state sovereignty and popular sovereignty tied to actual population.
