Malcolm Rivera
The U.S. Constitution, ratified by all 13 states in 1789, is often referred to as a bundle of compromises due to the numerous concessions made by delegates to create a government charter acceptable to each state. The Constitutional Convention, held in Philadelphia in 1787, saw delegates assemble to revise the Articles of Confederation, but they soon decided to overhaul the government entirely. This led to fierce debates and disagreements, with delegates representing a wide range of interests and views. Despite these differences, the delegates worked towards compromises to forge a new framework for the nation. The issue of slavery, in particular, threatened to derail the Union, but a temporary resolution was found, and the delegates agreed to defer the matter until 1808. Other contentious topics, such as congressional representation and state sovereignty, also required innovative solutions. The Constitution's creation was a complex and challenging process, shaped by the art of compromise to unite the states under a powerful central government.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Congressional representation | Based on population or divided equally among the states |
| Enslavement of African people | Counted as three-fifths of a person for congressional representation |
| Taxation | According to representation |
| Commerce | Regulated by the federal government |
| Voting | Allowed even for those without property |
| Election of the President | Through an electoral college |
| Sovereignty | Balanced state sovereignty and popular sovereignty |
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What You'll Learn
The Great Compromise/Connecticut Compromise
The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, was an agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It was proposed by Connecticut delegates Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth to resolve the dispute between small and large states over representation in the new federal government. The compromise retained the bicameral legislature, with proportional representation of the states in the lower house (the House of Representatives) and equal representation of the states in the upper house (the Senate).
The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation. However, the delegates decided to completely redesign the government, and one of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation. Should it be based on population or divided equally among the states? The Virginia Plan, proposed by Edmund Randolph, suggested representation based on each state's population, while the New Jersey Plan, proposed by William Paterson, proposed equal representation for every state.
The Great Compromise combined both plans, balancing state sovereignty and popular sovereignty tied to actual population. It provided for a bicameral federal legislature with a dual system of representation. The upper house, or Senate, would include two people from each state regardless of size, reflecting the importance of state sovereignty. Meanwhile, the lower house, or House of Representatives, would have different numbers of representatives from each state determined by population. This compromise was approved on July 16, 1787, and it allowed for the continuation of deliberations, leading to the Three-Fifths Compromise, which further complicated the issue of popular representation in the House.
The Great Compromise was a victory for small states, as it ensured their equal representation in the Senate. However, compared to their dominance under the Articles of Confederation, the compromise also gave larger states a stronger voice. The delegates created a powerful central government while remaining loyal to their states, and the resulting Constitution stands today as one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.
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Three-Fifths Compromise
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over the inclusion of slaves in a state's total population. This total population count was to be used to determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the number of electoral votes each state would be allocated, and how much money the states would pay in taxes.
The Southern states, where the economy relied heavily on the enslavement of African people, wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives they could elect and send to Congress. Northern states, where the economy was industrialized and did not rely heavily on slavery, wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, since those slaves had no voting rights. The Southern delegates threatened to abandon the convention if enslaved individuals were not counted.
The compromise between the two became known as the Three-Fifths Compromise because every five enslaved people would be counted as three individuals. This agreement came to be known as the Three-Fifths Compromise: "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other Persons."
The Three-Fifths Compromise was part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. This compromise gave the Southern states more power in the House of Representatives relative to the Northern states. It also gave slaveholders similarly enlarged powers in Southern legislatures. However, it did increase the direct federal tax burden of slaveholding states.
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Commerce Compromise
The US Constitution is often referred to as a "bundle of compromises", as delegates had to reach agreements on numerous key points to create a government charter acceptable to each of the 13 states. One of the key compromises was on the issue of commerce, which was a central problem giving rise to the Constitution itself.
America's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.
The Commerce Clause emerged as the Framers' response to the absence of any federal commerce power under the Articles of Confederation. The Commerce Clause grants Congress the power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes". This enabled the creation of a free trade zone among the several states and empowered the president to negotiate, and Congress to approve, treaties to open foreign markets to American-made goods.
The Commerce Compromise also dictated that the federal government would regulate interstate commerce. It required that all commerce legislation be passed by a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which was a win for the South as it countered the power of the more populous Northern states. It also mandated that tariffs were only allowed on imports from foreign countries and not on exports from the US, addressing the South's fears that export tariffs on their raw goods would hurt their trade.
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Electoral College
The Electoral College is a process, not a place, established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution as a compromise between two conflicting views on how the President should be elected. One view was that the President should be elected by a vote in Congress, while the other view favoured a popular vote of qualified citizens.
The term "electoral college" does not appear in the Constitution, but the process is part of the original design of the U.S. Constitution. Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment refer to "electors" who are selected by the voters in each state. The Electoral College consists of 538 electors, and a majority of 270 electoral votes are required to elect the President.
The Electoral College was also a compromise between delegates who wanted Congress to select the President and those who favoured a direct nationwide popular vote. The Three-Fifths Clause, which counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for congressional representation, also influenced the Electoral College. This gave Southern states with large enslaved populations more electoral representation.
The Electoral College has been criticised as "archaic" and "ambiguous", and there have been over 700 proposals in Congress to reform or eliminate it. However, it continues to be supported by some political scientists and is protected by the Constitution, requiring a Constitutional amendment to change the system.
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State Sovereignty
The issue of state sovereignty was a key concern during the drafting of the US Constitution. The delegates, or framers, had to grapple with the question of how to balance state sovereignty with the need for a stronger central government. This was a complex issue, with delegates holding differing views on the role of the national government and the sovereignty of the states.
The Articles of Confederation, which preceded the Constitution, had established a weak central government, with states largely conducting their own foreign diplomacy. However, the Articles were considered a flawed compromise, and it became clear that a more powerful central government was needed. The delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 grappled with this issue, with some advocating for a stronger national government and others insisting on preserving state sovereignty.
The "Great Compromise" or the "Connecticut Compromise", proposed by Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman, resolved the deadlock over representation. It balanced the demands of large and small states with a bicameral legislature. The upper house, or Senate, would include two representatives from each state, regardless of population, thus preserving state sovereignty. Meanwhile, the lower house, the House of Representatives, would have a variable number of representatives from each state, determined by population. This compromise ensured that both large and small states had a say in the central government.
The issue of slavery also played a significant role in the debates over state sovereignty. Some delegates wanted to abolish slavery, while others, particularly those from Southern states, fought to protect the interests of slaveholders. In the end, the legality of slavery was left to the states, with the Constitution enshrining protections for slaveholders, such as the Three-Fifths Clause, which allowed states to count enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation and tax purposes.
The delegates also debated the method of selecting the president, with various proposals put forward, including direct election by popular vote, selection by members of Congress, or by an Electoral College. The Electoral College system was eventually adopted as a compromise, with the president elected at the state level through electors, thus preserving some degree of state sovereignty in the selection process.
Overall, the US Constitution was a document of compromise, balancing the need for a stronger central government with the recognition of state sovereignty. The delegates' ability to negotiate and compromise resulted in a framework that addressed the diverse needs and aspirations of the states, paving the way for a more unified and enduring nation.
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Frequently asked questions
The Constitutional Convention was a gathering in Philadelphia in 1787, where delegates assembled to revise the Articles of Confederation, which was America's first constitution. However, they ultimately decided to redesign the government, creating a powerful central government.
The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, was a proposal put forward by delegates from Connecticut to strike a balance between state sovereignty and popular sovereignty tied to population. It suggested that the upper house or Senate would include two people from each state, regardless of size, while the lower house or House of Representatives would have different numbers of representatives from each state determined by population.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement that enslaved people would be counted as three-fifths of a person for congressional representation and determining voting power in the Electoral College. This was a compromise between delegates from Northern states, who felt that enslaved people should not count toward representation, and Southern states, who fought for enslaved individuals to be counted.
While some delegates considered slavery an evil institution, others, particularly those from Southern states, felt that it was vital to their economy. The legality of slavery was left to the states, and the delegates agreed that the slave trade could continue until 1808. They also enshrined protections for slaveholders in the Constitution.
The method of electing the president was another issue that required compromise. The delegates agreed on the Electoral College, where the large states got proportional strength in the number of delegates, and the state legislatures got the right to select delegates.
