Omar Bennett
The Connecticut Compromise, also known as the Great Compromise, was an agreement reached during the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The compromise 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 agreement defined the legislative structure and representation each state would have under the United States Constitution, with a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House would be elected based on proportional representation, while the Senate would have equal representation from each state, with each state having two senators. This compromise was a significant step in the drafting of the United States Constitution and helped to shape the country's system of congressional representation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Connecticut Compromise, Great Compromise, or Sherman Compromise |
| Year | 1787 |
| Compromisers | Roger Sherman, Oliver Ellsworth |
| Nature of the Compromise | Legislative structure and representation each state would have under the United States Constitution |
| Type of Legislature | Bicameral Congress with two national legislatures |
| House of Representatives | Proportional representation, with members allocated according to each state's population and elected by the people |
| Senate | Equal representation, with each state having two representatives regardless of the state's size, and state legislatures choosing Senators |
| Three-Fifths Compromise | Enshrined protections for slaveholders in the Constitution, counting three-fifths of each state's enslaved population toward that state's total population |
| Revenue Measures | All revenue measures would originate in the lower house |
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What You'll Learn
The Great Compromise of 1787
The Compromise was proposed by Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth, both delegates from Connecticut. It was designed to resolve a dispute between small and large states over representation in the new federal government. The small-state delegates wanted each state to have equal representation, while the large-state delegates wanted representation in the newly proposed Senate to be proportionate to population.
The Great Compromise proposed a bicameral legislature, consisting of two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House would be elected on the basis of proportional representation, giving more populous states more seats than smaller states. The Senate, on the other hand, would be elected on the basis of equal representation, with each state—regardless of its population—receiving two senators. This compromise ensured that both large and small states had a say in the central government.
The Three-Fifths Clause was also a part of the Great Compromise. This clause stated that "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." In other words, enslaved African Americans would be counted as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of representation and taxation. This clause was a compromise between Southern delegates, who wanted enslaved people to be counted as full persons, and Northern delegates, who wanted them to be excluded from the count altogether.
The Great Compromise was a significant moment in the drafting of the United States Constitution, as it resolved a contentious issue that threatened to derail the ratification of the Constitution. It continues to influence the system of congressional representation in the United States today.
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Bicameral legislature
The Connecticut Compromise, also known as the Great Compromise of 1787, was an agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It defined the legislative structure and representation each state would have under the United States Constitution.
The Compromise retained the bicameral legislature, which consisted of two houses—the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives was based on proportional representation, giving more populous states more seats than smaller states. The Senate, on the other hand, was based on equal representation, with each state, regardless of its population, receiving two senators. This was to ensure that smaller states had a say in the central government, as delegates from larger states argued that their states contributed more financially and defensively.
The idea of a bicameral legislature was initially proposed by Edmund Randolph on May 29, 1787, and was known as the Virginia or Randolph Plan. This proposal suggested that membership in both houses would be allocated to each state proportional to its population. However, delegates from small states objected to this idea. On June 11, the delegates voted to adopt proportional representation in the House of Representatives, but Connecticut's Roger Sherman, with support from Oliver Ellsworth, proposed that states have equal suffrage in the Senate. This motion was defeated by one vote, leading William Paterson to propose the New Jersey Plan, which suggested a unicameral (one-house) legislature in which each state had a single vote. This proposal was also rejected, and the Convention affirmed its commitment to a bicameral legislature on June 21.
Finally, on July 16, 1787, a compromise was reached, with North Carolina switching its vote to equal representation per state. This became known as the Connecticut Compromise or the Great Compromise, and it resolved one of the most controversial aspects of the drafting of the Constitution.
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Proportional representation
The Connecticut Compromise, also known as the Great Compromise, was an agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It defined the legislative structure and representation each state would have under the United States Constitution.
The Great Compromise was proposed by Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut, and it combined elements of the Virginia (large state) plan and the New Jersey (small state) plan. The Virginia Plan, drafted by James Madison and introduced by Edmund Randolph, proposed a bicameral legislature with representation in both houses proportional to the size of the state. The New Jersey Plan, proposed by William Paterson, suggested a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state.
The Connecticut Compromise resolved the dispute between small and large states over representation in the federal government. It retained the bicameral legislature, with proportional representation in the lower house (the House of Representatives) and equal representation for each state in the upper house (the Senate). This compromise ensured that larger states had more representation in one chamber, while smaller states had equal representation in the other.
The issue of proportional representation in the Senate was highly contested, with small-state delegates vehemently opposing it. They argued that their states contributed less to the nation's resources and, therefore, should have equal representation in both houses. The Three-Fifths Compromise further complicated the issue of representation in the House, as it counted three-fifths of each state's enslaved population toward the state's total population.
The Great Compromise created the system of congressional representation that is still in place today. It influences various aspects of American politics, including legislation and the electoral college during presidential elections. While it has been criticised for giving smaller states a disproportionately bigger voice in Congress, it was a crucial agreement that helped establish the United States Constitution.
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Equal state representation
The Connecticut Compromise, also known as the Great Compromise, was an agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It defined the legislative structure and representation each state would have under the United States Constitution.
The Compromise was proposed by Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth, delegates from Connecticut, to resolve the dispute between small and large states over representation in the new federal government. The small-state delegates continued to protest proportional representation in the Senate, threatening to unravel the proceedings. The large-state delegates, on the other hand, argued that their states contributed more financially and defensively to the nation and therefore deserved greater representation in the central government.
The Connecticut Compromise proposed a bicameral federal legislature with a dual system of representation. The upper house, or Senate, would have equal representation from each state, with each state having two senators. The lower house, or House of Representatives, would be based on proportional representation, with each state having one representative for every 40,000 inhabitants, counting three-fifths of each state's enslaved population toward that state's total population.
This compromise was approved on July 16, 1787, and was included in the United States Constitution. It is protected by Article V of the Constitution, which states that no state can lose its equal representation in the Senate without its consent. This has led to a disproportionate advantage for smaller states in Congress, as they have the same number of votes in the Senate as more populous states like California.
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Three-Fifths Compromise
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention. It concerned the inclusion of slaves in counting a state's total population. This count would determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the number of electoral votes each state could cast, and how much money states would pay in taxes.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney. It was a compromise between delegates from the Northern and Southern states. The Southern slaveholding states wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives they could elect and send to Congress. In contrast, the Free States in the North wanted to exclude the counting of the slave population in the South, as those slaves had no voting rights. The compromise struck counted three-fifths of each state's slave population toward that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This gave the Southern states more power in the House relative to the North.
The Three-Fifths Compromise is part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. It reads: "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 ratio was proposed by James Madison, who explained the reasoning behind the ratio in Federalist No. 54, "The Apportionment of Members Among the States".
The Three-Fifths Compromise was superseded in 1868, when Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, explicitly repealing the compromise.
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Frequently asked questions
The Connecticut Compromise, also known as the Great Compromise, was an agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It defined the legislative structure and representation each state would have under the United States Constitution.
Delegates from states with larger populations wanted congressional representation based on population, while delegates from smaller states demanded equal representation.
The Connecticut Compromise proposed a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the lower house (the House of Representatives) and equal representation of the states in the upper house (the Senate).
The Connecticut Compromise was proposed by Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut.
The Connecticut Compromise resolved the most controversial aspect of the drafting of the Constitution. It created today's system of congressional representation, which continues to influence legislation and the way votes are counted in the electoral college during presidential elections. It also led to the Three-Fifths Compromise, which complicated the issue of popular representation in the House by counting enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation purposes.
