Eleanor Finch
The U.S. Constitution, produced after the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, is sometimes called a bundle of compromises due to the numerous concessions made by delegates to create a government charter acceptable to all 13 states. Three major compromises were decided that shaped the foundation of the resulting U.S. Constitution: the Great Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise, and the Slave Trade Compromise.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of Compromise | The Great Compromise |
| Issue Addressed | Congressional representation |
| Solution | Established a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate |
| Name of Compromise | Three-Fifths Compromise |
| Issue Addressed | How slaves would be counted to determine congressional representation |
| Solution | Three-fifths of enslaved people in each state would count toward congressional representation |
| Name of Compromise | Commerce Compromise |
| Issue Addressed | How the new federal government should regulate business |
| Solution | Congress would have the authority to control domestic and international trade, but not the slave trade for at least 20 years |
| Name of Compromise | Electoral College |
| Issue Addressed | How the president would be elected |
| Solution | Established the Electoral College as the method of selecting the president |
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What You'll Learn
The Great Compromise
The delegates at the Constitutional Convention were heavily divided over representation in Congress. To resolve these differences, they formed a compromise committee, which proposed the Great Compromise. This proposal was passed by a single vote, with Madison and Wilson winning the fight for representation in the House, but losing the battle for representation in the Senate.
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The Three-Fifths Compromise
The slaveholding states wanted their entire population to be counted to determine the number of Representatives those states could elect and send to Congress. On the other hand, the free states wanted to exclude the counting of slave populations in slave states, since those slaves had no voting rights.
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Commerce Compromise
The Commerce Compromise, also known as the three-fifths compromise, was one of the three major compromises in the U.S. Constitution, which was produced after the Constitutional Convention and ratified by all 13 states in 1789. The Constitution is sometimes called a "bundle of compromises" because delegates had to give ground on numerous key points to create a government charter acceptable to each of the 13 states.
The Commerce Compromise focused on how the new federal government should regulate business. In accordance with the terms of the compromise, Congress was given the authority to control domestic and international trade, but not the slave trade for at least 20 years. The issue of slavery was central to the debates over commerce and representation. The Southern states, which had an agricultural economy and relied heavily on trade, feared that export tariffs on their raw goods would hurt their trade. On the other hand, the Northern states, which had an industrialized economy and produced many finished goods, wanted the 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.
The Commerce Compromise also dictated that the federal government would regulate interstate commerce and that all commerce legislation be passed by a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which was a win for the South since it countered the power of the more populous North. The compromise also provided that three-fifths (60%) of enslaved people in each state would count toward congressional representation, which greatly increased the number of congressional seats in several states, particularly in the South. This was a morally dubious compromise that mirrored the firmly established slavery system in the United States at the time.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention had fundamental disagreements over how to determine congressional representation, which necessitated the Great Compromise, another of the three major compromises. The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, combined two plans that had emerged to deal with state representation. The Virginia Plan provided representation based on each state's population, while the Jersey Plan proposed equal representation for every state. The Great Compromise allowed for both by establishing the House of Representatives, which was apportioned by populations, and the Senate, which represented the states equally.
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Compromise on the selection of the president
The selection of the president was one of the three major compromises in the US Constitution, along with the Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise. The delegates at the Constitutional Convention held at least 60 votes before agreeing on the Electoral College as the method of selecting the president. The delegates knew that George Washington would become the first president, and they trusted him to define the role.
The delegates were suspicious of executive power, having fought a war against tyranny. The Electoral College was a compromise between Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Today, the Electoral College consists of 538 electors from the states and the District of Columbia.
The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, was another key compromise in the Constitution. It addressed the issue of representation in Congress, with larger states arguing for representation by population and smaller states for equal representation by state. The Great Compromise established a bicameral legislature, with proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was the third major compromise. It addressed the issue of how slaves would be counted to determine congressional representation. This compromise stated that three-fifths of enslaved people in each state would count towards representation, increasing the number of congressional seats in several states, particularly in the South.
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Compromise on tariffs and interstate commerce
The US Constitution, produced after the Constitutional Convention, is sometimes referred to as a "bundle of compromises" because delegates had to agree on several key points to create a government charter acceptable to each of the 13 states. One of the key compromises was the Commerce Compromise, also known as the Compromise on tariffs and interstate commerce.
The Compromise on Tariffs and Interstate Commerce
At the time of the Constitutional Convention, the North was industrialized and produced many finished goods, while the South still had an agricultural economy, importing many finished goods from Britain. The Northern states wanted the 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. They also wanted to export tariffs on raw goods to increase revenue for the United States. However, the Southern states feared that export tariffs on their raw goods would hurt the trade they heavily relied on.
The compromise mandated that tariffs were only allowed on imports from foreign countries and not on exports from the US. This 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 North.
The Constitution's Article I, Section 10, Clause 2, known as the Import-Export Clause, prevents states, without the consent of Congress, from imposing tariffs on imports and exports above what is necessary for their inspection laws. It secures for the federal government the revenues from all tariffs on imports and exports. The Framers of the Constitution sought to alleviate concerns by committing sole power to lay imposts and duties on imports to the Federal Government, with no concurrent state power.
The Constitutional Convention also decided that tariffs on imports were to be the main source of revenue for the federal government. Tariffs are a form of tax placed by the federal government on imported goods and services. Congress has the power to set or impose tariffs, although since the 1930s, it has delegated tasks such as setting tariff rates to the chief executive as part of their foreign policy and trade negotiation duties.
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Frequently asked questions
The three major compromises in the US Constitution were the Great Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise, and the Electoral College.
The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, was a legislative structure proposed by Roger Sherman and other delegates from Connecticut. It settled matters of representation in the federal government by establishing a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate.
The Three-Fifths Compromise addressed the issue of how slaves would be counted to determine congressional representation. It provided that three-fifths of enslaved people in each state would count toward congressional representation, increasing the number of congressional seats in several states, particularly in the South.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention agreed upon the Electoral College as the method of selecting the president, instead of direct popular vote.
Yes, another significant compromise was the Commerce Compromise, which focused on how the new federal government should regulate business. Congress was given the authority to control domestic and international trade, but not the slave trade for at least 20 years. There was also a compromise regarding the slave trade, where Congress could ban the international slave trade 20 years after the ratification of the Constitution, which it did in 1808.
