Simone Lawson
The United States Constitution was created through a series of compromises among the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The delegates, representing 12 of the 13 original states, met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation, which had governed the United States since the American Revolution. However, they soon realized that a more comprehensive overhaul was needed, and so they set out to create a new constitution. The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, was a significant agreement that established a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate. The Three-Fifths Compromise addressed how slaves would be counted to determine congressional representation, with each slave treated as three-fifths of a person. The Electoral College Compromise resolved the issue of how the president would be elected, with the Electoral College chosen instead of the general public. These compromises were necessary to bridge the gaps between diverse interests and perspectives, and while not all parties were fully satisfied, the Constitution was ultimately ratified by the required number of states.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Great Compromise/Connecticut Compromise | Established a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate |
| Addressed the interests of larger and smaller states | |
| Three-Fifths Compromise | Each slave was counted as three-fifths of a person for determining congressional representation and direct federal taxation |
| Tariffs were only allowed on imports from foreign countries and not exports from the US | |
| The federal government would regulate interstate commerce | |
| All commerce legislation was to be passed by a two-thirds majority in the Senate | |
| Electoral College Compromise | The Electoral College would be used to choose the president instead of the general public |
| The two Senators in the upper house of the national government would be elected by the state legislatures | |
| The President would be elected at the state level through an electoral college whose numbers reflected representation in the legislature |
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What You'll Learn
The Great Compromise
The issue of slavery also played a significant role in the Constitutional Convention. Delegates from Northern and Southern states disagreed on how to count enslaved people in terms of representation. The compromise, known as the Three-Fifths Compromise, stated that every five enslaved people would be counted as three individuals. This compromise was a setback for Northern states, as it gave the South a greater number of representatives.
Additionally, the Great Compromise addressed the method for selecting the president, resulting in the creation of the Electoral College. This system gave states electors proportional to their population, and these electors would then vote for the president.
Overall, the Great Compromise was a crucial aspect of the Constitutional Convention, allowing for the formation of a government charter acceptable to all the states.
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Three-Fifths Compromise
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention. It was an agreement regarding 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 would be allocated, and how much money the states would pay in taxes.
The delegates from the Northern and Southern states had differing views on the matter. Delegates from Northern states, where the economy did not rely heavily on the enslavement of African people, felt that enslaved people should not be counted toward representation because counting them would provide the South with a greater number of representatives. Southern states, on the other hand, fought for enslaved individuals to be counted in terms of representation, threatening to abandon the convention if enslaved individuals were not counted.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise between these two opposing views. It stated that three-fifths of each state's slave population would be counted 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. This compromise was proposed by delegate James Wilson and seconded by Charles Pinckney. Benjamin Harrison of Virginia had initially proposed a one-half ratio, while several New Englanders suggested a three-fourths ratio, but these proposals failed to gain sufficient support. James Madison's proposal of the three-fifths ratio was finally settled on.
The Three-Fifths Compromise also had the effect of giving slaveholders enlarged powers in Southern legislatures. It also meant that slaveholding states would be perpetually overrepresented in national politics. However, the same three-fifths ratio was used to determine the federal tax contribution required of each state, thus increasing the direct federal tax burden of slaveholding states.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was part of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. In 1868, Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment superseded this clause and explicitly repealed the compromise.
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Electoral College Compromise
The U.S. Constitution has been called a "bundle of compromises" due to the numerous concessions made by delegates to create a government charter acceptable to all 13 states. One of the most significant compromises was the creation of the Electoral College, which was established as a compromise between electing the president by a vote in Congress and a popular vote of qualified citizens.
The Electoral College is a group of 538 intermediaries established by the Constitution to elect the president and vice president of the United States. Each state is allocated presidential electors equal to the combined number of its representatives and senators. The 23rd Amendment granted Washington, D.C., three electoral votes, allowing its citizens to participate in presidential elections.
The Electoral College was created during the Constitutional Convention as a compromise between the Northern and Southern states. At the time, the Southern states had a significant population of enslaved people, who were prohibited from voting. The Southern states objected to a direct popular vote in presidential elections, as it would reduce their electoral representation.
The Electoral College applied the three-fifths compromise, which had already been devised for the House of Representatives. In this compromise, every five enslaved people were counted as three individuals for representation purposes, despite being denied the right to vote. This gave the Southern states an advantage in presidential elections, contributing to an "almost uninterrupted trend" of southern slaveholders winning the presidency.
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Connecticut Compromise
The Connecticut Compromise, also known as the Great Compromise of 1787 or the Sherman Compromise, was an agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that defined the legislative structure and representation each state would have under the United States Constitution.
The Compromise retained the bicameral legislature as proposed by Roger Sherman, along with proportional representation of the states in the lower house, or House of Representatives. It also required the upper house, or Senate, to be weighted equally among the states, with each state having two members in the Senate.
The Connecticut Compromise was offered 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 convention met in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, with the initial intention of amending the Articles of Confederation, which stated that each state would be represented by one vote in Congress. However, this idea was discarded, and the assembly instead set about creating a new scheme of government.
Two plans emerged to deal with state representation. The Virginia Plan, or large state plan, provided for a bicameral legislature with representation of each state based on its population or wealth. The New Jersey or small state plan, on the other hand, proposed equal representation for every state in Congress. The Connecticut Compromise combined both plans, with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate based on equal representation for each state.
The Connecticut Compromise allowed for further deliberation and led to the Three-fifths Compromise, which further complicated the issue of representation in the House. This compromise stated that every five enslaved people would be counted as three individuals for the purposes of congressional representation and determining voting power in the Electoral College.
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Compromise on slavery
The United States Constitution is a document of compromise, reflecting the delicate balance struck by the Founding Fathers as they sought to reconcile the diverse interests and ideologies of the thirteen original states. One of the most contentious issues faced by the drafters of the Constitution was slavery. While some delegates sought to abolish slavery altogether, others recognized the economic dependence of several states on slave labour, particularly in the South. As a result, a series of compromises were made to accommodate the interests of both sides, ensuring that the Constitution would be ratified by all the states.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was one of the most significant agreements reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. This compromise addressed the issue of representation in Congress by allowing each slave to be counted as three-fifths of a person when determining a state's total population for legislative representation. This compromise benefited the Southern states, as it increased their representation in the House of Representatives and, by extension, the Electoral College, which would elect the president. However, it also stopped short of granting slaves full personhood, reflecting the uneasy compromise between pro-slavery and abolitionist sentiments.
Another important compromise on slavery was the inclusion of the Fugitive Slave Clause in Article IV of the Constitution. This clause required that escaped slaves who fled to another state be returned to their owners. This provision ensured that slavery would remain a state-sanctioned institution, with legal protections for slave owners across the country. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 further strengthened this clause by establishing procedures for the capture and return of runaway slaves, making it difficult for slaves to find refuge in free states.
Additionally, the Constitution also included a provision that prohibited Congress from passing any laws that would interfere with the transatlantic slave trade until 1808. This compromise, known as the Slave Trade Compromise or the Compromise of 1787, allowed for the importation of slaves to continue for at least two decades after the adoption of the Constitution. While it did not directly address the issue of slavery itself, this compromise reflected the reality that several states were economically dependent on the ongoing importation of enslaved people.
The compromises on slavery in the Constitution reflect the complex and contentious nature of the issue during the founding of the nation. While they fell short of abolishing slavery outright, these compromises were necessary to secure the agreement of all the states and establish a unified nation. The Constitution thus became a document of compromise, balancing the ideals of liberty and equality with the economic and social realities of the time.
It is important to recognize that the compromises on slavery in the Constitution had far-reaching consequences and contributed to the deep divisions that later led to the American Civil War. The compromises protected and perpetuated the institution of slavery, delaying its eventual abolition. They also shaped the political landscape, influencing the balance of power between the states and setting the stage for ongoing debates over states' rights and federal authority. While the Constitution was a remarkable achievement in establishing a framework for a democratic nation, the compromises on slavery remain a reminder of the complex and often contradictory nature of the founding ideals and the ongoing struggle for equality and justice.
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Frequently asked questions
The United States Constitution is a document that was created through a series of compromises among the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The Constitution was ultimately ratified by all 13 states in 1789 and is sometimes called a "bundle of compromises".
There were four significant compromises made in the creation of the Constitution: the Great Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise, the Electoral College Compromise, and the compromise on slavery.
The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, established a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate. This balanced the interests of larger and smaller states.
The Three-Fifths Compromise addressed how slaves would be counted to determine congressional representation. Each slave was counted as three-fifths of a person, which impacted representation in the House of Representatives and direct federal taxation.
