How did the framers of the Constitution reconcile their competing interests and principles?
• The Virginia Plan proposed a government that would benefit states with large populations. • The New Jersey Plan proposed a government that would essentially retain the one state one vote rule, thereby favoring states with small populations. • The Connecticut Plan, or Great Compromise, proposed a bicameral Congress with one chamber based on population and a second chamber in which each state would have an equal voice. • Slavery was the most difficult issue the framers faced and nearly prevented agreement on a common constitution. Representation based on free populations would give northern (free) states an edge in the Congress. Hence, the Three-Fifths Compromise, in which five slaves would count as three people for the purpose of the census. • This compromise allowed the United States to ratify a constitution, but the issues put on the back burner resurfaced again nearly 100 years later.
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