The Great Compromise

Directions: Read the following paragraphs and answer the questions below in your S.S. notebook.

Vocabulary Help:

1.  House: Group of representatives

2.  Bicameral: having 2 houses (chambers) or Unicameral: having 1 house (chamber)

3.  Compromise: a settlement of differences based on an agreement by both people.

(1)A compromise was reached yesterday (June 29th, 1787) in Philadelphia combining the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan. This has been a major conflict for quite a while. The New Jersey Plan was proposed by William Paterson and was very similar to the original Articles of Confederation. It called for a one-house national legislature and each state will be able to cast only 1 vote. New Jersey was a small state

(2)The Virginia Plan was debated for two weeks but rejected by the smaller states. The Virginia plan was proposed by Edmund Randolph. The Virginia plan was a complete change to the original AOC. It called for 3 separate branches of government and a bicameral legislature where representation will be based upon states population. Virginia was a large state.

(3) Since larger and smaller states could not agree on a single plan, it began to appear that the constitutional convention would break up. Only when both sides began to compromise, was there hope that the issue of representation could be resolved. The Great Compromise was introduced by Roger Sherman, a politician from Connecticut. The compromise said: the legislature (legislative branch) will be 2 houses- 1 house (the upper house or senate) will have equal representation, while the other house (the lower house or house of representatives) will be based on population of the state. This is known as the Great Compromise.

(4) The House of Representatives (lower house) will be elected by the people and the Senate (the upper house) will have 2 senators per state and will be appointed by the state. The Great Compromise was a great step towards brining together the states under a single Federal system and ultimately solved the problem of state representation.

1.  African Americans, Native Americans, and Women were not represented at the Constitutional Convention. These groups were not allowed in the political process. What sort of issues do you think they would bring up if they were given a voice? Why is it unfair they were not allowed to express their opinions? Please answer in 3-4 sentences

2.  Explain which form of representation you think is fairer: A) based on population or B) equal representation. Please answer in 2-3 sentences.

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was intended to fix the Articles of Confederation. The 2 major proposals put forth in order to change the government was called the Virginia plan and the New Jersey plan. Imagine you are a delegate at the constitutional convention and your mission is to either fix the Articles or create a new constitutional altogether. Below you will see the Virginia and New Jersey plans. As you will see they are very different plans. Look at both plans and tell me what compromise you would make based on both plans.

Virginia Plan
Legislative Branch
·  2 houses, with membership proportional to state’s population
·  lower house elected by the people
·  upper house elected by the lower
·  More power to National Government
Executive Branch
·  could veto legislation, subject to override by Legislative branch
Judicial Branch
·  Would serve for life
·  Could veto legislation, subject to override / New Jersey Plan
Legislative Branch
·  1 house with equal representation from all states
·  Legislature could collect taxes from states
·  More power to state governments
Executive Branch
·  Chosen by Congress
·  Would serve a single term
·  Subject to recall on request of state governors
Judicial Branch
·  Appointed by executive branch
·  Would serve for life
Your Compromise
The Great Compromise