Bundle of Compromises

In 1786 an incident in Massachusetts caused many Americans to question the national government. The rebellion led by Daniel Shay worried many Americans especially the wealthy, the nation’s leaders realized there was a need for a stronger central government. In May of 1787 delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia with the purpose to revise the Articles of the Confederation. The Articles had many weaknesses one of its main weaknesses was the power that each individual state had, along with each states representation in Congress. This would be known as the Constitutional Convention, the delegates present were all came from the upper class of American Society they were well educated and wealthy. These men came together with the mission of making changes to the Articles of Confederation, but they later realized that there a need for a whole new Constitution. This new basic charter of the United States would be known as “A Bundle of Compromises” as a result for all the conflicts that had developed.

State representation was an issue at the Convention because of the conflict between the large and small states. In order to assuage this issue a representative of a large and small state presented proposals that of what they believed the representation should be. The Virginia Plan or large states plan was proposed by Edmund Randolph, and written by James Madison. This document recommended a bicameral legislature whose membership was determined by the size of that states free population. The lower house would be elected by the people and the upper house was to be chosen by the members of the lower house. An executive would be chosen by the legislature for an unspecified term and would not be reelected. A judiciary branch would consist of supreme courts and lower courts implemented by the legislature. The Virginia Plan put more power into the hands of the larger states. Each government would make specific powers to check and balance the other, making the branches equal.

William Paterson of New Jersey developed the small state plan; this plan was an attempt to take most of the power out of the larger states because there would be a constant majority ruling in the votes. The New Jersey Plan called for a unicameral legislature with each state having one vote. Two new powers were given to the legislature, the power to tax and to regulate commerce. There would be an executive branch without the power to veto and they had to subject to state control. This plan also stated that the decisions of the national government would be “the supreme law of the land.”

State representation was now the major area of debate in Congress. Roger Sherman of Connecticut offered a compromise plan which would integrate both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans. This Great Compromise called for a bicameral legislature. Congress would be separated into two houses Senate and the House of Representatives. The lower house would be filled according to the states population one member for every 40,000 residents. Whereas, the upper house would be filled with equal representation of the states, with each state having two members. There was now more power in the hands of the federal government. With the system of checks and balances there is an required interaction between the three branches that prevent