The Great Compromise

A detailed Summary of The Great Compromise


In May 1787, fifty-five delegates from eleven of the thirteen American states assembled in Philadelphia. Their goal was to revise the current government created by the Articles of Confederation, which had been in effect since 1781. The Articles had created a weak alliance among the states. The national government had no way to levy taxes or regulate commerce. The delegates who were in attendance at the Philadelphia convention had come in general agreement that there were defects in the Articles of Confederation that should be remedied. But instead of convening and deciding to list and remedy the defects of the Articles, the delegates at the convention took another course of action. Soon after George Washington was elected to be the presiding officer of the meeting, the Virginia delegation, relying heavily on the draftsmanship of James Madison, presented a new plan for an entirely new national government. This plan became the main topic of debate at the convention for the next several weeks.

When the delegates decided to make the Virginia Plan the focus of their agenda, they had essentially changed the task for which they had been sent to Philadelphia. The defects of the Articles took a backseat to the more press


ing issue of how to design a true national government. The Virginia Plan called for a strong union of the states into a centralized national government. Under the plan, the national government would be divided into three governing branches - the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The legislative branch would consist of two houses. The first house would be directly chosen by the people, and the second house would be chosen by the first house from candidates nominated by state legislatures. The executive and the national judiciary would be chosen by the national legislature. The executive along with some members of the judiciary would be selected to serve on a council of revision, which would have the power to veto acts of the legislature. The legislature would then have the power to override any veto. But the key features of the Virginia Plan included a national legislature that would have supreme power on all national matters and at least one house of the legislature that would be elected directly by the people.

The Virginia Plan was heavily favored by large states because representation in both houses would be based on population. However, delegates from small states resisted the Virginia Plan fearing that their states would always be outvoted by the larger

Some common words found in the essay are:
Virginia Plan, Articles Confederation, Jersey Plan, Fourth July, Massachusetts York, , James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Plan June, virginia plan, national government, jersey plan, articles confederation, defects articles, outvoted larger ones, government plan, based population, larger ones, power national, body based, national government plan,

Approximate Word count = 870
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • Great Compromise Representation should not be based on the population of states. Every state should have one representative, one vote. If larger ... 403 words
  • Great Compromises ... During the Constitutional Convention of 1786, one of the most essential compromises of the early United States was the Great Compromise. ... 864 words
  • Compromise of 1850 ... Two examples I have chosen are the threefifths compromise, and The Great Compromise. ... The second example I chose was The Great Compromise. ... 603 words
  • Why Compromise was Necessary for US Government ... The compromise reached has come to be known as ampquotThe Great Compromise.ampquot A delegate from Connecticut, Roger Sherman, proposed a twohouse legislature, consisting ... 737 words
  • William Davie Consitutional Convention ... debate arouse. Finally a compromising plan was established, known as both the Connecticut and/or Great Compromise. William Davie ... 1039 words

Professional Essays

  • American History American History Concepts ampamp Essay QUESTION ONE The Great Compromise 1787 The Virginia Plan proposed a national government with three branches: the executive ... 1265 words
  • Frederick Douglass ... after the Revolutionary War, the institution was ingrained into the very fabric of the constitution notably in the threefifths Great Compromise and indeed ... 4278 words
  • SLAVERY ampamp THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION ... The Great Compromise On June 30, Madison correctly surmised that the conflict between the larger and smaller states was turning into a conflict between the ... 3915 words
  • The Bill of Rights ampamp Democracy ... The Great Compromise, which divided the legislature into two housesone with proportional representation and one with equal representation regardless of states ... 2161 words
  • Slavery in the United States ... The Great Compromise put in the Constitution Article I, Section 2 that slaves were to be considered threefifths of a person for purposes of taxation and ... 1873 words
  • Reasons for the US Constitution The Constitution of the United States was the result of a ampquotGreat Compromiseampquot in which leaders of the early days of the American Republic negotiated the ... 783 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.