FREE ESSAY ON CONSTITUTION: A BUNDLE OF POLITICAL COMPROMISES

CONSTITUTION: A BUNDLE OF POLITICAL COMPROMISES

Late in May 1787, George Washington welcomed delegates from twelve of the thirteen states
to the Constitutional Convention. The fifty-five men in attendance expected to consider
significant changes in their national government. In turn the Constitution as ratified
was a bundle of political compromises that solved the differences among those delegates.
The first and foremost the issue at hand was what kind of government was best for a
republic? A plan was submitted by the Virginia delegation that had a guiding spirit
belonging to James Madsion. The Virginia Plan called for a government with three distinct
branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. By dividing this power, it was intended
to ensure that no group or individual could have too much authority. Also by allowing
each branch of government some means to check the other branches, it was intended to
protect the interests of citizens.
Although the delegates supported the principles of the Virginia Plan, they were in
disagreement over many other issues. The greatest controversy centered on representation
in the legislative branch. The Virginia Plan proposed that membership representation in
each house would be based on population. Small states objected saying that it would leave
them helpless in a government dominated by large states. In turn they supported the New
Jersey Plan, which gave all states an equal representation regardless of the population.
Roger Sermen of Connecticut, with the help of Ben Franklin introduced the Great
Compromise. It set up a bicameral legislature, where representation in the House of
Representatives was based on population and in the Senate each state was guaranteed a
fixed two representatives.
The issue of representation continued into the issue of who would be counted as a state's
population. Southern delegates argued that slaves should be counted for the purposes of
representation but not for the purposes of taxation. Northern delegates argued that
slaves should be counted when determining the state's share of taxes and not counted in
representation because they were consider property.
The Three-fifths Compromise settled the issue. It stated that three-fifths of the all the
other persons population will be included in a state's count and that. It would count for
both taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.
The fourth issue that arose was who would control interstate trade? The solution was
plain and simple, the federal government would control interstate commerce and
imports/exports from foreign counties. The states, in turn, would be in control of
intrastate commerce
The final issue was how the president would be chosen. In this case two issues were
presented, Jefferson believed that the people should vote to determine the president. On
the other hand, Hamilton felt that the people are not capable enough to decide. The
solution combined both the ideas of Hamilton and Jefferson. It allowed the president to
be elected indirectly through the Electoral College. Through the Electoral College, the
electors are chosen by the states who vote for presidential candidates. Each state was
entitled to as many electors as it had senators and representatives in Congress. The
electors then voted for whoever got the majority of votes from the state voters.
The Webster's dictionary defines the term compromise as "a settling of differences." At
the Constitutional Convention, the delegates of the states were faced with many disputes
and solved them by the giving and taking of practical compromise. It can be concluded
that the Constitution is a bundle of political compromises with examples such as the "The
Great Compromise" and the "Three-fifths Compromise." As a result the outcome was a new
plan for a national government, which won unanimous support from the delegates.