Summary Of Confederation Vs America Compromise

In May of 1787, a developing nation was on the verge of crisis. Delegates from twelve states met in Philadelphia to find a solution. The fifty-five men hoped to revise the Articles of Confederation to fit the needs of the growing country. After four months of a heated debate, they reached an agreement leading to what is now known as the American Constitution and Bill of Rights.

After realizing that the Articles of Confederation were insignificant to guide the country, a meeting was called in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Twelve of the thirteen states sent delegates. Rhode Island did not participate due to the fear of losing state rights. The representatives agreed that the country needed a structured, stable, and central government to lead going forward. George Washington, a trusted figure in the military, was elected to preside over the

constitution. The first issue aroused when the legislative branch of the government was in the process of being formed. The decision regarded the legislature either consisting of one or two houses. Representative James Madison came forward with his “Virgin Plan,” a two-house legislature basing the number of representatives on states population. The smaller states proposed an opposite idea called the “New Jersey Plan” that involved a single house and one vote per state.

After heated discussion and spirited debate, the delegates combined parts of both proposed plans to form the “Connecticut Compromise.” This would create a two-house, branch consisting of the upper senate and the lower house of representatives.

States were allowed one Senate seat, and state population determined house seats. This is also when it was decided that the president would be chosen by a newly formed electoral college and hold executive authority.

Slavery was a critical problem when it came to deciding if slaves should be accounted for in Congress. Slavery in the north was minimal compared to the slavery in the south, because of this the southern states thought that slaves should be included in deciding how many seats the southern states obtained in Congress, contrary to the north's opinion of the matter. Due to this debate, the three-fifths compromise was decided on. The compromise stated that every three out of five slaves would be accounted for when it came to taxation and legislative representation. This agreement was necessary and unavoidable due to the southern states threatening to repeal the

Constitution.
When the time came to sign the constitution, the larger states were more hesitant to do so due to the fear of the level of control the federal government would have over the states. Out of fear that the states would abandon the constitution before it was signed the amendments that later became known as the Bill of Rights was added. These amendments were combined with the constitution to protect the civil liberties and rights that all Americans are granted including freedom of speech, religion, and self-incrimination.
The proposals and compromises that occurred at the constitutional convention lead to the creation of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. It was decided that the legislative branch would make laws, create and pass taxes, regulate foreign and domestic trade, and declare war. The executive branch would consist of the president who would interact with foreigners, enforce the laws, appoint ambassadors, cabinet members, supreme court judges and veto power over Congress. Finally, the Judicial branch would incorporate supreme and lower federal courts. Their primary role was to interpret the meaning of the constitution and laws. If it weren’t for proposals and comprises many years ago the Virginia plan, Connecticut compromise, three-fifths compromise, and Bill of rights would have never come about which would have affected the future of America including our laws and how America is run today.