Connecticut Compromise

Examples of Connecticut Compromise in the following topics:

• The Representation Function

  • A compromise plan was adopted where representatives were chosen by the population and two senators were chosen by state governments.
  • A compromise plan was adopted and representatives were chosen by the population which benefited larger states.
  • The Connecticut Compromise gave every state , large and small, an equal vote in the Senate.
  • However, others argue that the framers intended for the Connecticut Compromise to construct the Senate so that each state had equal footing that was not based on population.

• Constitutional Issues and Compromises

  • At the Constitutional Convention, the Virginia, Pinckney, New Jersey, and Hamilton plans gave way to the Connecticut Compromise.
  • To resolve this stalemate, Roger Sherman, a delegate from Connecticut, forged the Connecticut Compromise.

• A New Constitution

  • However, the Connecticut Compromise proposed by Roger Sherman outlined a system of bicameral legislation that included both proportional and equal representation.
  • Also known as the “Great Compromise,” it allowed for both plans to work together and defined the legislative structure and representation of each state under the Constitution.
  • The Three-Fifths Compromise, which assessed population by adding the number of free persons to three-fifths of the number of "all other persons" was agreed to without serious dispute.
  • Under this compromise, each slave was counted as three-fifths of a person, allowing the slave states to include a portion of their enslaved population when allocating representation.
  • Explain the purpose of the Connecticut Compromise and how compromise shaped the creation of the Constitution

• Federalists and Antifederalists

  • The conflict threatened to end the Convention, but Roger Sherman of Connecticut proposed the "Great Compromise" (or Connecticut Compromise) under which one house of Congress would be based on proportional representation, and the other house would be based on equal representation.
  • Eventually, the Compromise was accepted, and the Convention was saved.
  • Compromises were important in settling other disputes at the Convention.
  • The Three-Fifths Compromise designated that three-fifths of slave population would be counted toward representation in Congress.
  • In another compromise, the Congress agreed to ban slave trade after 1808.

• Amending the Constitution

  • The amendment process originally came with restrictions protecting some agreements that the Great Compromise had settled during the Constitutional Convention.
  • The Great Compromise (also called the Connecticut Compromise) was an agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
  • It called for a bicameral legislature along with proportional representation in the lower house, but required the upper house to be weighted equally between the states.This agreement led to the Three-Fifths Compromise, which meant less populous Southern states were allowed to count three-fifths of all non-free people toward population counts and allocations.

• The U.S. Constitution

  • However, the "Connecticut Compromise" proposed by Roger Sherman outlined a system of bicameral legislation that included both proportional and equal representation.
  • The "Great Compromise" was adopted by the Convention and became the foundation for the structure of the legislative branch of federal government that exists today.
  • The Connecticut Compromise set the tone of the rest of the Convention's activity: bargaining among various delegates to balance disparate interests and ideologies to form what would become the Constitution of 1788.
  • For example, the Three-Fifths Compromise was an agreement reached by northern and southern states whereby slaves would be counted as 3/5 a person in the population (boosting the amount of seats that southern states could hold in the House of Representatives).

• The Constitutional Convention

  • To resolve this stalemate, the Connecticut Compromise, forged by Roger Sherman from Connecticut, was proposed on June 11.
  • This committee helped work out a compromise: In exchange for this concession, the federal government's power to regulate foreign commerce would be strengthened by provisions that allowed for taxation of slave trades in the international market and that reduced the requirement for passage of navigation acts from two-thirds majorities of both houses of Congress to simple majority.
  • The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise between Southern and Northern states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in which three-fifths of the enumerated population of slaves would be counted for representation purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States House of Representatives.

• "A More Perfect Union"

  • While some compromises made at the convention would strengthen the new republic, other compromises would eventually tear the country apart.
  • Delegates eventually adopted the Connecticut Compromise (or the Great Compromise) which blended the Virginia (large-state) and New Jersey (small-state) proposals.
  • After adopting the Great Compromise, delegates moved on to tackle the most controversial issue threatening the Union: slavery.
  • Finally, delegates agreed on the Three-Fifths Compromise, which was able to temporarily keep the young nation together.
  • Identify the compromises Convention delegates made in order to create a More Perfect Union

• Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine

  • Connecticut was formed as a migration from the Massachusetts colony.
  • The original settlements were along the Connecticut River at Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield.
  • New Haven was settled separately, but all joined together as Connecticut, in 1662.
  • This is a map showing the Connecticut, New Haven, and Saybrook colonies from 1636-1776.
  • It does not show Connecticut's western land claims and dispute with Pennsylvania.

• Ratification of the Constitution

  • In order for all states to ratify, a compromise over a bill of rights had to be made.
  • The Constitution went into effect by the summer of 1788 after the following states had ratified the Constitution: Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, and New York.