Title: American Law

Title: American Law

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The great compromise of 1787

At this time the country was making its first steps in equality and the promotion of democracy.  A great debate was taking place; this involved the representation of different states in the congress. This was a matter of great concern to all parties because the congress was to be the law making branch of the national government.[1] Every state wanted equal representation in the congress, but how would the equal number of representatives be arrived at?

The first suggestion was to have the states which were more populous to have a larger representation than those with smaller populations. [2]This suggestion was supported by members in the states with higher populations. The suggestion was referred to as the Virginia plan. The more populated a state was, the higher its representation in the congress.

The second suggestion was to have one representative per state. This was what seemed as a fair suggestion to the states with low population levels. Less populous states supported this suggestion. The suggestion was referred to as the New Jersey plan.

All states came to a mutual agreement after a suggestion by Connecticut delegate at the time, Mr. Sherman to have the equality distributed on an agreed system[3]. The system to share the positions was by having one representative for every 30,000 citizens in a particular state. This would have all citizens represented equally on the basis of the population.

This is referred to as the 1787 compromise, where states accepted the representation in the congress to be based on the population of each state in classes of 30,000 citizens.

The Connecticut compromise

The Connecticut compromise is the compromise made by delegates of all states in a constitutional conference in the year 1787. The motion on which they compromised on was put forward by the Connecticut delegate for the convention, Mr. Sherman[4].  At this time, there was a controversial debate where different states took different sides to protect their interests in the representation in the law making branch of the government.

There were different suggestions at the time that had been brought forward by different delegates. One brought the idea that representation should be in the ratio of one representative per state. This was greater opposed by the larger states which had larger populations[5]. Those who opposed this claimed that the issue of equality would only be resolved if the larger states were given a larger number of representatives than smaller states.

Mr. Sherman came up with the solution, where a standard population size would be awarded on representative in the congress. The special number in this case was 30,000. Per every 30,000 citizens in each state, the country got one representative. Mr. Sherman offered to take his time and go through the process of getting representatives for each state given his format.

This was referred to as the Connecticut compromise because it was suggested and advocated for by delegates from Connecticut in the constitution convention[6]. The compromise also provided for two members to represent each state in the senate. The compromise was a blend of proposals, the New Jersey proposal and the Virginia proposal.

During the constitution convection of 1787, the state of Connecticut was represented by two delegates, Oliver Ellsworth and roger Sherman. The compromise suggestion was their brain child. It took in considerations by both suggesti.............