Today, the Democrats and the Republicans sit pretty in both the houses of the US Congress. They decide on the issues being faced by the country and how they are going to be dealt with. However, surprisingly, the roots of the bicameral legislature in the USA were laid way back, in the late 1780's. A pivotal event, which triggered and took the concept of bicameral legislature in the USA further was the Connecticut compromise, also referred to as the Great Compromise, in the year 1787. I will try and chart the course of the Great Compromise of 1787, a path breaking happening in American history.
What Was the Great Compromise of 1787
Also known as the Connecticut Compromise or Sherman's Compromise, this compromise was mainly a mutual agreement which was reached between large and small states in the course of the Constitutional Convention in July 1787. If you are looking for a concrete the great compromise of 1787 definition, it will be slightly hard to find. This agreement, defined and mentioned in part, the legislative structure and representation each state would get as per the US constitution. Most significantly, the agreement put across the idea of a bicameral legislature, which would later lead to formation of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Roger Sherman along with Oliver Ellsworth, from the Connecticut delegation came up with a compromise for a two-housed legislature, with a lower and upper house. It actually started off in May 1787 when the Virginia delegation put across a plan for a bicameral legislature. There were a couple of plans which were which proved to be somewhat precursors of this plan. These were the Virginia Plan (Large State or Randolph Plan) and New Jersey Plan (Small State or Paterson Plan). The latter was a response to the former.
While the Virginia Plan was instrumental for its contribution in setting the agenda for debate in the convention and presenting the idea of population weighted representation, the legislative body as mentioned in the Virginia plan was used as a basis to form the United States Senate. Further, as per the New Jersey plan, the organization of the legislature was akin to that of the modern day United Nations and similar institutions. There was a debate on the compromise in the same year and 11 days post the debate on the agreement, the Great Compromise was sealed on 16 July, 1787. According to the Great Compromise of 1787, membership in the lower house was to be allocated in proportion to state population, in the interest of the larger states. Further, candidates were to be nominated and elected by the people of each state. In exchange, based on the New Jersey Plan it was decided that 2 seats would be allocated to each state, no matter what the size of the state. The state legislature will have the power to choose the members. This procedure of determining fairly the number of members of the House from each state is called "apportionment." You might want to read about compromise of 1877.
Consequences of The Great Compromise of 1787
The deliberations and discussions continued long after this agreement in 1787 concluded. Surprisingly and interestingly, it led to another compromise, the 3/5 Compromise. The issue of representation and the legislative assembly of two houses was further debated and wrangled upon with the three-fifths compromise. Within this agreement, Less populous Southern States were allowed to count three-fifths of all non-free, non-Native American people in connection with population counts and allocations.
Following the Great Compromise of 1787, a census was done in 1790, which mentioned the population of the USA to be 4 million. The house membership as of now, which is 435, was set in 1911 by the US Congress. That's it! This was all about the Great Compromise. This is where I sign off!
What Was the Great Compromise of 1787
Also known as the Connecticut Compromise or Sherman's Compromise, this compromise was mainly a mutual agreement which was reached between large and small states in the course of the Constitutional Convention in July 1787. If you are looking for a concrete the great compromise of 1787 definition, it will be slightly hard to find. This agreement, defined and mentioned in part, the legislative structure and representation each state would get as per the US constitution. Most significantly, the agreement put across the idea of a bicameral legislature, which would later lead to formation of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Roger Sherman along with Oliver Ellsworth, from the Connecticut delegation came up with a compromise for a two-housed legislature, with a lower and upper house. It actually started off in May 1787 when the Virginia delegation put across a plan for a bicameral legislature. There were a couple of plans which were which proved to be somewhat precursors of this plan. These were the Virginia Plan (Large State or Randolph Plan) and New Jersey Plan (Small State or Paterson Plan). The latter was a response to the former.
While the Virginia Plan was instrumental for its contribution in setting the agenda for debate in the convention and presenting the idea of population weighted representation, the legislative body as mentioned in the Virginia plan was used as a basis to form the United States Senate. Further, as per the New Jersey plan, the organization of the legislature was akin to that of the modern day United Nations and similar institutions. There was a debate on the compromise in the same year and 11 days post the debate on the agreement, the Great Compromise was sealed on 16 July, 1787. According to the Great Compromise of 1787, membership in the lower house was to be allocated in proportion to state population, in the interest of the larger states. Further, candidates were to be nominated and elected by the people of each state. In exchange, based on the New Jersey Plan it was decided that 2 seats would be allocated to each state, no matter what the size of the state. The state legislature will have the power to choose the members. This procedure of determining fairly the number of members of the House from each state is called "apportionment." You might want to read about compromise of 1877.
Consequences of The Great Compromise of 1787
The deliberations and discussions continued long after this agreement in 1787 concluded. Surprisingly and interestingly, it led to another compromise, the 3/5 Compromise. The issue of representation and the legislative assembly of two houses was further debated and wrangled upon with the three-fifths compromise. Within this agreement, Less populous Southern States were allowed to count three-fifths of all non-free, non-Native American people in connection with population counts and allocations.
Following the Great Compromise of 1787, a census was done in 1790, which mentioned the population of the USA to be 4 million. The house membership as of now, which is 435, was set in 1911 by the US Congress. That's it! This was all about the Great Compromise. This is where I sign off!
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