When designing the United States Constitution, the Founding Fathers had to make compromises to appease competing differences. Below are the five major compromises of the Constitutional Convention. Source
The Great Compromise – Created two chambers in Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives. To suit the needs of small states like New Jersey, each state has two senators, no matter the size. To assuage large states like Virginia, the House of Representatives bases its number of representatives on the size of its state’s population.
Three-Fifths Compromise-Every 5 enslaved people count as three free people in the census, helping slave-owning states gain more representation in the House.
Commerce Compromise– Tariffs (taxes on goods) were only allowed on foreign imports and not US goods. The Federal Government had power over interstate commerce. This helped Southern states, which were the states with the most exports.
Compromise on the Trade of Enslaved People– Wait until 1808 to ban the import and trade of enslaved people. Enact a Fugitive Slave Law.
The Electoral College -Citizens vote for electors bound to a particular candidate. The elector votes for the president, not the citizens directly.
For each Constitutional Compromise, write down the following:
- Name of Compromise
- What did it do?
- Who supported it?
- Who was against it?
- Do you support this compromose? Why or why not not?
