The

Great Compromise and the 3/5ths Compromise

The United States Constitution has been established on the basis of a series of compromises. Two of the most renowned compromises are the “Great Compromise” and the “3/5ths Compromise”.

“The Great Compromise” revolved around the issue of representation. There was the Virginia Plan which proposed the government to be made of the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive. The legislature was meant to have to branches: “The Senate and the House of Representatives”. The controversial issue was that some states wanted representation in both houses be based on the population of a state.

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This was strongly opposed by smaller states. A compromise had to be reached by passing Roger Sherman's proposal which suggested a bicameral legislature. All states were to have 2 seats each in the Senate. However, members of the “House of Representatives” were to be selected on the basis of population size of a state. Each member was to be elected directly by the population (PBS, n.d.). “The Great Compromise” ensured fair representation of states in the legislative arm of the government. In addition, the Great Compromise is the basis on which the current structure of the US government is established.

“The 3/5ths Compromise” involved the issue of whether to count slaves as members of the population or not. The Southern States were of the opinion that slaves were supposed to be counted as members of the population, but for purposes of representation only. On the other hand, the Northern States were of the view that slaves were supposed to count as members of the population when it came to taxation issues, but not on matters of representation. The compromise was that three-fifths of the slaves in states were to be counted as part of the population for purposes of voting for members of the “House of Representatives.” The 3/5ths were also supposed to count in matters of taxation (PBS, n.d.). This compromise can be said to have set precedence to abolishment of slave trade, and a basis for slaves acquiring basic rights such as voting.

References

PBS. (n.d.). The Constitution and the idea of compromise. Retrieved October 10, 2012 from www.pbs.org/georgewashington/classroom/index3.html