What did that Great Compromise set up?

Answer 1

Read the website.

Answer 2

Well, you have heard of the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan, right?

No.. okay, here's your bedtime story.....

A long, long time ago (okay - around 1787) the delegates who wrote the Constitution of the U.S. met to revise the Articles of Confederation...... wait a minute! someone tricked them ~ they were going to revise the weak old Articles and someone suggested *gasp* a whole new system of government! Well, yes.. they did - which is why we have the United States of America w/ the wonderful living document we have today...

so - why would NJ and VA be fighting? hmmmmm

which is bigger, NJ or VA? NJ? ding ding ding we have a winner!
one thing you have to remember, VA was a considered a large state back in 1787 (No, Montana wasn't a state is 1787 silly, but you already knew that right?). And VA actually had a decent population.

VA proposed the VA plan which consisted of the 3 branches of government (legislative, executive, judicial) and two houses where the number of delegates from each state is based upon the population.

Now - how do you suppose NJ felt about this? Yup.... they thought VA was a bully, and proposed the NJ Plan.. with the same 3 branches of government but with one house where each state had a delegate (Like in the Articles of Confederation).
Neither side wanted to budge....
until, to save the Constitution they decided to go with the Great Compromise ... which basically set up the system of government (plus or minus a couple of things) that we have today!
Under the great compromise there are three branches (now say this with me... legislature starts with an "l" like "laws"... Congress is the legislative body that makes the laws, judicial starts with a "j" just like "judge," the judicial branch consists of federal judges - specifically the US Supreme Court, and judges determine things, like if something is constiutional (known as judicial review), and executive has the word "execute" in it, and the President and his office is the executive branch, and they execute, or carry out the laws). Got that? okay. each branch can stop another branch from doing something if they really need to, and this is called checks and balances.....wow, but wait - there's more!
Congress is made up of two houses, in the Senate, each state has 2 senators no matter what their size or population. Originally these senators were elected by the legislative body in their own state but a cool thing called the 17th amendment was passed in 1912 that changed it so that voters in each state could elect their senators directly. The members of the house of represenatives is based on population - they've always been directly elected by their constituents..whaaat? constituent (hopefully you - a voter in their district).

So, in conclusion - what did the Great compromise set up? Our system of federal government.
you could argue that it also set the stage for the Civil War...
and maybe you could even argue most of our Presidents because the electoral college (that's another bedtime story, we won't go into it... but no, it has nothing to do with your local college), because that's set up based on the way Congress is set up.
nite, nite

btw - did that answer your question? :)



(I'm sorry, i couldn't resist. Putting something in a funny context always helps me remember stuff for tests ~ i'm assuming this is for a test or paper... but seriously, read your book if it is, it will help a lot!) :)

Answer 3

The wording of your question may seem to suggest the answer "bicameral legislature", as one answer stated. But that's not quite correct.

The "Great Compromise" did NOT introduce a bicameral legislature. The draft they started with (Madison's "Virginia Plan") already provided had two houses.

The problem was that, under the Virginia Plan, BOTH houses were to be selected on the basis of the POPULATION (in contrast to the system under the Articles of Confederation, which was not simply unicameral, but provided equal representation for each state, regardless of population).

What this Compromise offered instead was the notion (the "Connecticut Plan") in which the UPPER chamber would have the same number of representatives for each state, ALONGSIDE a chamber chosen proportionately.
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Actually, like many so-called "compromises", this one did NOT come about the way most people think. People generally assume that they wrangled and THEN a plan was put forward with this combination plan -- one house by population, one equally by state-- and they all (or at least a majority) decided to adopt THAT plan.

Not exactly!

Rather, the decision about "the First House" (later "House of Representatives") was passed on June 29. Here's how they voted --

On the motion to agree to the clause as reported, "that the rule of suffrage in the 1st. branch ought not to be according to that established by the articles of Confederation." [in other words, that it should have "proportionate representation" according to each state's population]

Ay (6) - MA, PA, VA, NC, SC, GA
No (4) - CT, NY, NJ, DE
. . . divided - MD
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/629.htm

That basically SETTLED the first part (pending a final vote on the final version of the Constitution in September)

THEN they wrangled over the "second branch of the legislature" (later called "the Senate"), some favoring the same proportionate voting principle, others opposed. Only on July 16 did they finally vote,

"On the question for agreeing to the whole Report as amended & including the equality of votes in the 2d. branch. it passed in the Affirmative."

Ay (5) - CT, DE, NJ, MD, NC
No (4) - PA, VA, SC, GA
. . . divided - MA
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/716.htm

Now take a look at WHO voted for each! The "Great Compromise" passed by a vote of 5-4, the division of MA was necessary and ONLY North Carolina voted "Ay" on BOTH questions (kudos, Tarheels!)

I'll bet that's not quite how you pictured it! (I was surprised when I tracked this all down.)

Answer 4

A bicameral legislature.

In one house of Congress - the Senate - the states were equally represented (2 Senators per state, no matter how large or small the state). This pleased small states like New Jersey, which had been afraid that the large states would be able to outvote them in Congress. Meanwhile the other house of Congress - the House of Representatives - awarded seats to states based on population, with large states like Virginia receiving more representatives.