The United States of America was founded on the basis of
compromise, but what does compromise really mean? According to
the Webster's New World Dictionary compromise means 'an adjustment
of opposing principles'. Political systems use compromises in
daily life. The Three Great Compromises that occurred early in
this nation's government were the Connecticut Compromise, the 3/5
Compromise, and finally the Commerce & Slave Trade Compromise.
Were it not for these compromises the United States could still be
governed under the Articles of Conferderation.
The Connecticut Compromise was the most important compromise
in the history of the U.S. government. The representatives from
each state were going to change the government totally, from
powerful state governments to a powerful central government, which
they vowed not to do when they declared independence from England.
Rhode Island was so disgusted with the idea of changing the
government that they did not even come to the meeting.
English: The western front of the United States Ca...
English: Roger Sherman (1721-1793)
United StatesFinally
after all the debating and each state getting their say, they
'compromised' on a plan where they would have two governmental
houses, one being the House of Representatives and the second
being the Senate, with the Senate being the stronger of the two
houses. The House of Representatives was based on each state's
population, that is the more people in the state the more
representatives that state would get. The Senate said that
regardless of the state's population each state would get two
representatives all with equal say.
The 3/5 Compromise was mainly about slaves. The issue in
this compromise was should slaves be counted for determining
representation for each state? The North did not want them to be
counted because they were considered possessions, not citizens,
and that meant less representation for them. The South, on the
other hand, wanted them to be counted because...