Constitutional Compromises

The founding fathers combined the ideas of the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan to come up with -

• Compromise of 1820

• Three-fifths compromise

• Great Compromise

• Constitutional Convention

During the Constitutional Convention, William Paterson, in response to the Virginia Plan, presented the delegates with the New Jersey Plan which -

• proposed a bi-cameral legislative branch with representation based on the population of each state

• called for the same one vote per state representation as under the Articles of Confederation

• allowed the Southern states to continue the practie of slavery while the nothern states built factories

• designated that each slave would count at three-fifths of a person for the purpose of determining representation

Which plan called for equal representation of the states regardless of population?

• Virginia Plan

• 3/5 Compromise

• Great Compromise

• New Jersey Plan

At the Constitutional Convention the delegates debated for several weeks on the organization of the legislative branch. James Madison proposed the Virginia Plan, while William Patterson countered with the New Jersey Plan. Finally the delegates agreed to a compromise put forth by Roger Sherman which -

• created a two house Congress with representation based on the population in house and equality in the other house

• believed in extending voting rights to all white men, thus eliminating the previous property requirements

• kept the previous organization set forth in the Articles of Confederation which allowed for one vote per state

• allowed California to join the new country as a free state but gave the South the Fugitive Slave Act

Which plan called for representation based on the states' population, benefited the large states?

• Treaty of Ghent

• Fugitive Slave Act

• Articles of Confederation

• Virginia Plan

One of the major issues debated at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was -

• proposing a new strategy to proceed with the abolition of slavery

• creating a plan for representation of both large and small states

• whether or not to remain neutral in the French Revolution

• if Missouri should be allowed to join the country as a free state

"Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among several states which may be included withing this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service by a term of "years" and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other persons."

This excerpt from the Constitution deals with the issues debated at the Constitutional Convention.

• if native Americans should have the same rights as white colonists

• if all others besides white men should be allowed to have voting rights

• how slaves should be counted as population for representation purposes

• how large and small states should have their representatives divided.

Northern and Southern delegates vehemently argued on how slaves should be counted as population for representation purposes, the result of this debate was the -

• Three-fifths compromise

• Great Compromise

• Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

• Missouri Compromise

During the Constitutional Convention, James Wilson and Roger Sherman proposed the Three-Fifths Compromise which dealt with how

• the government would pass protective tariffs in order to help northern businesses prosper

• Maine and Missouri would be crated as slave and free states to keep the balance of power

• slaves would be counted as population for representation and taxation purposes

• women would be represented in the newly created legislative branch

Counted 3 out of every five slaves as part of a state's population.

• Virginia Plan

• New Jersey Plan

• Connecticut/Great Compromise

• Three-Fifths Compromise