The Art of Compromise at the Constitutional Convention
In a nation of vast expanse and diverse peoples, political compromise is a democratic essential. The framers of the US Constitution set the standard for compromise in their deliberations, achieving settlements of a series of divisive issues and thereby making national union possible. The table on this web page is for study in conjunction with Dr. Isern's lecture on the
Constitutional Convention.
| Issue |
Position of the Large States |
Position of the Small States |
Compromise |
| Apportionment in Congress |
By population |
State equality |
Great Compromise (Senate and House) |
| Method of election to Congress |
By the people |
By the states |
Lower house by people, upper by state legislatures* |
| Counting slaves toward apportionment |
Counted 1:1** |
Not counted*** |
Three-fifths Compromise**** |
| The executive (President) |
Independent executive elected by the people |
Parliamentary executive elected by the Congress |
The Electoral College |
| Who decides federal-state conflicts? |
Some federal authority |
The state courts |
State courts to decide***** |
*The US Senate was elected by the state legislatures until adoption in 1913 of Amendment XVII,
which provides for direct popular election of senators.
**Position of the southern states, not of the large states.
***Position of the northern states, not of the small states.
****The Three-fifths Compromise obtained until adoption in 1865 of Amendment XIII,
which abolished slavery.
*****The provision that the state courts should decide conflicts between federal and state
authority was made moot by the Judiciary Act of 1789, which provided for appeals from state
to federal courts.
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