The Great Compromise (And Why You Should Care)

Great Compromise of 1787 (and Why it Matters Today)

Why do we need two houses of Congress?  The original government of the former thirteen British colonies in America as outlined in the Articles of Confederation had only one legislative house.  This unicameral house, called Congress, allowed each state one vote, no matter how many people lived there.

During the 1780s, people found the Articles of Confederation too weak, and many wanted a new central government.  When the delegates met for the Constitutional Convention in 1787, they revealed themselves at both their best and their worst.  In fact, they behaved like our present Congress does.

  A lot of speechmaking took place.  Luther Martin of Maryland talked for hours until exhausted in defense of strong states-rights.  Benjamin Franklin (not generally known to be big on formal religion) asked to have local clergymen give an opening prayer each day, but was voted down.  General PInckney of South Carolina tried to get slaves to count the same as free citizens by referring to them as the “peasants of southern states”.  However, after much debate the three/fifths rule remained the law of the land.  

Then the convention came to a stop after days of negotiation when delegates decided unanimously to undo everything and start over.  Tempers flared.  Luther Martin said the issue of representation “nearly terminated in dissolution of the convention.”  George Washington wrote home for his umbrella, fearing that the summer conference would drag on into fall. 

Larger states complained that it wasn’t fair that they should have only one vote each, when they represented so many more people than the smaller states. At the same time, smaller states were worried that they would lose all power if the larger states had more votes than they did.  Brearley of New Jersey feared that “Virginia with her sixteen votes would be a solid column, indeed, a formidable phalanx.”  Gunning Bedford of Delaware even suggested that small states might look for a foreign ally, rather than submit to being overshadowed by large states.  

The founders believed that sentiment would cause all representatives from one state to vote as a bloc, thus giving populous states more clout.  They did not foresee the time when party loyalty would be more important than geographical loyalty.  

Some delegates suggested doing away with the states, and redistricting the country into equal portions.  Others feared a central government that might bring an end to state governments, and eventually an end to states themselves.  Several speakers declared they would never agree with the other side.

The issue was finally resolved by the Great Compromise of 1787, whereby the new Constitution created a bicameral, that is two-house, Congress.  This allowed for one, the House of Representatives, to be based on population, so that those states with more people would have more representatives, and a second house, the Senate, where each state, regardless of size or population, has two members.  The final vote was 5-4.  Many worried about passing an important bill by a slim majority, but it stuck and has been in force ever since.

But why do we still need it today?  Representatives are assumed to know what the people in their districts really care about.  Since they must run for office every two years, they must respond to the wishes of their constituents or find another job.  Senators stay in office longer, so they have more time to consider what they think is best for the country, rather than just what will get them reelected.

History shows us how the Founders had the same problems we have today.  They argued over important legislation, knowing that what they were doing would influence lives for generations to come.  They often felt there was no way they could come together, that the prospect was hopeless.  Each side had members determined never to compromise their ideals.  

Yet, in the end, they did compromise and came up with a bicameral legislature that remains intact more than two hundred years later.  That’s why it’s called The Great Compromise.