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Comparing The Articles Of Confederation And The Constitution Of The United States Constitution

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We the People
Introduction
The American Revolution was a turning point in American history for that it declared the independence of the thirteen American colonies from Britain. This new-found independence influenced political proposals and resolutions creating a new legal system while establishing basic rights of the citizens of the United States. The founding fathers of America helped establish the development of governmental principles that shaped our nation. Implementing the foundation for a new government system required compromise to secure an independent, functional nation.

The transformation of the American government directly impacted the structure of society causing debate over the contents of the fundamental principles of the United States Constitution.

Articles of Confederation vs The Constitution of 1787
The Articles of Confederation was drafted by the …show more content…

Many challenges arose during the convention including the debate centered around equal state representation and representation based on state population. To amend this struggle, Roger Sherman, a Connecticut delegate, provided a plan known as The Great Compromise. This compromise implemented an equal representation for large and small states by proposing a two-house legislature. Consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate, this representation of the upper and lower house would be divided based on population. Another issue the convention faced was whether to count the slaves as part of a state’s population. The convention settled on a solution known as the three-fifths compromise. To determine the population of the state, only three out of every five slaves would be counted for representation and taxation purposes. Through compromise, the convention could successfully manage conflict and debate during the drafting of the

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EXTRA CREDIT: The Three Fifths Compromise was presented at the Constitutional Convention, which was a meeting of states whose delegates were formulating plans for the National government. There were many disputes over the proposals between the large (more populous) and small (less populous) states. One of the major disputes was over the issue of apportionment, which related to the method of distributing and allotting the seats in the House of Representatives based on population. Delegates James Wilson and Roger Sherman proposed the Three Fifths Compromise that counted every five slaves as three individuals in terms of the apportionment of representation and

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The Great Compromise would seek sure to that. The Great Compromise would make sure that all states had an equal vote in the Senate. All states were allowed two votes in the Senate (Doc. D). As for the House of Representatives, every tate had their number of representatives based on the population of that state (Doc. D). As in, every State would receive no more than one representative for every thirty-thousand (Doc. D).

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His beliefs were not preferred by the majority, however(2). The convention deliberated over a way to come up with a equal representation for both small and big states(5). Franklin helped break the standoff and pave the way for what became known as the "great compromise(2). " bigger states would have their way in the lower house of the legislature, where representatives would be chosen according to majority. The upper house or Senate would have the same number of senators from each

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constitution and it failed. Shay’s Rebellion showed the weaknesses of this document, which resulted in the revision at the constitutional convention. Representation between large states and smaller states and slavery were heavily discussed in this convention. At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, two documents called the Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan were proposed for representation, and a compromise was made. The new U.S. Constitution declares that states would be equally represented in the upper house of Congress.

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Written in 1787 and established in 1788, The Constitution is one of the most famous government systems in the world, laying down the foundation for the world we know today. It’s predecessor, the Articles of Confederation, was not nearly as long-lasting, being scrapped after just 10 years. However, both documents had a similar idea: giving power to the people and preventing the rise of a king. One huge difference is that the Constitution established a much stronger government than the Articles of Confederation. With the Articles, there was almost no government, leading to big problems.

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The Compromise of 1820 was about the issue of slavery in new territories. Initially Missouri wanted to be admitted to the Union as a slave state, but this would interfere with the balance between free states and slave states. If Missouri were to be admitted as a slave state the South would have more power in the Senate than the North. During the next session of congress Maine applied to the Union as a free state. By adding Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state the Senate’s equilibrium would be established again.

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The Great Compromise was created soon after which appointed the number of representatives in the House of Representatives according the size of their state. Because smaller states rejected this due to the biased power towards the large states, it was agreed upon that the senate would have the same number of votes regardless of state size. In the southern states, 30 percent of the population consisted of slaves, according to Lowi, Etal (2014). The northern states believed that they should not count towards the population count which would give them more votes in the House of Representatives. Delegates agreed on the Three-Fifths Compromise which would count every five slaves as three people.

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On the other hand, there was much controversy as to how the upper house, the Senate, should be numbered. Many different delegates brought forth plans and ideas, which were debated and time and again rejected. On July 5, 1787 Conneticut delegates Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth presented the “Connecticut Compromise” which took parts from previously offered plans. The plan, which would later be commonly referred to as the “Great Compromise”, conceded to the House of Representatives being structured as noted above, and the Senate being comprised of two delegates per state, regardless of size (1787: A Great Compromise, n.d.). As it was already the idea of the Framers that the Senate be the higher house, with more tenured delegates not so easily influenced by their constituents, and therefore acting more in the interest of the nation, it was argued that all states have equal say in the Senate.

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The main reason for these compromises was due to all the different theories and opinions pertaining to forming the nation. Disputes between the southern states and the northern states were the most fierce because of their opposing views on slavery. Also, conflict arose over the difference in power between larger states, such as Virginia, New York, and North Carolina, and smaller states, such as Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. “The Great Compromise” was an agreement that both large and small states reached which introduced a bicameral legislature into the federal government. The House of Representatives and the Senate would both share power inside the legislative branch which in turn gave every state a set number of two senators and a varying number of representatives based on population.

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After no progress of which plan to go through with, Roger Sherman came up with the Great Compromise. The compromise called for two house legislator. Members of the house of representatives or the lower house would be elected by popular vote. Members of the Senate or the upper house would be chosen by the state legislators. Each state would only have two senators no matter the size, or population of the state.

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The Virginia Plan was proposed in order to settle disagreements among states over the issue of representation. Due to the extreme differences in population between the states, larger states wanted representation to be based off of population, while the smaller states wanted representation to be equal for all states regardless of population. Today the U.S. government still uses population as a way of representation in parliament. In addition to the Virginia Plan, the 3/5’s Compromise was also created as a way to settle conflicts. This compromise was reached, because southern states wanted slaves to count as part of the population and order to get more representation, while the northern states did not.

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1353 Words | 6 Pages

Northern States held a commanding majority in the House of representatives and there was an equal division between the slave and free states which enabled the South to maintain a veto power in the Senate. Henry Clay, the “Great Compromiser” created six proposals that would offer concession, one to the North and open to the South. The bill admitted California as a free state , at the price of a stronger fugitive slave law, created territories of Utah and New Mexico, and allowed popular sovereignty when it came time for each to write its constitution. Most importantly, the compromise abolished the slave trade but not slavery itself arguing it was immoral to buy and sell humans. The sectional forces would soon gather strength and lead to the ultimate disunion.

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We established the different sections of the compromise that were: admitting California as a free state, strengthening the Fugitive Slave Law, popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico concerning the question or slavery, the abolition of the slave trade in DC, and the federal assumption of Texas’s debate. Ultimately this compromise was a temporary solution to an even bigger problem that awaited the nation. This prolonged it for the majority of a century, however the outbreak eventually happened. Many tried and failed to face the debate of compromise in uniting the north and the south. The one behind the Great Compromise was one of Kentucky’s very own senators, Henry Clay.

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The most important difference between these documents was that the Articles of Confederation gave very little power to a central government and the Constitution created a strong central government. The Article of Confederation was written to unite states after the American Revolution. People had the fear of the government having too much power. This document established

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It not only required compromises but it also initiated controversy between the states over who had the most influence and representation in congress. The bigger states wanted population as their representation, while the smaller ones just wanted equality and their voices heard in congress. (2)Amid the verbal skirmish, a man named Roger Sherman ended it and proposed that two houses, one senate and one representative, be established.(4) Silencing the disagreements, Sherman’s idea led to what would be known as the Great Compromise. Now the south had slaves in their hands and wanted them to make up part of the population, and the north was opposed.

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