42 Chapter 2Chapter 2 || The Constitution and the FoundingThe Constitution and the Foundingbut this did not seem fair to large states. They pushed for representation based on
population. This proposal, along with others that would strengthen the national
government, was the Virginia Plan. The small states countered with the New Jersey
Plan, which proposed maintaining equal representation for every state. Rhode Island,
the smallest state, was so concerned about small-state power that it boycotted the
convention. Tensions were running high; this issue appeared to have all the elements of
a deal breaker, and there seemed to be no way to resolve the impasse.
Just as it appeared that the convention might grind to a halt before it really got
started, Connecticut proposed what became known as the Great Compromise,
or Connecticut Compromise. The plan suggested establishing a Congress with
two houses: the Senate would have two senators from each state, and in the House
of Representatives each state’s number of representatives would be based on its
population. At first glance, the Connecticut Compromise seems to make perfect sense:
as the seventh of 13 states in terms of population, Connecticut was positioned to offer
a compromise that would appeal to both large and small states. But the situation was
actually much more complicated. First, Rhode Island did not attend the convention, so
there was no true median state (with only 12 states at the convention, no one stood alone
at the center). Second, given that each state had one vote at the convention, the smallest
states could have easily outvoted the biggest ones and insisted on equal representation
for each state.
Why didn’t the smaller states impose their view? Two of the smaller states, Georgia
and South Carolina, focused on their future growth, so they supported representation
based on population, the Virginia Plan. But when other smaller states balked at their loss
of power, the Connecticut Compromise was able to win the support of North Carolina
(and Massachusetts’s delegates were divided), so the compromise passed 5-4-1.
Despite this more complex picture, an analysis of all 569 votes at the Constitutional
Convention clearly shows that Connecticut occupied a pivotal place at the convention
(see Figure 2.2). Connecticut was in the middle in terms of desire for representation
based on population and in terms of desire for more state power. Connecticut is right in
the center of these graphs—no wonder it could broker a compromise!Legislative Power versus Executive Power
An equally difficult challenge was how to divide power at the national level. Here the
central issues revolved around the executive: the president. How much power should
the president have relative to the legislative branch? (The courts also figured here, but
they were less central to the discussions.) And how would the president be elected?Limiting Presidential Power The delegates knew what they did not want: the king
of England and his colonial governors were viewed as tramplers of liberty. But many
delegates rejected outright the idea of a single executive because they believed it was
impossible to have an executive who would not be oppressive. Edmund Randolph
proposed a three-person executive for this reason, arguing that a single executive
would be the “fetus of monarchy.” The Virginia Plan envisioned a single executive
who would share some legislative power with federal judges in a Council of Revision
with the power to veto legislation passed by Congress (however, the veto could be
overridden by a simple majority vote in Congress). The delegates finally agreed
on the single executive because he would have the most “energy, dispatch, and
responsibility for the office,” but they constrained the president’s power through the
system of checks and balances. One significant power they granted to the executive
was the veto. It could be overridden by Congress, but only with the support ofVirginia Plan
A plan proposed by the larger states
during the Constitutional Convention
that based representation in the
national legislature on population.
The plan also included a variety of
other proposals to strengthen the
national government.New Jersey Plan
A plan that was suggested in response
to the Virginia Plan; smaller states
at the Constitutional Convention
proposed that each state should
receive equal representation in the
national legislature, regardless of
size.Great Compromise
A compromise between the large
and small states, proposed by
Connecticut, in which Congress
would have two houses: a Senate with
two legislators per state and a House
of Representatives in which each
state’s representation would be based
on population (also known as the
Connecticut Compromise).Full_03_APT_64431_ch02_030-069.indd 42 16/11/18 1:30 PM