Connecticut Compromise

I mean, he did, he did, he did help write the Declaration of Independence, although Jefferson gets all the credit for it, but-

And he is also the one who proposed in the committee to deal with the Great Compromise that the, the, "Hey, guys, let's let the House originate money bills and the Senate can have two senators from each state." That's why there's a statue of Ben Franklin outside the Senate chamber.

Ironically, Franklin wasn't a big fan of bicameralism, so I always thought it was a slap in the Senate's face to put the statue outside, but-

Wow

Who's got the sauce?

were the famous lawyers george wythe and george mason among the deputies from pennsylvania the foremost was james wilson the caledonian who probably stood next in importance in the convention to madison and washington he had come to america as a young man just when the troubles with england were beginning and by sheer ability had attained a position of prominence several times a member of congress a signer of the declaration of independence he was now regarded as one of the ablest lawyers in the united states a more brilliant member of the pennsylvania delegation and one of the most brilliant of the convention was governor morris who shone by his cleverness and quick wit as well as by his wonderful command of language the morris was admired more than he was trusted and while he supported the efforts for a strong government his support was not always as great a help as might have been expected a crippled arm and a wooden leg might detract from his personal appearance but they could not subdue his spirit and audacity there were other prominent members of the pennsylvania delegation but none of them took an important part in the convention not even the aged benjamin franklin president of the state at the age of eighty-one his powers were failing and he was so feeble that his colleague wilson read his speeches for him his opinions were respected but they do not seem to have carried much weight other noteworthy members of the convention though hardly in the first class were the handsome and charming rufus king of massachusetts one of the coming men of the country and nathaniel gorham of the same state who was president of congress a man of good sense rather than of great ability but one whose reputation was high and whose presence was a distinct asset to the convention then too there were the delegates from south carolina john rutledge the orator general charles coatsworth pinckney of revolutionary fame and his cousin charles pinckney the last name took a conspicuous part in the proceedings in philadelphia but so far as the outcome was concerned left his mark on the constitution mainly in minor matters and details the men who have been named were nearly all supporters of the plan for a centralized government on the other side were william patterson of new jersey who had been attorney-general of his state for eleven years and who was respected for his knowledge and ability john dickinson of delaware the author of the farmer's letters and chairman of the committee of congress that had framed the articles of confederation able scholarly and sincere but nervous sensitive and conscientious to the verge of timidity whose refusal to sign the declaration of independence had caused him his popularity though he was afterward returned to congress and became president successively of delaware and of pennsylvania elbridge geary of massachusetts a successful merchant prominent in politics and greatly interested in questions of commerce and finance and the connecticut delegates forming an unusual trio dr william samuel johnson rogers sherman and oliver ellsworth these men were fearful of establishing too strong a government and were at one time or another to be found in opposition to madison and his supporters they were not mere obstructionists however and while not constructive in the same way that madison and wilson were they must be given some credit for the form which the constitution finally assumed their greatest service was in restraining the tendency of the majority to overrule the rights of states and in modifying the desires of individuals for a government that would have been too strong to work well in practice alexander hamilton of new york as one of the ablest members of the convention was expected to take an important part but he was out of touch with the views of the majority he was aristocratic rather than democratic and however excellent his ideas may have been they were too radical for his fellow delegates and found but little support he threw his strength in favor of a strong government and was ready to aid the movement in whatever way he could but within his own delegation he was outvoted by robert yates and john lansing and before the sessions were half over he was deprived of a vote by the withdrawal of his colleagues thereupon finding himself of little service he went to new york and returned to philadelphia only once or twice for a few days at a time and finally to sign the completed document luther martin of maryland was an able lawyer and the attorney-general of his state but he was supposed to be allied with undesirable interests and it was said that he had been sent to the convention for the purpose of opposing a strong government he proved to be a tiresome speaker and his prosiness when added to the suspicion attaching to his motives cost him much of the influence which he might otherwise have had all in all the delegates to the federal convention were a remarkable body of men most of them had played important parts in the drama of the revolution three-fourths of them had served in congress and practically all were persons of note in their respective states and had held important public positions they may not have been the assembly of demigods which jefferson called them for another contemporary insisted that twenty assemblies of equal number might be collected equally respectable both in point and of ability integrity and patriotism perhaps it would be safer to regard the convention as a fairly representative body which was of a somewhat higher order than would be gathered together to-day because the social conditions of those days tended to bring forward men of a better class and because the seriousness of the crisis had called out leaders of the highest type two or three days were consumed in organizing the convention electing officers considering the delegates credentials and adopting rules of procedure and when these necessary preliminaries had been accomplished the main business was opened with the presentation by the virginia delegation of a series of resolutions providing for radical changes in the machinery of the confederation the principal features were the organization of a legislature of two houses proportional to population and with increased powers the establishment of a separate executive and the creation of an independent judiciary this was in reality providing for a new government and was probably quite beyond the ideas of most of the members of the convention who had come there under instructions and with the expectation of revising the articles of confederation but after the virginia plan had been the subject of discussion for two weeks so that the members had become a little more accustomed to its proposals and after minor modifications had been made in the wording of the resolutions the convention was won over to its support to check this drift toward radical change the opposition headed by new jersey and connecticut presented the so-called new jersey plan which was in sharp contrast to the virginia resolutions for it contemplated only a revision of the articles of confederation but after a relatively short discussion the virginia plan was adopted by a vote of seven states against four with one state divided the dividing line between the two parties or groups in the convention had quickly manifested itself it proved to be the same line that had divided the congress of the confederation the cleavage between the large states and the small states the large states were in favor of representation in both houses of the legislature according to population while the small states were opposed to any change which would deprive them of their equal vote in congress and though outvoted they were not ready to yield the virginia plan and subsequently the new jersey plan had first been considered in committee of the whole and the question of proportional representation as it was then called would accordingly come up again in formal session several weeks had been occupied by the proceedings so that it was now near the end of june and in general the discussions had been conducted with remarkably good temper but it was evidently the calm before the storm and the issue was finally joined when the question of representation in the two houses again came before the convention the majority of the states on the twenty ninth of june once more voted in favor of proportional representation in the lower house but on the question of the upper house owing to a peculiar combination of circumstances the absence of one delegate and another's change of vote causing the position of their respective states to be reversed or nullified the vote on the second of july resulted in a tie this brought the proceedings of the convention to a standstill a committee of one member from each state was appointed to consider the question and that time might be given to the committee and to such as chose to attend to the celebration on the anniversary of independence the convention adjourned over the fourth committee was chosen by ballot and its composition was a clear indication that the small state men had won their fight and that a compromise would be effected it was during the debate upon this subject when feeling was running high and when at times it seemed as if the convention in default of any satisfactory solution would permanently adjourn that franklin proposed that prayers imploring the assistance of heaven be held in this assembly every morning tradition relates that hamilton opposed the motion the members were evidently afraid of the impression which would be created outside if it were suspected that there were dissensions in the convention and the motion was not put to a vote how far physical conditions may influence men in adopting any particular course of action it is impossible to say but just when the discussion in the convention reached a critical stage just when the compromise presented by the committee was ready for adoption or rejection the weather turned from unpleasantly hot to being comfortably cool and after some little time spent in the consideration of details on the sixteenth of july the great compromise of the constitution was adopted there was no other that compared with it in importance its most significant features were that in the upper house each state should have an equal vote and that in the lower house representation should be apportioned on the basis of population while direct taxation should follow the same proportion the further proviso that money bills should originate in the lower house and should not be amended in the upper house was regarded by some delegates as of considerable importance though others did not think so and eventually the restriction upon amendment by the upper house was dropped there has long been a prevailing belief that an essential feature of the great compromise was the counting of only three-fifths of the slaves in enumerating the population this impression is quite erroneous it was one of the details of the compromise but it had been a feature of the revenue amendment of seventeen eighty three and it was generally accepted as a happy solution of the difficulty that slaves possessed the attributes both of persons and of property it had been included both in the amended virginia plan and in the new jersey plan and when it was embodied in the compromise it was described as the ratio recommended by congress in their resolutions of april eighteen seventeen eighty three a few months later in explaining the matter to the massachusetts convention rufus king said that this rule was adopted because it was the language of all america in reality the three fifth rule was a mere incident in that part of the great compromise which declared that representation should be proportioned according to direct taxation as a further indication of the attitude of the convention upon this point an amendment to have blacks counted equally with the whites was voted down by eight states against two with the adoption of the great compromise a marked difference was noticeable in the attitude of the delegates those from the large states were deeply disappointed at the result and they asked for an adjournment to give them time to consider what they should do the next morning before the convention met they held a meeting to determine upon their course of action They were apparently afraid of taking the responsibility for breaking up the convention.

So they finally decided to let the proceedings go on and to see what might be the ultimate outcome.

Tyler Reddick here from 2311 Racing.

So if you want a whole lot of sauce, you need to find yourself a Zaxby's.

Who's got the sauce?

rumors of these dissensions had reached the ears of the public and it may have been to quiet any misgivings that the following inspired item appeared in several local papers so great is the unanimity we hear that prevails in the convention upon all great federal subjects that it has been proposed to call the room in which they assemble unanimity hall on the other hand the effect of this great compromise upon the delegates from the small states was distinctly favorable having obtained equal representation in one branch of the legislature they now proceeded with much greater willingness to consider the strengthening of the central government many details were yet to be arranged and sharp differences of opinion existed in connection with the executive as well as with the judiciary but these difficulties were slight in comparison with those which they had already surmounted in the matter of representation by the end of july the fifteen resolutions the original virginia plan had been increased to twenty three with many enlargements and amendments and the convention had gone as far as it could effectively in determining the general principles upon which the government should be formed there were too many members to work efficiently when it came to the actual framing of a constitution with all the inevitable details that were necessary in setting up a machinery of government accordingly this task was turned over to a committee of five members who had already given evidence of their ability in this direction rutledge was made the chairman and the others were randolph gorham ellsworth and wilson to give them time to perfect their work on the twenty sixth of july the convention adjourned for ten days chapter six chapter seven of the fathers of the constitution by max chapter vii finishing the work rutledge and his associates on the committee of detail accomplished so much in such a short time that it seems as if they must have worked day and night their efforts marked a distinct stage in the development of the constitution the committee left no records but some of the members retained among their private papers drafts of the different stages of the report they were framing and we are therefore able to surmise the way in which the committee proceeded of course the members were bound by the resolutions which had been adopted by the convention and they held themselves closely to the general principles that had been laid down but in the elaboration of details they seem to have begun with the articles of confederation and to have used all of that document that was consistent with the new plan of government then they made use of the new jersey plan which had been put forward by the smaller states and of a third plan which had been presented by charles pinckney for the rest they drew largely upon the state constitutions by a combination of these different sources the committee prepared a document bearing a close resemblance to the present constitution although subjects were in a different order and in somewhat different proportions which at the end of ten days by working on sunday they were able to present to the convention this draft of a constitution was printed on seven folio pages with wide margins for notes and emendations the convention resumed its sessions on monday the sixth of august and for five weeks the report of the committee of detail was the subject of discussion for five hours each day and sometimes for six hours the delegates kept persistently at their task it was midsummer and we read in the diary of one of the members that in all that period only five days were cool item by item line by line the printed draft of the constitution was considered it is not possible nor is it necessary to follow that work minutely much of it was purely formal and yet any one who has had experience with committee reports knows how much importance attaches to matters of phrasing just as the virginia plan was made more acceptable to the majority by changes in wording that seemed to us insignificant so modifications in phrasing slowly won support for the draft of the constitution the adoption of the great compromise as we have seen changed the whole spirit of the convention there was now an expectation on the part of the members that something definite was going to be accomplished and all were concerned in making the result as good and as acceptable as possible in other words the spirit of compromise pervaded every action and it is essential to remember this in considering what was accomplished one of the greatest weaknesses of the confederation was the inefficiency of congress more than four pages or three-fifths of the whole printed draft were devoted to congress and its powers it is more significant however that in the new constitution the legislative powers of the confederation were transferred bodily to the congress of the united states and that the powers added were few in number although of course of the first importance the virginia plan declared that in addition to the powers under the confederation congress should have the right to legislate in all cases to which the separate states are incompetent this statement was elaborated in the printed draft which granted specific powers of taxation of regulating commerce of establishing a uniform rule of naturalization and at the end of the enumeration of powers two clauses were added giving to congress authority to call forth the aid of the militia in order to execute the laws of the union enforce treaties suppress insurrections and repel invasions and to make all laws that shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers on the other hand it was necessary to place some limitations upon the power of congress a general restriction was laid by giving to the executive a right of veto which might be overruled however by a two-thirds vote of both houses following british tradition yielding as it were to an inherited fear these delegates in america were led to place the first restraint upon the exercise of congressional authority in connection with treason the legislature of the united states was given the power to declare the punishment of treason but treason itself was defined in the constitution and it was further asserted that a person could be convicted of treason only on the testimony of two witnesses and that attainder of treason should not work corruption of blood nor forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted arising more nearly out of their own experience was the prohibition of export taxes of capitation taxes and of the granting of titles of nobility while the committee of detail was preparing its report the southern members of that committee had succeeded in getting a provision inserted that navigation acts could be passed only by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature new england and the middle states were strongly in favor of navigation acts for if they could require all american products to be carried in american built and american owned vessels they would give a great stimulus to the shipbuilding and commerce of the united states they therefore wished to give congress power in this matter on exactly the same terms that other powers were granted the south however was opposed to this policy for it wanted to encourage the cheapest method of shipping its raw materials the south also wanted a larger number of slaves to meet its labor demands to this need new england was not favorably disposed to reconcile the conflicting interests of the two sections a compromise was finally reached the requirement of a two-thirds vote of both houses for the passing of navigation acts which the southern members had obtained was abandoned and on the other hand it was determined that congress should not be allowed to interfere with the importation of slaves for twenty years this again was one of the important and conspicuous compromises of the constitution It is liable, however, to be misunderstood, for one should not read into the sentiment of the members of the Convention any of the later strong prejudice against slavery.

There were some who objected on moral grounds to the recognition of slavery in the Constitution, and that word was carefully avoided by referring to such persons as any states now existing shall think proper to admit.

This New Jersey plan would prevent smaller states from being dominated by the larger states, and also ensure that the large states wouldn't be able to vote themselves a bigger share of government spending.

These two opposing interests threatened to scuttle the whole new government thing until Roger Sherman from Connecticut proposed the Great Compromise that gave us the bicameral legislature that we talked about in episode 2 and we've all come to know and love.

Sometimes.

So the Great Compromise meant that we would have a two-house legislature, but this wasn't the only issue related to how the seats in Congress would be apportioned.

The membership in the House would be based on the state's population, but at the time there was an issue about how to count that population.

The issue was slavery.

Large states supported what was called the Virginia Plan, and small states wanted the New Jersey Plan, and they argued over it until a compromise was reached.

Since it was brokered by Connecticut's Roger Sherman, it was called the Connecticut Compromise, or, more usually, the Great Compromise, because historians are really bad at naming things.

Hey, this war is nine years long.

Let's call it the Seven Years'

War.

That's actually genius.

If you guessed that the compromise was an upper house with equal representation and a lower house with proportional representation, congratulations! You understand the Great Compromise! You don't win anything if you guessed it right.

Actually, if you guessed it right, click here and watch me punch an eagle.

Although the principles were undergirded by the interests of the different.

And of course, the great solution to this, presented by Roger Sherman, the elder statesman, was, and we call it the Great Compromise.

It was a bicameral to house compromise.

legislative body.

And humans can be bad and humans can do miserable things and they always want more power.

And this was all about the dispersal of power.

Great compromises happened to New Jersey, little old New Jersey, where I was born.

Well, they weren't too happy with the idea of surrendering that power they had.

The man who contributed more, possibly, than any other to the daily labors of the convention, and who followed every detail, was Madison, who was 36.

The Connecticut Compromise was very largely the work of Ellsworth, who was 42, and the Committee on Style, which made the final draft, was headed by Governor Morris, who was 35.

Let us note, then, at the outset that youth and energy, abounding hope, and the sympathy for the new time stretching forward into the great and uncharted future, as well as high ability, were conspicuous among the men who framed the Constitution of the United States.

Their presiding officer was Washington, one of the great men of all time, who had led the country through seven years of war, and of whom it has been said by an English historian that, No nobler figure ever stood in the forefront of a nation's life.