Alex+G.+-+Compromise+Reigns+Project

media type="file" key="AlexG_Period6.m4a" width="900" height="350" At the beginning of this country, many problems were eminent. Such as how the government was to be structured, how slaves were to be counted, and how much power Congress had over trade.

On May 25, 1787, delegates from 12 states came together to fix problems and create a governmental structure for the new nation. “The delegates had a lot in common. But they also had very different views on many of the issues.”(107) For weeks, delegates debated over issues until they came up with a compromise. They decided to put all of these plans into a document called the Constitution, which would outline the structure and laws of the government.

One of the most debated topics was the structure of this new government. “Delegates from…large states liked the Virginia plan…delegates from the small states disliked the Virginia Plan.”(109) The Virginia plan outlined a three-branch government, with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. In the legislative branch, the number of representatives was dependant on state population. Though, in the rival “New Jersey Plan”(109), the government was the same, except for the legislative branch, in which each state had the same number of representatives. Finally, the delegates compromised having two divisions of the legislature, one housing two representatives from each state, and the other having a number of representatives based on population.

Slavery was popular in the south, but not in the north, which erupted a debate as to weather slaves should be counted as people in the population. “If slaves were counted as people…then make them citizens and let them vote.’”(111) Governor Morris of Pennsylvania was joking to support his point that slaves shouldn’t be counted because they were property, and if they were counted, the south would gain representatives and have more power. The south argued that slaves were human and deserved to be counted in the population. In the end, James Madison came up with the solution of counting each slave as 3/5 of a person. Even though this contradicted the statement in the Declaration of Independence that, “all men are created equal.”

At this time, the U.S. economy was in a downfall due British goods being less expensive than equal American goods. The delegates from the north were in favor of the government having complete control over trade between states and other countries. Though the south, “Worried that Congress might try to tax southern exports…worried that Congress would use its power over trade to outlaw the slave trade.”(112) The final compromise made by the delegates was to have control over trade, but Congress couldn’t tax exports or interfere with the slave trade for 20 years. In addition, the “fugitive slave clause” said that escaped slaves had to be returned to their owners, even if they were found in non-slave states.

After weeks of suffering in the heat of Philadelphia, the delegates compromised on all of their issues, and created the basis for the country we know today.