FREE ESSAY ON CONSTITUTIONAL CONGRESS

CONSTITUTIONAL CONGRESS

At the Constitutional Congress of 1787, The Delegates frequently used compromise to
resolve controversial issues such as, Representation in the Government, Slavery in the
new country, and Also the Morality of the Slave Trade. If it wasn't for the ability of
the Founders of our country to compromise, Who knows that the United States of America
would have existed at all. The constitution that they wrote over two hundred years ago,
still is the basis of our government today, with only few changes. The creators were
smart enough to allow room for change and growth, they knew that the document would have
to change for future problems, and changes. They were aware that with time the government
and the people under that government would have new demands and be faced with many new
situations.
One thing that the states reached a compromise on at the Constitutional Congress was the
Problems concerning, Representation from each state. The larger states wanted the
representation to be determined on the state population, The smaller states wanted each
state to have an equal amount of representatives. The solution they derived became known
as the Great Compromise, They decided that they would have two houses of representatives,
one based on the population of the state and the other with an equal; amount of
representatives from each sate, therefore each of the two groups got what they wanted.
This was also an effective way to divide the powers of the government.
Another compromise made between the states was concerning Slavery. The North wanted The
Slaves in the south to be accounted for so that they could be counted as people and be
taxed. The South wanted the Slaves also to be counted but only for the population count,
They knew if they had a higher population then they could have more representatives in
the congress, and thus have more power. They Reached a compromise known as the
Three/Fifths plan, This plan indicated that three/fifths of the slave population would be
accounted for both taxation and towards the population of the state. This way both were
happy.
Lastly an Agreement was reached between the States on the Slave trade, The north wanted
the Slave Trade to be abolished, and for the central government to Regulate commerce. The
South needed the slaves for their plantations and they were afraid if the government
regulated commerce then they would be taxed on their exports. The compromise they reached
stated that the slave trade could not be abolished for twenty years and the government
could regulate commerce but not levy duties on the exports. Therefore each side got a
little of what they wanted and had to sacrifice a little.
The examples cited above show how our nation founders came together and were able to use
compromise effectively to ensure a sound and stable government. If it weren't for their
ability to reason and sacrifice, then nothing would have been accomplished. The men were
smart enough to realize that they all couldn't get everything that they wanted but they
all got something they did. The Constitution is not only the basis of our government, but
others have also copied ideas and used it as a roll model in forming their government. It
has inspired so many more nations in the world.
Bibliography
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