Lecture 3 - Page 5

IV. The Constitution

B. Drafting and Compromise (cont.)
3. The Great Compromise

The logjam was finally broken when the Connecticut delegates offered a
series of proposals meant to please both small and large states. Since
representation proved to be the most contentious issue, the Great
CompromiseLinks to an external site.proposed that the upper-house - or
Senate - would consist of two members for each state appointed by the
state legislatures. Membership in the lower-chamber - or House of
Representatives - would be apportioned on the basis of population and
directly elected by the voters.
So, as illustrated in the graph above, the People serve as the foundation of
the Republic. They choose their House Representatives and State
Legislatures. In order to provide some distance from the people, however,
the Founders decided that the State Legislatures would choose members
of the Senate and the Electoral College. It would therefore be left up to the
Electoral College to choose the Executive which, in conjunction with the
Senate, would staff the Judiciary. What's different today about the structure
of government in 1787?
Other issues were soon settled over federal authority vs. state sovereignty
in anticipation of winning the favor of the individual states (who would
eventually have to ratify any Constitution). An independent "national"
supreme court would be established, but the new Congress would be left to
decide whether lower federal courts should be established within the
states. Qualifications for voting were left to be decided by the states. And
the President would be selected by an electoral collegeLinks to an external
site.that would consist of delegates chosen on a state-by-state basis.

C. The Debate Over Slavery

1. Compromise

But the issue of slavery had the potential to derail the entire convention.
For this reason, none of the delegates proposed its abolition - but even
restricting the African slave trade was too much for some Southern States.
Thus delegates agreed that Congress would not be allowed to restrict slave
imports for at least 20 years. In order to maintain the unity of the
convention, delegates decided to treat slavery as a political rather than a
moral issue. Slave owners would be allowed to reclaim fugitive slaves who
fled to northern states, but to prevent the peculiar institution from gaining
any type of national legal status, delegates refrained from mentioning
slavery explicitly in the Constitution. Slaves, rather, are referred to as "all
other Persons."
2. 3/5th Compromise

The issue of slavery received the most acrimonious debate over taxation
and representation. Southern delegates demanded that their slaves be
counted when apportioning representation in Congress since as property
they would certainly be taxed. Northerners charged that slaves by
definition were not full or active members of the republic and therefore
should not be counted at all. Remarkably, the delegates reached a
compromise in which slaves would be counted as 3/5th of a personLinks to
an external site. for the basis of representation and taxation.

D. National Power
Despite the efforts to make states feel that they had a role in this
constitutional system through appointments to the Senate and the electoral
college, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were determined to
create a national government that was powerful and pro-creditor. All
national legislation and treaties passed by Congress would be the
"supreme" law of the land, and the national government was given the
authority to control taxation, military defense, and external commerce.
It also restricted state powers by prohibiting state governments from issuing
money or from preventing the implementation of contracts. Congress was
given authority to make all laws "necessary and proper" to implement its
powers. This of course didn't end the debate over state sovereignty vs.
federal authority. In fact, the debate was only just beginning as delegates
now sought to win approval for the new constitution.