They were to be revised
in such a manner as to give Congress the power to regulate commerce, to
raise revenue, and to coerce the States. The Small-State party insisted
that the Virginia plan, if adopted, would destroy the sovereignty of the
States. They would rather, they said, submit to a foreign power than be
deprived of equality of suffrage in both branches of the legislature.
Madison, Wilson, King, and other leaders of the Large-State party
declared that the basis for the new government was to be the people and
not the States; that it would be unfair to give Delaware as many
representatives as Virginia or Pennsylvania. After many days of
fruitless debate, a compromise, sometimes called the "First Great
Compromise," was presented and finally adopted. This provided that the
House of Representatives should be composed of members elected on the
basis of population. In the Senate, large and small States were to be
equally represented.
The Slavery Problem; Second Compromise.--How was the number of the
representatives to be found? Were slaves to be counted a part of the
population? A heated debate arose over these questions.
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