The Three Great Compromises



     The United States of America was founded on the basis of
compromise, but what does compromise really mean?  According to
the Webster's New World Dictionary compromise means "an adjustment
of opposing principles". Political systems use compromises in
daily life.  The Three Great Compromises that occurred early in
this nation's government were the Connecticut Compromise, the 3/5
Compromise, and finally the Commerce & Slave Trade Compromise.
Were it not for these compromises the United States could still be
governed under the Articles of Conferderation.
     The Connecticut Compromise was the most important compromise
in the history of the U.S. government. The representatives from
each state were going to change the government totally, from
powerful state governments to a powerful central government, which
they vowed not to do when they declared independence from England.
Rhode Island was so disgusted with the idea of changing the
government that they did not even come to the meeting.  Finally
after all the debating and each state getting their say, they
"compromised" on a plan where they would have two governmental
houses, one being the House of Representatives and the second
being the Senate, with the Senate being the stronger of the two
houses.  The House of Representatives was based on each state's
population, that is the more people in the state the more
representatives that state would get.  The Senate said that
regardless of the state's population each state would get two
representatives all with equal say.
     The 3/5 Compromise was mainly about slaves.  The issue in
this compromise was should slaves be counted for determining
representation for each state?  The North did not want them to be
counted because they were considered possessions, not citizens,
and that meant less representation for them.  The South, on the
other hand, wanted them to be counted because that meant that they
could pass laws more beneficial to the South since they would have
more representation.  So they "compromised" and said that each
slave counted 3/5 of a person.
     The final compromise was the Commerce & Slave Trade
Compromise.  The issue here was should Congress be able to
regulate trade and should the United States continue with slave
trading?  The North felt that Congress should control trade and
put an end to slave trading.  The South was fearful of Northern
jealousy of Southern agriculture trade with England, and the South
was also wary of Congress regulating trade.  The South also wished
to trade slaves indefinitely.  The compromise was that Congress
would control trade (fairly) and the South would trade slaves for
20 more years.
     The three great compromises in our the history of the United
States were critical to the success of the Constitution.  The 3/5
Compromise, the Connecticut Compromise, and the Commerce & Slave
Trade Compromise demonstrated that the Founding Fathers could
reach a middle ground.  These were much needed compromises, but
were they effective for long term political harmony?  And can
Congress and the President ever compromise on a budget today?