Why was representation in Congress a big deal for states?

Why was representation in Congress a big deal for states?

Larger states wanted congressional representation based on population, while smaller states wanted equal representation. They met in the middle. Larger states wanted congressional representation based on population, while smaller states wanted equal representation.

What was the role of representation in the Constitution?

The Constitution provides for proportional representation in the U.S. House of Representatives and the seats in the House are apportioned based on state population according to the constitutionally mandated Census.

Why was the system of representation created?

During the summer of 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia established equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives. Small-state delegates hoped to protect states’ rights within a confederate system of government.

Why was representation an issue at the Constitutional Convention?

One of the major compromises in the Constitutional Convention was between the small states and big states. The small states wanted each state to have the same number of representatives in Congress. The big states wanted representation based on population. This compromise has worked for more than 200 years.

How was representation in Congress determined?

To balance the interests of both the small and large states, the Framers of the Constitution divided the power of Congress between the two houses. Every state has an equal voice in the Senate, while representation in the House of Representatives is based on the size of each state’s population.

What is the representation issue?

Representation by population is a political system in which seats in a legislature are allocated on the basis of population. Representation by population was a deeply divisive issue among politicians in the Province of Canada (1841–67).

Why was the question of representation such an important issue to the delegates at the Constitutional Convention of 1787?

One of the major compromises in the Constitutional Convention was between the small states and big states. The small states wanted each state to have the same number of representatives in Congress. The big states wanted representation based on population.

How was each state represented at the Constitutional Convention?

The Articles of Confederation under which the United States operated from 1781 to 1787 provided that each state would be represented by one vote in Congress. When changes were being discussed for how states should be represented during the creation of a new Constitution, two plans were pushed forward.

What was one of the compromises of the Constitutional Convention?

Great Compromise The signing of the U.S. Constitution in the State House in Philadelphia. The Commerce Compromise was one of the key compromises of the Constitutional Convention. George Washington, the first president of the United States.

What did the Constitutional Convention of 1787 do?

Although some regard it as America’s first “federal” constitution, in fact, it gave so few powers to the central American government that it was more like a treaty among the thirteen independent states than a constitution for a new nation.

What was the solution to the question of representation?

The question was finally resolved by the Connecticut Compromise, which resulted in a system of representation that would be “partly national, partly federal,” involving a combination of the two kinds of representation. This lesson will focus on the various plans for representation debated during the Constitutional Convention of 1787.