Big States vs. Small States

It was May 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and dozens of men were gathered in the State House. The windows were shut to keep their discussions a secret. Sweat trickled as tempers flared.

Delegates from 12 of the 13 states (all but Rhode Island) had come together to fix the nation’s governing document, the Articles of Confederation. The Articles gave individual states nearly all the power. The federal government, meanwhile, was too weak to pass laws or collect taxes. Some people feared the nation would splinter into 13 separate countries.

It was May 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dozens of men were gathered in the State House. The windows were shut to keep their discussions a secret. Sweat trickled down their faces. Tempers flared.

Delegates from 12 of the 13 states (all but Rhode Island) had come together. They wanted to fix the nation’s governing document. That was the Articles of Confederation. The Articles gave individual states nearly all the power. Meanwhile, the federal government was too weak to pass laws or collect taxes. Some people feared the nation would splinter into 13 separate countries.

At first, the delegates thought just updating the Articles would help. But they ended up creating a new governing document instead. Their finished product would be the U.S. Constitution. It would set up a strong federal government with three branches. A legislative branch, Congress, would make laws. An executive branch, led by the president, would implement laws. And a judicial branch, led by the Supreme Court, would settle disputes about laws.

But getting dozens of delegates to agree on that setup wasn’t easy. One of the biggest sticking points early on in the Constitutional Convention was how Americans would be represented in Congress. Delegates disagreed over how much power big states and small states should get.

Read arguments on both sides of the debate. Then turn the page to find out what happened.

^{Note: The quotes in this article are from James Madison’s Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787.}

At first, the delegates thought just updating the Articles would help. But they ended up creating a new governing document instead. Their finished product would be the U.S. Constitution. It would set up a strong federal government with three branches. A legislative branch, Congress, would make laws. An executive branch would be led by the president. That branch would implement laws. And a judicial branch would be led by the Supreme Court. That branch would settle disputes about laws.

But getting dozens of delegates to agree on that setup was not easy. One of the biggest sticking points early on in the Constitutional Convention was how Americans would be represented in Congress. Delegates disagreed over how much power big states and small states should get.

Read arguments on both sides of the debate. Then turn the page to find out what happened.

^{Note: The quotes in this article are from James Madison’s Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787.}

Delegates from the other large states supported Randolph’s plan, speaking up as the weeks passed. James Wilson of Pennsylvania emphasized that representation based on population was necessary for Congress to truly represent the American people, rather than just the states. “Different numbers of people [should have] different numbers of representatives,” he argued.

Some delegates also worried that if every state had the same voting power, small states could team up and outvote the big states. That would let a minority of the country’s population decide the laws for everyone, they warned.

Delegates from the other large states supported Randolph’s plan. They spoke up as the weeks passed. James Wilson of Pennsylvania emphasized that representation based on population was necessary for Congress to truly represent the American people, rather than just the states. “Different numbers of people [should have] different numbers of representatives,” he argued.

Some delegates also worried it would be bad if every state had the same voting power. The small states could team up and outvote the big states. That would let a minority of the country’s population decide the laws for everyone, they warned.

Another New Jersey delegate, David Brearley, agreed with Paterson. He worried that the Virginia Plan would leave people in the smallest states with almost no voice in Congress. “Virginia would have [up to] 16 votes, and Georgia but 1,” he argued.

Brearley and other delegates from small states had done the math. They knew that Virginia alone had nearly 100,000 more people than Delaware, Georgia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island combined. So even if small states were to band together to vote in unison, the larger states could still outvote them. “The large states . . . will carry everything,” Brearley predicted.

David Brearley agreed with Paterson. He was another New Jersey delegate. He worried that the Virginia Plan would leave people in the smallest states with almost no voice in Congress. “Virginia would have [up to] 16 votes, and Georgia but 1,” he argued.

Brearley and other delegates from small states had done the math. They knew that Virginia alone had nearly 100,000 more people than Delaware, Georgia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island combined. So it wouldn’t matter if the small states were to band together to vote in unison. The larger states could still outvote them. “The large states . . . will carry everything,” Brearley predicted.

That’s when two delegates from Connecticut—Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth—came up with a new idea. Known as the Connecticut Compromise or Great Compromise, it found a way to give both sides the representation they wanted. Congress would be made up of two chambers, like the Virginia Plan had called for. The makeup of the first chamber, the House of Representatives, would be based on state population. Representation in the second chamber, the Senate, would be equal for every state.

On July 16, after two weeks of further debate and hammering out details beyond the legislative branch, the delegates voted again. The Connecticut Compromise passed by just one vote.

Over the next two months, the delegates worked out the rest of the government setup. And, after being approved by voters in nine states, the Constitution officially became the law of the land on March 4, 1789—for all states, big and small.

That is when two delegates from Connecticut came up with a new idea. They were Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth. Their plan was known as the Connecticut Compromise or Great Compromise. It found a way to give both sides the representation they wanted. Congress would be made up of two chambers, like the Virginia Plan had called for. The first chamber would be the House of Representatives. Its makeup would be based on state population. The second chamber would be the Senate. Representation there would be equal for every state.

There were two more weeks of debate and hammering out details beyond the legislative branch. Then on July 16, the delegates voted again. The Connecticut Compromise passed by just one vote.

Over the next two months, the delegates worked out the rest of the government setup. The Constitution was approved by voters in nine states. And it officially became the law of the land on March 4, 1789—for all states, big and small.