The Connecticut Compromise

After Britain’s 1781 surrender at Yorktown, by 1786, it became increasingly apparent that the Articles of Confederation would prove insufficient to govern a young nation. In response, on May 25th, 1787, delegates representing every state except Rhode Island convened at Philadelphia, crafting a government model of checks and balances that nearly derailed over the issue of equal representation.

Disparities in State Populations

At issue were disparities in state populations, prompting high population states to argue that representation in Congress should be proportional to a state’s population, while smaller states with lower populations demanded equal representation in Congress. Known alternatively as the Great Compromise of 1787 or the Sherman Compromise, the Connecticut Compromise was first proposed by Connecticut

Bicameral Legislation

delegates Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth, which when agreed upon established two bicameral legislatures in Congress, with the number of members elected to the House of Representatives based on a state’s total population, while members of the Senate insured equal representation in all states by electing two senators per state, regardless of a given state’s population. The original plan obliged state legislatures to choose their senators, while the 1913 Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution handed senatorial election power to the people.

Narrow Margin Approval

Approved by a narrow margin on July 23rd, 1787, as the United States grew in population and demographics over the coming years, however, the Connecticut Compromise inadvertently handed states with smaller populations a disproportionately larger voice in Congress, giving least populated states like Wyoming an advantage over much larger states like California, which touts a population some 68 times greater than Wyoming’s, allowing smaller states to capture disproportionate attention and federal funding, such as hog farming in Iowa or mining interests in West Virginia.

Departure from Founding Father’s Intent

It also has drifted from the founding father’s original thinking within the electoral college used in the election of presidents, since the number of electoral votes designated to a state is based on a state’s combined number of congressmen in both chambers of Congress, lending further power bias to smaller states over larger ones. Despite these disparities of power, the Great Compromise remains protected by Article V of the Constitution, which maintains that no state can lose its equal representation in the Senate without that state’s permission, making the Connecticut Compromise, an unequal yet lasting part of constitutional law.