The Great Compromise of 1787 also known as the Connecticut Compromise or Sherman’s Compromise, this compromise was mainly a mutual agreement which was reached between large and small states in the course of the Constitutional Convention in July 1787. If you are looking for a concrete the great compromise of 1787 definition, it will be slightly hard to find. This agreement defined and mentioned in part, the legislative structure and representation each state would get as per the US constitution. Most significantly, the agreement put across the idea of a bicameral legislature, which would later lead to the formation of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Roger Sherman along with Oliver Ellsworth, from the Connecticut delegation, came up with a compromise for a two-house legislature, with a lower and upper house.

Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation, ratified several months before the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781, provided for a loose confederation of U.S. states, which were sovereign in most of their affairs.

On paper, Congress–the central authority–had the power to govern foreign affairs, conduct war, and regulate currency, but in practice, these powers were sharply limited because Congress was given no authority to enforce its requests to the states for money or troops.

On May 25, 1787, delegates representing every state except Rhode Island convened at Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania State House for the Constitutional Convention. The building, which is now known as Independence Hall, had earlier seen the drafting of the Declaration and the signing of the Articles of Confederation.

On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was signed. As dictated by Article VII, the document would not become binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 states. Beginning on December 7, five states–Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut–ratified it in quick succession.

However, other states, especially Massachusetts, opposed the document, as it failed to reserve undelegated powers to the states and lacked the constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press.

Following the Great Compromise of 1787, a census was done in 1790, which mentioned the population of the USA to be 4 million. The house membership as of now, which is 435, was set in 1911 by the US Congress. That’s it! This was all about the Great Compromise. This is where I sign off!!