House Of Representatives States example essay topic

It was said that, "The genius of the Constitution is found in a series of compromises which made it acceptable to so many". This statement makes perfect sense, for if the constitution did not appeal to the wide variety of people that reside the United States, it would not still be in use today. It is hard to believe a document written more than 200 years ago would still be effective in governing such a large and ever-changing country but this is only because the rights and laws issued to America's people in that document were so well constructed and agreed upon by so many back then that it could easily stand the test of time. A huge issue facing the delegates at the Convention in Philadelphia was that of political representation for the people.

This of course was a sensitive issue with the colonists as it was the this very issue that was a major cause of the conflict with Great Britain. It was already decided that the new government would be based on a system of checks and balances so as to avoid the possibility of another totalitarian ruler. They only had to decide upon individual state representation in Congress. Large states thought they should have more representation while smaller states this would be unfair to them and their voices would not be heard. They finally decided upon the Great Compromise which divided the congress into two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the Senate all states large and small would be given equal representation, while in the House of Representatives states would be awarded representatives in regard to their population.

Both large and small states were satisfied with this settlement. Another issue the delegates tackled was that of the presidency. Many feared the idea of a president because they again thought it would lead to dictatorial rule. However, to avoid this problem the president was not immune to the system of checks and balances. Furthermore, the president could also serve a term of only four years rather than life. Delegates also feared that too much democracy would lead to mob rule so instead of leaving elections entirely up to the people they assigned each state a certain number of electors who would vote on behalf of the people with respect to the popular vote.

Thus the electoral college system that still exists today was created and colonists became much more at ease with the idea of a president. An issue which especially divided the states was that of slavery. The Northern states felt that slavery should be abolished but the Southern states knew that their agriculture and economy depended upon the slave trade to exist. To settle this matter the Constitution guaranteed that the slave trade could continue for at least twenty years at which point Congress would vote on whether or not to do away with it altogether. States also felt that the slaves should count in their overall population when it came time to designate representatives. This however would be a contradictory practice because if slaves could be counted as people then they should be given the natural human rights (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) awarded to all men in the Constitution.

To solve this problem the Three-fifths Compromise was established which required all slaves to be counted but only as three-fifths of a person. These were only a few of the issues facing the founders of this country when the Constitution was written. But, despite a few minor disputes which were later resolved with Bill of Rights, the Constitution as we know it has remained relatively unchanged since the 1700's yet it still stands as the document by which we create and interpret our laws and government to this very day, which is a testimony to the intelligence and cooperation that was put into writing almost 200 years ago.