Question

Pennsylvania is made up of 46,055 square miles and has a population of 434,000. Few of the people living in Pennsylvania are slaves. The delegates from Pennsylvania believe the new Constitution should establish a lawmaking body (legislature) with two houses: A House of Representatives and a Senate. Representation in both houses should be based on population. The states with more population should have greater representation in both houses. Pennsylvania argues that the new government must be strong and unified. Individual states should not be able to disrupt national plans. The good of all must come before the good of one. With such a large population any decisions made nationally will have a huge impact on Pennsylvania so she deserves to have a larger say. The people in Pennsylvania want to prohibit the importation of slaves. They believe it is immoral and denies the principles of liberty for which the new country stands. Slaves should be not counted for the purpose of determining representation the legislature. Slavery is immoral and if our new nation is to stand for freedom we must be rid of this awful practice. Finally, the power of the executive should be placed in one person. A single person would feel the greatest responsibility to office. It would also be easier to control his power and to make sure he is honest. The executive would be responsible for the officers that he appoints. Pennsylvania would offer her great city of Philadelphia as the capital of this great nation and home to the new government. Pennsylvania MTT Icons:! interesting + important ? I don’t get it = Reminds me of : ) Like : ( Don’t like 1. What does your state think about how representation in the new government should be determined?

Answer 1

Pennsylvania favored a legislature where representation was based on population and supported a bicameral system. They also wanted executive power to be held by one individual and opposed the counting of slaves for representation, reflecting the state's stance against slavery.

Step-by-step explanation:

Pennsylvania's perspective on the representation in the new government's legislature held that it should be based on population. This stance was reflected in their own state constitution, which provided for representation based on the number of taxable residents and called for reapportionment through a census every seven years. Pennsylvania, being one of the larger states, supported a bicameral legislature consistent with the Virginia Plan, ensuring that states with more population, like itself, would have greater representation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This would contrast with the desires of smaller states that wanted equal representation regardless of size, aligning more with the New Jersey Plan. Pennsylvania also regarded the executive power as something that should be vested in a single individual to ensure responsibility and ease of oversight. Furthermore, reflective of the sentiment toward slavery, Pennsylvania was among those who wanted to prohibit the importation of slaves and did not want slaves to be counted for representation in the legislature, underscoring the belief in the principles of liberty and moral concerns about slavery.