Final answer:
The Constitutional Convention in 1787 led to the Great Compromise, creating a bicameral legislature; the Three-Fifths Compromise, determining how slaves were counted for representation and taxation; and a compromise on commerce, granting Congress power to regulate trade with limitations on taxing exports and a delay on the prohibition of slave importation.
Step-by-step explanation:
When the framers of the new United States Constitution met at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, they reached several major compromises to address the different needs and concerns of the states. Here are three significant compromises:
The Great Compromise (also known as the Connecticut Compromise) proposed a bicameral legislature, with equal representation in the Senate and representation based on population in the House of Representatives.
This compromise balanced the interests of smaller states, which feared being overpowered by larger states, with those of larger states that wanted influence proportional to their populations.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a negotiation between Northern and Southern states concerning how enslaved people would be counted for purposes of representation and taxation.
It determined that each enslaved person would be counted as three-fifths of a free individual. This calculation impacted the distribution of seats in the House of Representatives and the amount of federal taxes states would pay.
The compromise on the Trade and Commerce stated that Congress would have the power to regulate interstate and international trade, but with certain limitations.
Particularly, no tax could be placed on exports from any state, and the importation of slaves could not be prohibited before 1808, appeasing Southern states that were economically reliant on the slave trade.
These compromises helped to balance the power between the federal government and the states and between large and small states, leading to the formation of the current structure of the U.S. government.