In 1787, states sent representatives to Philadelphia to revise the "Articles of Confederation". But realizing it couldn't be salvaged, they agreed to create the "Constitution".
Compromises ensued, including the structure of the new government. One plan, the "Virginia Plan", proposed "three" branches: executive, judicial, and legislative. The legislative branch, with "two" houses, would allocate representatives based on state population. The "New Jersey Plan" called for a government with a similar structure but for a "one"-house Legislative branch with each state having equal representation, regardless of their population.
Roger Sherman's compromise, the Connecticut Compromise, which is now known as the "Great Compromise" established the current government structure with three branches. It created a 3-branch government: an "executive" branch headed by a President, a federal judiciary with a Supreme Court of the country, and a 2-house Congress: one based on "population" (House of Representatives).
Articles of Confederation: This is the document that established the first national government of the United States, but it had many flaws and proved to be ineffective.
Constitution of the United States: This is the document that replaced the Articles of Confederation and created the current form of the U.S. government.
Virginia Plan: This plan, proposed by James Madison and Edmund Randolph, called for a strong central government with three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The legislative branch would be bicameral, with representation in each house based on population.
New Jersey Plan: This plan, proposed by William Paterson, called for a weaker central government with a unicameral legislature in which each state had equal representation, regardless of population.
Great Compromise: Roger Sherman's proposed solution that combined elements of both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans. It created a bicameral legislature with one house based on population (House of Representatives) and one house with equal representation for each state (Senate).
Executive: The branch of the government led by the President, who is responsible for carrying out the laws.
Representation: This refers to the way that people are represented in the government, in this case, through elected officials in the House of Representatives and Senators.
The complete question is:
Complete the blanks:
In 1787, states sent representatives to Philadelphia to revise the _____. But after the representatives arrived, they realized the Articles could not be saved, so they agreed to completely change the national government. What resulted was the creation of the ______. There were a number of compromises that had to be made before the new government could be created. One of these was regarding how would the new government would be structured. One plan for this was known as the ______: the government would consist of _______ branches: executive, judicial, and legislative. The Legislative branch- would consist of _______ houses, and each state would get representatives based on their population. An opposing plan was proposed by states with smaller populations. The _______ called for government with a similar structure, but for a ________-house Legislative branch with each state having equal representation, regardless of their population. But Roger Sherman from Connecticut offered a compromise, a plan which is now known as the _______- sometimes called the "Connecticut" Compromise. It turned out that it created the very government we have to this day. It created a 3-branch government: an _______ branch headed by a President, a federal judiciary- with a Supreme Court of the country- and a 2-house Congress: 1 based on _________ (House of Representatives) and 1 in which each state, regardless of their population, would receive equal representation]] (the Senate). This is a great example of that very important word: compromise: both sides got some of what they wanted, but gave up a little something to get it.