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What key disagreements emerged during the drafting of the Constitution? How were these issues resolved?

User Elad Katz
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The key disagreements during drafting the Constitution was freedom and strong, consolidated government; representation of the small and large states; and representation of slaves. The "Anti-Federalists" argued that a strong government would gradually become oppressive. The "Federalists", in contrast, argued that governmental powers come from the people, the government would control itself by checks and balances, and the government regulated and protected the people. Two plans were presented, The Virginia Plan and The New Jersey Plan, regarding representations of small and large states. The Virginia Plan called for a bicameral (two-chambered) legislature and a representation of the states based on the population. While, the New Jersey Plan called for a unicameral (one-chambered) legislature and an equal representation of the states (small or large states). Lastly, the debate on whether to represent slaves or not was solved by the Three-Fifths Compromise, which declared that three-fifths of the slaves would be represented in the House of Representatives.

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User Jaquay
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Key disagreements during the discussion of the Constitution were the debate on whether slavery should be abolished and if a new branch of government was needed. The major debates were over representation in Congress, the powers of the president, how to elect the president (Electoral College), slave trade, and a bill of rights. The country had three major disagreements that gave divisions to their beliefs: Liberty versus strong government, small states versus large states, and slavery. There were people who wanted to preserve the philosophy of individual liberty that animated the Revolution and those who believed that a more vigorous national government was necessary. Two major plans were presented at the Constitutional Convention, firstly the Virginia plan that called for a strong legislature apportioned by population and a bicameral legislature with upper chamber elected by lower chamber. This Gave advantage to large states at expense of small states. The second proposed plan was the New Jersey Plan that the small states proposed. It would have a plural executive, legislature based on equal representation by states, and it was closer in structure to the Articles of Confederation than the Constitution that was eventually ratified. To solve the differences the Congress took pieces of both plans and mixed them into one cresting the Connecticut Compromise. It had a bicameral Legislature, with the lower house based on population with each state having one representative and an upper house based with at least one representative from each state, slaves counting as 3/5 a person toward representation of slave states, and a unitary executive. The major feature of developing a strong national government enabled it to overcome collective dilemmas among the states and the people; however, it was exactly what the founding fathers didn't want, a constitutional system with limited popular control because fear of democracy would lead to poor government and mob rule.

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User Hwsw
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