The Impact of Compromises on the Constitution Essay Sample

During the American Revolution, the United States were in need of a new, functioning governmental system as it would be necessary if they ever wanted to stand a chance against the global superpower that was Great Britain. To meet this need, the Articles of Confederation were established. Although this system proved successful in the short term and helped the United States to gain independence, it was clear that if this system was left unsubstituted in the long term, it would bring about the destruction of the new nation. Fortunately, the founding fathers acted with haste and began the construction of a new document that they would call the Constitution. However, they were immediately met with a monstrous problem. They realized that the Articles of Confederation had divided the country across many spectrums. Whether it be Anti-federalists against Federalists, northern states against southern states, business against agriculture, the country was just far too disunified. The necessity of numerous compromises between opposing sides was undoubtedly apparent and the three that had the greatest impact on the Constitution and the country as a whole were the great compromise, the three-fifths compromise, and the addition of the bill of rights.

The great compromise determined how voting would function depending on a state's population. Under the Articles of Confederation, each state was given one vote, regardless of population. However, larger states like Virginia and North Carolina disliked this concept. They had a much larger population than states like Rhode Island and thus believed that their vote should count as more. Smaller states wanted an equal vote per state while larger states demanded voting based on population. Ultimately, a solution was reached when Roger Sherman developed a plan that enticed both sides of the debate. He proposed a two-house legislature (Congress) that would allow equal representation in one house (Senate) and representation based on population in the other (House of Representatives). This plan was quickly adopted and to this day still exists in our legislative branch.

Another compromise that was necessary for the Constitution to have any chance at success was the three-fifths compromise. This compromise determined how slaves would be counted towards the population of a state. Southern states relied on agriculture, farming, and slavery as the backbone of their economy. Because of this, the concentration of slaves in southern states was much higher than that in northern states who put a greater emphasis on education and business. Southern states asserted that slaves should be counted towards the total population while northern states argued the contrary. States like Rhode Island were already at a disadvantage due to their low population and knew that the addition of slaves to each state's population would only worsen their situation and leave them with virtually no influence in The House of Representatives. Eventually, the two sides came to the conclusion that for every five slaves in a state, only three would count towards the population. This was a small yet crucial step in the fight against racism and slavery and in the grand scheme of things, increased the rights of African Americans. 

Finally, potentially the most important compromise of them all, was the addition of the bill of rights to the Constitution. The Constitution had already shown that it would create a stronger and more influential national government and this worried the Anti-Federalists. They believed that a strong central government would leave citizens with fewer freedoms and put the country at a greater risk of turning into a tyranny or other form of totalitarianism. They demanded that if this stronger federal government was to be set in place, a bill of rights would be necessary to ensure that the removal of certain citizen freedoms was impossible. The Federalists agreed and the first ten amendments were added to the constitution. These ten amendments remain a part of the Constitution today and in a way, resemble how the United States is a democracy in which the safety, wellness, and livelihood of the people come before all else. 

To conclude, many compromises were agreed upon in order for the constitution to be enacted and it is these compromises that paved the road for the future of the nation’s governmental body.