Which compromise settled representation issues by creating a bicameral Congress with proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate?

Which compromise settled representation issues by creating a bicameral Congress with proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate?

• A. The Great Compromise
• B. The Three-Fifths Compromise
• C. The New Jersey Plan
• D. The Virginia Plan

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is how the framers balanced representation by creating a two-house Congress that combines both proportional and equal representation. In this system, the House of Representatives would be based on population, giving larger states more seats, while the Senate would grant two senators to every state, ensuring equal voice for small and large states. This arrangement, the Great Compromise (also called the Connecticut Compromise), emerged at the 1787 Constitutional Convention as a middle ground between the Virginia Plan, which favored proportional representation, and the New Jersey Plan, which favored equal representation for states. It allowed both concepts to be part of the new government: proportional representation in the House to reflect population, and equal representation in the Senate to protect state sovereignty. The other proposals addressed different issues—counting enslaved people for representation and taxation (Three-Fifths Compromise), or proposing a unicameral legislature with equal state representation (New Jersey Plan), or a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in both houses (Virginia Plan).

The main idea being tested is how the framers balanced representation by creating a two-house Congress that combines both proportional and equal representation. In this system, the House of Representatives would be based on population, giving larger states more seats, while the Senate would grant two senators to every state, ensuring equal voice for small and large states. This arrangement, the Great Compromise (also called the Connecticut Compromise), emerged at the 1787 Constitutional Convention as a middle ground between the Virginia Plan, which favored proportional representation, and the New Jersey Plan, which favored equal representation for states. It allowed both concepts to be part of the new government: proportional representation in the House to reflect population, and equal representation in the Senate to protect state sovereignty. The other proposals addressed different issues—counting enslaved people for representation and taxation (Three-Fifths Compromise), or proposing a unicameral legislature with equal state representation (New Jersey Plan), or a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in both houses (Virginia Plan).