At the Convention, the delegates were deeply divided over the best method of structuring and according representation in the newly-created Congress. Delegates from small states (such as New Jersey or Rhode Island) advocated for the New Jersey Plan, which would have given each state an equal number of Congressional representatives, regardless of population. Quite naturally, larger states objected to this plan; they urged adoption of the Virginia Plan instead, which based representation on each individual state’s population. In the end, the Convention settled on the so-called Connecticut Compromise, combining elements from both the New Jersey and Virginia Plans. Under the Connecticut Compromise, Congress was comprised of two sections, each based on different methods of representation: the membership of the House of Representatives was determined by each state’s population, while each state, regardless of size, would each be granted two Senators. However, the issue of how to count enslaved individuals, who were concentrated in the larger Southern states, soon arose. This matter was decided by the Three-Fifths Compromise, which stated that representation and taxation both were determined by each state’s free residents, as well as three-fifths of the state’s total enslaved population. The Three-Fifths Compromise did not directly make mention of slaves – to avoid conflict among the delegates, the Compromise instead referred to slaves as “other persons,” but the true meaning of this phrase was glaringly obvious.

When first assembled in 1787, the Constitutional Convention had a plan for the new government issued by delegate Edmund Randolph of Virginia. The Virginia Plan, which advocated a multi-tiered legislature based on total population, became the framework for all subsequent debates at the Convention. The Virginia Plan was countered by the New Jersey Plan, which advocated for all states to have equal representation, leading to the compromise of a lower house based on population and an upper house with each state having equal representation.

The famous words "We, the People" decorate the top of the Constitution, the formal document drawn up by the representatives of the first 13 states following the American Revolution.

This is another trick question. Honestly, this is a very tricky question, although you hopefully picked “The Philadelphia Convention” as the WRONG answer. Yes, the wrong answer. The Philadelphia Convention, ostensibly, was NOT to get rid of the Articles of Confederation; it was, on the face of things, to AMEND the Articles.

Now, one of the delegates in particular (James Madison) hoped for an incredibly drastic change culminating in the destruction of the Articles of Confederation. And, arguably, since he ended up as one of the chief architects of the Constitution, it is fair to say that he got his wish.

At any rate, Madison (and perhaps one or two others) were alone in their machinations. The majority of the other delegates attended the Convention under the impression that they were to amend the Articles and fix some of the more egregious problems. This, of course, changed fairly quickly, but the original purpose of the Convention was to amend, not destroy.

This is a straightforward question. The Constitution is conspicuously silent about political parties. In fact, the Founders regarded political parties as particularly vulgar and inappropriate. We see hints of this throughout the Constitution itself, along with George Washington’s farewell speech.

The (original, un-amended) Constitution does not mention political parties; indeed, it’s likely that the Framers didn’t even consider their existence. Prior to the ratification of the 12th amendment, for example, the President was elected by receiving the highest number of votes in the Electoral College; the Vice-President, however, was elected by receiving the SECOND-highest number of votes in the Electoral College (this is a bit simplified, but still true).

When political parties began emerging, you can imagine how many problems this caused (generally it would be the President from one party, and the VP from the opposing party).

George Washington actually warned about the dangers of political parties during his farewell speech (the speech he gave when retiring from office).

In the early years of the American republic, many Founders believed that only white male property owners were qualified to vote. Blacks were considered slaves and denied the right to vote. Women were not given the right to vote until the 1920s.

After the U.S. became an independent nation, it drafted the Articles of Confederation as a general guideline for the colonies to run their new country. However, because the colonies had just gained freedom from a tyrannical, oppressive government, they shied away from creating a strong national government. Thus, the Articles were weak. After Shays' rebellion (an armed uprising), they knew that the Articles had to be reformed if their nation were to survive. So, they decided to form a written Constitution at the Constitutional Convention.

At the Constitutional Convention, there were disagreements on how the Legislative Branch should be established. The big states, like New York and Virginia, favored a directly proportional representation structure based on the population of each state—this plan was called the Virginia Plan; whereas smaller states, like New Jersey, favored a system whereby each state would have equal representation in Congress regardless of the size of it’s population. This disagreement was remedied through the Connecticut Compromise, which established a bicameral legislature with a lower and upper house. This created a House of Representatives based on the population of each state, and a Senate, where each state has equal membership, regardless of population size. Additionally, the Framers could not agree on how to count slaves for the purposes of representation. New York, a free state, would have favored not counting slaves as citizens for purposes of representation in order to limit the ability of the South to affect government policy. This issue was remedied by the Three-fifths Compromise, which stated that each slave counted for three-fifths of a person for the sake of representation.

Virginia as one of the most populous stats at the time proposed that both houses of congress, representation would be based on population. New Jersey proposed equal representation. Connecticut proposed one house based on population and another on equality. Ohio wasn't a state yet, and Rhode Island did not send delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

The Articles of Confederation was a loose assemblage of the thirteen different states of the newly independent United States of America. With one representative from each state in Congress and few enforcement mechanisms, states were completely free to ignore federal laws regarding taxation, trade, or raising of armies. The 1787 Constitutional Convention was held to fix many of these issues, especially in light of events like Shays' Rebellion and financial crises.