The Connecticut Compromise was proposed, in 1787, as a solution to a disagreement between the larger and smaller states as to how representation should be appropriated in the newly formed United States. The smaller states desired that representation should be equal for all states, regardless of population size. The larger states desired that representation should be proportional to population. As a compromise the Union enacted a bicameral legislature whereby the lower house (House of Representatives) was to have proportional representation and the upper house (Senate) was to have equal representation for all states. The agreement persists to this day.

The Mayflower Compact was signed by some of the original settlers of the Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, in 1620. Having been bound for Virginia, their ship was forced to change direction by a violent storm, ending up in Massachusetts. The Pilgrims took this as a sign from God that this place was where they were to make their new community. They signed the Mayflower Compact shortly after arriving and dictated that the government of this new territory would adhere to majority rule of the members of the church (despite the fact that slightly less than half of the people on board were Pilgrims). In order to vote, an individual needed to be white and male, own land, and be a recognized member of the church community.

At the Constitutional Convention, the Northern and Southern states could not decide on how to account for the slave populations when considering how Congressional representatives should be divided. The North favored a system where slaves did not count at all, conversely the South favored a system where each slave was equivalent to one free man. In an attempt at compromise, the Convention passed the Three-Fifths Compromise - which stated that, for the purposes of representation, a slave was to be equal to three-fifths of a free man.

The Anti-Federalists opposed ratification of the Constitution on a number of issues that centered on the fear that the power of the Federal government had been increased too heavily, at the expense of the States, and would lead the power of the centralized government to keep growing and growing. Further, to the point of preventing a possible rise of tyranny the Anti-Federalist demanded that prior to ratification the Constitution have included a Bill of Rights that would forever codify into law the individual freedoms and liberties of all Americans. The central argument of the Anti-Federalists was that, as written, the Constitution did not do enough to prevent the possibility of an autocratic President, or Congress, gaining power and using it to subjugate the people.

Parliament’s insistence that virtual representation was sufficient to adequately represent the interests of the colonists in British policy making was a major ideological problem for the colonies. Virtual representation rested on the theory that since Parliament protected the interests of all British citizens and subjects, it was not necessary for colonists to directly elect representatives. Colonists, on the other hand, believed that such a policy meant their interests were second to those of the actual electorate and, in the years leading up to revolution, demanded fair and equal representation.

The British government, and Prime Minister George Greenville, issued the Stamp Act to help raise revenue for the indebted Crown. Although many in British society felt that the colonists owed a debt to the British public for protecting them during the French-Indian wars, and many in the colonies felt that this was meant as a demonstration of the Crown’s ultimate dominion the primary reason was simple “dollars and cents”. The government needed more money and was willing to incur the colonists’ wrath in order to get it. The Stamp Act was passed in 1765 and required colonists to purchase heavily taxed stamps for all post and newspapers. The passage of the Act promoted widespread indignation and some protests in the colonies.

Here the information on George Washington is correct. He strongly supported Alexander Hamilton in his creation of a national government and national bank.

Thomas Jefferson rejected the divinity of Jesus Christ and the Bible, and argued for laws to protect religious freedom.

Benjamin Franklin did not write the Federalist Papers, which were written by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton.

Alexander Hamilton did believe the federal government should assume the war debts of the states, and as secretary of the Treasury pushed Congress to form a national bank for this purpose.

Finally, James Madison did not believe the US should have a standing army. In fact, he feared that the United States would become an oppressive government if such a thing happened.

The New Jersey Plan was one of two plans put forward at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The other was the Virginia plan. The Virginia plan called for two houses of Congress, both elected with proportional representation. This plan would place the majority of influence in the hands of the more populated states. The New Jersey Plan was an attempt by the smaller states to counter this proposal. It argued that representation should be left how it had been under the Articles of Confederation—namely that each state, regardless of size, get an equal share of representation. The controversy was eventually solved by the Great Compromise, which created a bicameral legislature. The upper house was to follow the New Jersey Plan, the lower house the Virginia Plan.

In order to answer this question, you must have remembered the meaning of virtual representation—the belief held by Grenville and others in the British political elite that the members of parliament accurately represented all citizens of the Empire, regardless of their actual physical representation (or lack thereof). This, of course, was one of the biggest matters of disagreement in between the Brits and colonists: the colonists disagreed with the so-called virtual representation—the colonists believed that the only fair representation would be actual, physical, representation in Parliament (hence “no taxation without representation”).

The Virginia Plan was written by James Madison, a Virginia farmowner himself. In it, a lot of the legislative power was give to the southern, farming states. This was done through population based apportionment, the southern states where larger both in size and population, so they would very easily control Congress.

In response, William Patterson penned the New Jersey Plan, in which each state got a single vote in Congress.

These plans were resolved by the Great Compromise penned by Roger Sherman. The Great Compromise, or Connecticut Plan, called for a bicameral legislature with a population based House of Representatives, and a Senate in which each state had equal representation.