The statement that the constitution of the United States of America is a bundle of compromises is in fact very accurate. Fifty-five delegates met at the constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787. The delegates were charged with the task of amending the Articles of Confederation. However, they quickly decided to do away with the Articles and write a new constitution. Because the delegates came from all parts of the country, every state but Rhode Island was represented, they differed on a number of key issues. In order to keep the convention going and ensure ratification of the Constitution, the delegates had to compromise a number of times. As a result, the finished product is sometimes described as a "bundle of compromises. .
One of the compromises dealt with was the issue of representation among the states. The larger states wanted the number of representatives to be based upon the population, while the smaller states wanted each state to have the same amount of representatives. The end result was a bicameral legislative body. The number of representatives from each state in the House is based upon each states population, while each state has two members in the senate, regardless of size. This is known as the Great Compromise. Another compromise that was made is known as the 3/5 Compromise. The southern states wanted slaves to count when determining representation but not to count slaves when determining taxes. Northern states wanted slaves to count for taxation but not for representation. The delegates dealt with the issue by decreeing that each slave will count as 3/5 of a person when determining both taxation and representation. Another issue that had to be resolved was tariffs placed on trade. The southern states were against tariffs since their economy was primarily based on trade with other states. The northerners wanted tariffs to protect their businesses from foreign competition.
