The Constitution was, as one commentator put it, “a set of compromises” aimed at addressing specific needs and correcting the shortcomings that have emerged in the statutes of Confederation. Compromise was needed at each point and, in some cases, resulted in unanticipated results. But the Constitution has succeeded beyond the hopes of its most fervent supporters. As Benjamin Rush wrote after a party in Philadelphia: “`Tis done. We have become a nation. In the end, what was in the Constitution was a modified form of the plan, not least because the big states did not like it. In committee, Benjamin Franklin changed Sherman`s proposal to make it more acceptable to larger states. He added that the receipt bills come from the house. After six weeks of turmoil, North Carolina changed its vote to equal representation by state, Massachusetts abstained and a compromise called “Great Compromise” was found. In the “Great Compromise,” each state formerly known as New Jersey was represented in one House of Congress and proportional representation, formerly known as Plan Virginia, in the other. As it was considered more responsive to the majority mood, the House of Representatives was given the power to enact all federal budget and revenue/tax laws, in accordance with the original clause. The problem was referred to a commission made up of a delegate from each state in order to reach a compromise. On 5 July, the Committee presented its report, which became the basis for the “great compromise” of the Convention. The report recommended that each state have the same voice in the House of Lords, and in the House of Commons, each state should have one representative for every 40,000 inhabitants,[5] slaves are three-fifths of one inhabitant[5] and that the silver bills should come from the House of Commons (not subject to an amendment by the upper chamber).
. . . It would be just as anomalous to refer to the people the choice of a character appropriate to the Chief Justice as it would be to refer an attempt at colour to a blind person. The scale of the country makes it impossible for the people to have the capacity to assess the candidates` demands. As he awaited the official start of The Congress, James Madison sketched out his first draft, known as the “Virginia Plan,” which reflected his views as a strong nationalist. When the rest of the delegation arrived in Virginia, most of the delegation had arrived from Pennsylvania. Delegates agreed with Madison that the executive branch must be independent of the legislative branch.
