The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, established a bicameral legislature in the United States during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It resolved the dispute between large and small states over representation in Congress by creating two chambers:
- The House of Representatives, where representation is based on a state's population, giving larger states more representatives.
- The Senate, where each state has equal representation with two senators, regardless of population size.
This dual system balanced the interests of both large and small states, allowing the Constitutional Convention to move forward and ultimately leading to the structure of the U.S. Congress as it exists today
. Additionally, the compromise included the agreement to count enslaved individuals as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation and taxation, known as the Three-Fifths Compromise, which addressed contentious debates between Northern and Southern states
. The Great Compromise was adopted on July 16, 1787, and it laid the foundation for legislative power distribution that promotes federalism, separation of powers, and safeguards liberty by requiring laws to pass through both houses, ensuring thorough debate and representation of diverse interests
