nd the leadership.(Bomer 3)
The two main arguments of how to elect the president that faced the new country were described in the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. Proponents of the Virginia Plan wanted to allow each state, according to its population, a proportionate number of representatives. Smaller states did not like this, for they felt they would be left out of congressional decisions. The New Jersey Plan wanted each state to have the same amount of representatives regardless of their population. Larger states did not think this a fair deal. Why should smaller states get as much representation as larger states? Smaller states had fewer people and less land area to look out for. The forefathers needed to come up with a solution which would be acceptable to all.
The Great Compromise of 1787 satisfied both sides, accomplishing a settlement that would become an American law that the people could trust and depend on. The government would be divided into two sections, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate would have two senators to represent each state while the House of Representatives would have one representative for every thirty-thousand people in that state. Each state would be allowed at least one representative if their population is under thirty-thousand. James Madison was the creator of this Connecticut Compromise, and both sides were extremely pleased with this solution. Therefore, it was called the Great Compromise. On September 17, 1787 the Constitution of the United States was signed. This constitutional law is what we have been using ever since, and it has served us well. (Ashbaugh, Grussendorf, Lowman, 115)
What we know today as the electoral college came out of the Great Compromise. Voters directly elect candidates to be their states electors. Each state has an elector for each of its senators as well as for each of its representatives. Using Minnesota as an example, we h...