The Great Compromise of 1787

The Great Compromise of 1787, also known as the Sherman Compromise, was an agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 between delegates of the states with large and small populations that defined the structure of Congress and the number of representatives each state would have in Congress according to the United States Constitution. Under the agreement proposed by Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman, Congress would be a â€Å"bicameral† or two-chambered body, with each state getting a number of representatives in the lower chamber (the House) proportional to its population and two representatives in the upper chamber (the Senate). Key Takeaways: Great Compromise The Great Compromise of 1787 defined the structure of the U.S. Congress and the number of representatives each state would have in Congress under the U.S. Constitution.The Great Compromise was brokered as an agreement between the large and small states during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 by Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman.Under the Great Compromise, each state would get two representatives in the Senate and a variable number of representatives in the House in proportion to its population according to the decennial U.S. census. Perhaps the greatest debate undertaken by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 centered on how many representatives each state should have in the new governments lawmaking branch, the U.S. Congress. As is often the case in government and politics, resolving a great debate required a great compromise—in this case, the Great Compromise of 1787. Early in the Constitutional Convention, delegates envisioned a Congress consisting of only a single chamber with a certain number of representatives from each state. Representation The burning question was, how many representatives from each state? Delegates from the larger, more populous states favored the Virginia Plan, which called for each state to have a different number of representatives based on the state’s population. Delegates from smaller states supported the New Jersey Plan, under which each state would send the same number of representatives to Congress. Delegates from the smaller states argued that, despite their lower populations, their states held equal legal status to that of the larger states, and that proportional representation would be unfair to them. Delegate Gunning Bedford, Jr. of Delaware notoriously threatened that the small states could be forced to â€Å"find some foreign ally of more honor and good faith, who will take them by the hand and do them justice.† However, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts objected to the small states’ claim of legal sovereignty, stating that â€Å"we never were independent States, were not such now, and never could be even on the principles of the Confederation. The States and the advocates for them were intoxicated with the idea of their sovereignty.† Shermans Plan Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman is credited with proposing the alternative of a bicameral, or two-chambered Congress made up of a Senate and a House of Representatives. Each state, suggested Sherman, would send an equal number of representatives to the Senate, and one representative to the House for every 30,000 residents of the state. At the time, all the states except Pennsylvania had bicameral legislatures, so the delegates were familiar with the structure of Congress proposed by Sherman. Sherman’s plan pleased delegates from both the large and small states and became known as the Connecticut Compromise of 1787, or the Great Compromise. The structure and powers of the new U.S. Congress, as proposed by the delegates of the Constitutional Convention, were explained to the people by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison in the Federalist Papers. Apportionment and Redistricting Today, each state is represented in Congress by two Senators and a variable number of members of the House of Representatives based on the state’s population as reported in the most recent decennial census. The process of fairly determining the number of members of the House from each state is called apportionment. The first census in 1790 counted 4 million Americans. Based on that count, the total number of members elected to the House of Representatives grew from the original 65 to 106. The current House membership of 435 was set by Congress in 1911. Redistricting to Ensure Equal Representation   To ensure fair and equal representation in the House, the process of â€Å"redistricting† is used to establish or change the geographic boundaries within the states from which representatives are elected. In the 1964 case of Reynolds v. Sims, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all of the congressional districts in each state must all have roughly the same population. Through apportionment and redistricting, high population urban areas are prevented from gaining an inequitable political advantage over less populated rural areas. For example, if New York City were not split into several congressional districts, the vote of a single New York City resident would carry more influence on the House than all of the residents in the rest of the State of New York combined.

Banning Books in Schools Essay - 983 Words

The practice of the censorship of books in schools has been prevalent due to the explicit content of them. Parents have been complaining to schools about books that count as required reading because they disapprove with the points made in the book. If a book consists of offensive or sexually explicit material, then parents would challenge the schools about them in order to prevent their children from reading them. Censorship in general has been an intensely debated issue because it is considered an infringement to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution while others argue it is used to conceal inappropriate things (Aliprandini and Sprague). The banning of books in school curriculum has also been debated since parents see†¦show more content†¦In addition, they believe that the content of the book could corrupt their kids’ moral sense. However, there are people that argue against the idea of censoring books in schools. One counterpoint of the argument of the topic is that banning books hinders students from discovering new things and obtaining knowledge. According to the article, â€Å"Banning Books: An Overview†, Michael Aliprandini and Carolyn Sprague state, â€Å"The core arguments against the banning of books have been based on protecting the rights of individuals to free speech as well as to promote intellectual freedom – the rights protected by the First Amendment.† They are basically explaining how arguments of book banning connect to the idea of intellectual freedom and protecting individual rights, which are implied in the First Amendment. Censorship of books can be expressed as violating the rights and freedom of the individuals. Boyd and Bailey support this idea of intellectual freedom by presenting how banning books in schools with the quote from their journal, â€Å"Censors evoke barriers to free thought and speech when they block knowledge acquisition, intellectual development, as well as creative and critical thinking†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Boyd and Bailey, 655). In other words, students will not be able to develop the academic skills they need in order to succeed in school if books are banned for them. Previously, there have been books banned from the school curriculum because of theShow MoreRelatedEssay about Banning Books in Schools1066 Words   |  5 PagesSchool boards and teachers have a responsibility for protecting the minds of their students and covering age appropriate material. However, does this responsibility cover the extreme act of banning books from school classrooms? Does not the teacher have a duty to introduce to their students world issues in order to better the students ability to cope with problems in the world? How does a school decide which books should be banned from the classroom, and should it be left up to the teacher to decideRead MoreThe Banning of Certain Books in School Libraries/ Classrooms848 Words   |  4 Pages People read books about dystopians all the time, you know those books that have everything possible go wrong. Books like The Hunger games, or Fahrenheit 451, Ect. Some people look at them as just stories, just fictional books. Those books are all about censorship and having the government controlling and watching your every move. What most people dont realize is that there is censorship happening right now, every time you send a text or make a phone call, the government can see/hear itRead MoreBooks Like The Harry Potter Series, Go Ask Alice, Or The Hunger Games1417 Words   |  6 Pageswhat a banned book consist of, is it drugs, sex, racial issues, or witchcraft? The answer is it could be all of the above. Chances are, you have once read and maybe even declared a banned book your favorite book. Books like the Harry Potter series, Go Ask Alice, or The Hunger Games series are all on the banned book list. These books are often removed from schools or public library shelves. â€Å"For many years, American schools have been pressured to restrict or deny students access to books or periodicalsRead MoreThe Controversy Around Banning Books889 Words   |  4 Pagesone, especially the banning of books. Many people believe they must protect themselves and others from the evils of many classic books and works of art because they can be deemed indecent in one way or another. Many believe that this is absurd and censorship in its current form is a violation of our First Amendment right to free speech. Personally, I align myself with the latter, however I do feel there are occasions where censorship is justifiable. The censorship of books is a division of censorshipRead More The Controversy Around Banning Books Essay852 Words   |  4 Pagesespecially the banning of books. Many people believe they must protect themselves and others from the quot;evilsquot; of many classic books and works of art because they can be deemed quot;indecentquot; in one way or another. Many believe that this is absu rd and censorship in its current form is a violation of our First Amendment right to free speech. Personally, I align myself with the latter, however I do feel there are occasions where censorship is justifiable. The censorship of books is a divisionRead MoreBanning Personal Electronic Devices Is Not An Effective Way Of Stop Cyber Bullying997 Words   |  4 Pagesnumber. Recently WMCI has thought of banning personal electronic devices (cell phones, personal laptops etc.,) to combat this issue in our own school, but this ban is not a potent fix. There are many ways to help students from being cyber bullied, but banning personal electronic devices is not an effective way of stopping cyber bullying because cyber bullying can happen outside school, banning personal devices can also have bad effects on the reputation of the school or the academic freedom studentsRead MoreLiterature Be Banned1227 Words   |  5 Pages Literature shouldn’t be banned because literature inspires, advocates, unites, entertains, and informs. By banning books from the classroom, we prevent students from learning about controversial topics in a safe environment. The Menifee school district banned the dictionaries from the students because of one parents complaint. I believe this was a terrible idea because many students need a dictionary to look back at when they think they’re wrong. Dictionaries are helpful in many ways such as learningRead MoreBoard of Education v. Pico600 Words   |  3 Pagesissue of banning â€Å"vulgar and immoral† books from school libraries (Board of Education, Island). The Board of Education of the Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26, including Richard Ahrens (President of the Board of Education), Frank Martin (Vice President), Christina Fasulo, Patrick Hughes, Richard Melchers, Richard Michaels, and Louis Nessim (Board Members), presented the issue of banning books from the Island Trees High School and the Island Trees Memorial Junior High School, afterRead MoreEssay on Censorship - The Negative Consequences of Book Banning1501 Words   |  7 PagesThe Negative Consequences of Book Banning If you were to ask a teacher what they thought the most important source of knowledge was they would probably answer: reading. When I think back to every classroom I sat in at school, I remember at least one poster on the wall promoting reading. Throughout my school years, teachers have pounded into my head how important it is to read. In high school I had a list of books that I was required to read over my summer break so that I would continuouslyRead MoreThe Catcher In the Rye Should Not be Banned Essay789 Words   |  4 Pagesportrays the life of sixteen year old, Holden Caufield. Currently in psychiatric care, Holden recalls what happened to him last Christmas. At the beginning of his story, Holden is a student at Pencey Prep School. Having been expelled for failing four out of his five classes, Holden leaves school and spends 72-hours in New York City before returning home. There, Holden encounters new ideas, people, and experiences. Holdens psychological battle within himself serves as the tool that uncovers the

Pram Lady and Forbidden Clothes Free Essays

An important idea in both â€Å"The Pram Lady† by Vivien Alcock and â€Å"Forbidden Clothes† by Jamila Gavin is how people are unaccepting of differences. This is important to me because people should be able to be themselves without being hassled or excluded, also because people my age are not very accepting of others’ differences. In the â€Å"Pram Lady† Helena does not accept the way her mother dresses and behaves. We will write a custom essay sample on Pram Lady and Forbidden Clothes or any similar topic only for you Order Now She want her mum to be like other mums with â€Å"dyed hair and a perm† because it reflects badly on her. When William, Helena’s new boyfriend, sees Helena’s mother and doesn’t realize who she is he makes a rude comment about her appearance: â€Å"God, what a fright! What a ridiculous creature! † Helena reacts to this by running away from him and telling him she never wants to see or speak to him again. Even though Helena’s mother is â€Å"enormously fat† and wears stained clothes, Helena still will not associate with people who disrespect her mother. This shows us that Helena herself has not accepted her mother for the way she is. From this, I learnt that I should not be so quick to judge others before getting to know them because personality shines through and is the most important thing. Oddly, though Helena doesn’t want people saying rude things about her mother, she says those things herself. Helena’s mother doesn’t mind what people think about her and tells Helena that she should just laugh with her friends when they see her. Helena just wants her mother to be normal, when Helen tells her mum this she responds by saying â€Å"But that’s what you want, isn’t it, Helena? An ordinary mother like your friends have. † Over time Helena gets stressed by the fact her mother forgets to do regular things like wearing unstained clothes. This doesn’t work for either of them because Helena is always worried about her mother and her mother is forced to change into something she isn’t to please Helena. I relate to this because girls my age sometimes don’t except people for their flaws. Reading this short story made me feel that I should wait until I know someone before judging them. As is in â€Å"The Pram Lady†, â€Å"Forbidden Clothes† also shows the way people are made to feel like outsiders because they have differences from their peers. Nasreen, a girl who is living in the UK never felt different in Pakistan, How to cite Pram Lady and Forbidden Clothes, Papers