3 ms·

I have a hard time conceiving of matters that states would separate themselves on by population size other then proportional representation in Congress back the

I have a hard time conceiving of matters that states would separate themselves on by population size other then proportional representation in Congress back then. I suppose, however, that the majority of low-population states were also frontier states, seems like a fairly compelling distinction.

nobody9999 1y ago
>I suppose, however, that the majority of low-population states were also frontier states, seems like a fairly compelling distinction. Not so much, unless you consider Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont to be "frontier" states in 1787. Actual frontier states like Georgia were in favor of the Virginia Plan as they figured their population would grow soon enough and they could take advantage of their eventual large population (with slaves being counted as 3/5 of a person) in a "Virginia Plan" world. The Connecticut Compromise[0][3] ended up in the Constitution as a reconciliation of the Virginia Plan[1][4] and the New Jersey Plan[2][5], with the larger states supporting the Virginia Plan and smaller states supported the New Jersey Plan. The above is incredibly abridged and ignores much context. As such, I strongly recommend you read Article I, Sections 2 and 3 of the US Constitution[7] (the result of the Connecticut Compromise) as well as the original Virginia and New Jersey plans, or at least the wikipedia pages I linked for a much better discourse on the topic. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Compromise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Compromise [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Plan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Plan [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_Plan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_Plan [3] The current system. Which differs from the original only in direct election of Senators, rather than them being appointed by state legislatures[6]. [4] Proposed a bicameral legislature with both houses apportioned by population. [5] Proposed a unicameral legislature with one vote per state. [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeenth_Amendment_to_the_U... [7] https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/ https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/ Edit: Added the missing link.

nobody9999 1y ago

>I suppose, however, that the majority of low-population states were also frontier states, seems like a fairly compelling distinction. Not so much, unless you consider Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont to be "frontier" states in 1787. Actual frontier states like Georgia were in favor of the Virginia Plan as they figured their population would grow soon enough and they could take advantage of their eventual large population (with slaves being counted as 3/5 of a person) in a "Virginia Plan" world. The Connecticut Compromise[0][3] ended up in the Constitution as a reconciliation of the Virginia Plan[1][4] and the New Jersey Plan[2][5], with the larger states supporting the Virginia Plan and smaller states supported the New Jersey Plan. The above is incredibly abridged and ignores much context. As such, I strongly recommend you read Article I, Sections 2 and 3 of the US Constitution[7] (the result of the Connecticut Compromise) as well as the original Virginia and New Jersey plans, or at least the wikipedia pages I linked for a much better discourse on the topic. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Compromise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Compromise [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Plan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Plan [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_Plan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_Plan [3] The current system. Which differs from the original only in direct election of Senators, rather than them being appointed by state legislatures[6]. [4] Proposed a bicameral legislature with both houses apportioned by population. [5] Proposed a unicameral legislature with one vote per state. [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeenth_Amendment_to_the_U... [7] https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/ https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/ Edit: Added the missing link.