What compromise led to the ratification of the Constitution?

Asked by: Ransom Powlowski  |  Last update: March 3, 2026
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The ratification of the U.S. Constitution was secured by several key compromises made during the Constitutional Convention, primarily the Great Compromise (bicameral legislature with proportional House & equal Senate), the Three-Fifths Compromise (counting slaves as 3/5 for representation), and the Commerce/Slave Trade Compromise, plus the later Massachusetts Compromise that promised a Bill of Rights, convincing hesitant states to ratify by assuring amendments would follow.

What compromise led to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution?

Great Compromise

Also known as the Connecticut Compromise, a major compromise at the Constitutional Convention that created a two-house legislature, with the Senate having equal representation for all states and the House of Representatives having representation proportional to state populations.

What led to the ratification of the Constitution?

The founders set the terms for ratifying the Constitution. They bypassed the state legislatures, reasoning that their members would be reluctant to give up power to a national government. Instead, they called for special ratifying conventions in each state. Ratification by 9 of the 13 states enacted the new government.

What was the main reason the Constitution was ratified?

The Constitution promised a stronger central government that included a Congress with the power to tax, which had been a profound weakness under the Articles of Confederation.

How did the Great Compromise help ratify the Constitution?

The compromise provided for a bicameral legislature, with representation in the House of Representatives according to population and in the Senate by equal numbers for each state.

RATIFICATION of the Constitution [AP Government Review, Unit 1 Topic 5]

27 related questions found

What are the 4 ways the Constitution can be ratified?

There are two main ways to propose an amendment and two corresponding ways for states to ratify it, making four potential paths for amending the U.S. Constitution, as detailed in Article V: proposal by Congress or a national convention, followed by ratification by state legislatures or state conventions, with Congress choosing the ratification method. 

What was the compromise to pass the Constitution?

The United States Constitution was adopted as a result of the Great Compromise, which addressed a crucial issue during the Constitutional Convention. All states had an equal voice in Congress because it established a structure for the legislative branch that balanced the interests of larger and smaller states.

How did the Constitution have to be ratified?

After signing the Constitution on September 17, 1787, they sent it to the states for ratification. Nine of 13 states were required to ratify the Constitution before it would be accepted as the nation's founding document.

Did the founding fathers put God in the Constitution?

No, the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly mention God or a supreme being in its main text, a deliberate choice by the Founding Fathers to establish a secular government and protect religious freedom, though it does contain a date reference ("Year of our Lord") and the First Amendment prevents religious tests for office, reflecting a consensus on separation of church and state despite their personal faith. 

What are two reasons to support the ratification of the Constitution?

Smaller states, like Delaware, favored the Constitution. Equal representation in the Senate would give them a degree of equality with the larger states, and a strong national government with an army at its command would be better able to defend them than their state militias could.

What are three reasons the U.S. Constitution was created?

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of ...

What events led to the U.S. Constitution?

Our Constitution: A Timeline of Events

  • 12/16/1773 – Boston Tea Party. ...
  • 09/05/1774 – 10/26/1774 - First Continental Congress. ...
  • 04/19/1775 - American Revolution Begins. ...
  • 05/10/1775 – 12/12/1776 - Second Continental Congress. ...
  • 07/21/1775 - Ben Franklin Presents a Plan for Confederation.

What were the six reasons for establishing the U.S. Constitution?

The Preamble of this document states its six main goals: to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, to ensure domestic tranquility, to provide for the common defense, to promote the general welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty.

What led up to the ratification of the Constitution?

Hamilton and James Madison led the lobbying efforts for votes in favor of ratifying the Constitution. With assistance from John Jay, they produced the 85 essays known as “The Federalist Papers” that explained and defended how the proposed new government would function.

What is the 3 compromise?

The Three-Fifths Compromise was reached among state delegates during the 1787 Constitutional Convention. It determined that three out of every five slaves were counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxation.

What were the two main compromises of the Constitutional Convention?

Key Takeaways

The Great Compromise led to a two-chamber Congress with both equal and population-based representation. The Three-Fifths Compromise allowed every five enslaved people to be counted as three individuals for representation.

Did all 613 laws come from God?

Yes, the 613 mitzvot (commandments) in Judaism are traditionally considered to have been given by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, forming the core of the Torah, though the Bible doesn't explicitly state the number 613; Jewish tradition, particularly Maimonides' work, compiled and enumerated them from the texts of the Torah, with the Ten Commandments serving as a summary of these broader laws. The exact list and interpretation vary, with some laws being ceremonial, moral, or judicial, and not all are applicable today. 

What did Albert Einstein say about Christianity?

Albert Einstein viewed traditional Christianity and organized religion as "childish superstitions" and "primitive legends," rejecting the concept of a personal God who rewards and punishes, but expressed deep awe for the universe's rational structure, aligning with a cosmic religious feeling often linked to Spinoza's God, a non-personal divine harmony. He described himself as an agnostic and was uncomfortable with being labeled an atheist, preferring to focus on ethical principles and the mystery of existence rather than dogma.
 

What did Benjamin Franklin say about Jesus?

Benjamin Franklin admired Jesus' moral teachings, calling His system the "best the world ever saw," but had doubts about His divinity, viewing him as a great moral teacher rather than God, though he didn't dwell on the question, focusing instead on living virtuous lives by imitating Jesus and Socrates. He believed revealed religion had corrupted Jesus' original message and sought a rational, virtuous life grounded in doing good, a path accessible to people of all faiths. 

What convinced them to ratify the Constitution?

Although many writers supported each position, it is the Federalist essays that are now best known. The arguments these authors put forth, along with explicit guarantees that amendments would be added to protect individual liberties, helped to sway delegates to ratification conventions in many states.

Did the founding fathers base the Constitution on the Bible?

The Founding Fathers didn't base the Constitution directly on the Bible but were significantly influenced by Christian principles and biblical concepts that shaped their understanding of morality, human nature (like sinfulness), and natural law, even while drawing more directly from English common law, Enlightenment thinkers, and historical republics. While the Constitution itself doesn't mention God or the Bible (except for dating), biblical ideas about justice, governance, and individual rights, filtered through Protestantism and Enlightenment thought, provided a moral and conceptual foundation, alongside secular sources. 

What states did not ratify the Constitution?

Only two states initially refused to ratify the U.S. Constitution: North Carolina and Rhode Island, though both eventually joined the Union after the new government was formed, with Rhode Island being the very last in May 1790. North Carolina delayed ratification due to concerns about a Bill of Rights, while Rhode Island's resistance stemmed from fears of centralized power and economic issues. 

What was the biggest compromise at the Constitutional Convention?

The Connecticut Compromise, also known as The Great Compromise, was a pivotal agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that addressed the contentious issue of state representation in the new federal government.

Could the Constitution be written without compromise?

Ultimately, it took a “compromise” to gain ratification of the Constitution so that a new government could be established (which Abraham Lincoln would later describe in his famous Gettysburg Address as being “of the people, by the people, and for the people”).

Is 3/5 of a man still in the Constitution?

After the Civil War

Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) later superseded Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 and effectively repealed the compromise.