What were the 2 biggest issues argued over at the Constitutional Convention?
Asked by: Misty Willms V | Last update: September 11, 2025Score: 4.1/5 (47 votes)
The most divisive of those issues—those involving the apportionment of representation in the national legislature, the powers and mode of election of the chief executive, and the place of the institution of slavery in the new continental body politic—would change in fundamental ways the shape of the document that would ...
What were 2 of the issues debated at the Constitutional Convention?
When the 55 delegates gathered in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation, there were several major issues on the agenda to discuss including representation, state versus federal powers, executive power, slavery, and commerce.
What were the 2 arguments over the Constitution?
There were two sides to the Great Debate: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists wanted to ratify the Constitution, the Anti-Federalists did not. One of the major issues these two parties debated concerned the inclusion of the Bill of Rights.
What were the 2 major compromises during the Constitutional Convention describe each one?
The Great Compromise settled matters of representation in the federal government. The Three-Fifths Compromise settled matters of representation when it came to the enslaved population of southern states and the importation of enslaved Africans.
What were the two most debated issues about the New Constitution?
The major debates were over representation in Congress, the powers of the president, how to elect the president (Electoral College), slave trade, and a bill of rights.
How were issues of representation addressed at the Constitutional Convention?
What were the 2 biggest issues during the Constitutional Convention of 1787?
The most divisive of those issues—those involving the apportionment of representation in the national legislature, the powers and mode of election of the chief executive, and the place of the institution of slavery in the new continental body politic—would change in fundamental ways the shape of the document that would ...
What were 2 issues involved in the ratification debate?
Anti-Federalists argued for the value of limited central government, whereas Federalists maintained that natural rights to life, liberty, and property would be best protected under a strong central government.
What were the two sides of the Constitutional Convention?
Some states were in favor of a strong central government, while other states were opposed. Large states felt that they should have more representation in Congress, while small states wanted equal representation with larger ones.
What were the two compromises on slavery?
In both cases the issue of slavery deadlocked Congress, and in both cases the deadlocks were broken by political compromises. In the case of the Louisiana Purchase, the result was the so-called Missouri Compromise of 1820. In the case of the Mexican Cession, the result was the so-called Compromise of 1850 .
What are the conflicts of the two major objectives of the writers of the US Constitution?
The main conflicts and compromises of the Constitutional Convention were: Apportionment of representation in the legislature. this was resolved by Roger Sherman's Connecticut Compromise, making representation in the House proportional to population and making representation in the Senate equal for each state. Slavery.
What was the biggest argument at the Constitutional Convention?
The most contentious of the Resolves declared that representation in the national congress would be based on wealth (as reflected in the taxes it paid) or the state's non-slave population. This raised both eyebrows and tempers as it was a concept that greatly favored large states like Virginia.
What are 2 major ideas represented in the Constitution?
Teaching Six Big Ideas in the Constitution - Students engage in a study of the U.S. Constitution and the significance of six big ideas contained in it: limited government; republicanism; checks and balances; federalism; separation of powers; and popular sovereignty.
What are the two main concerns of constitutional law?
The main concern of constitutional law is whether a federal law abides by the Constitution. Many federal laws have been struck down by the Supreme Court for violating the Constitution. One of these was the Line-Item Veto Act of 1996. Another concern of constitutional law is its application to state laws.
What 2 issues were left unresolved after the Constitutional Convention?
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 purposely left some issues unresolved, such as the question of slavery and the exact balances of power between the states and the federal government.
Which two sides debated over the Constitution?
As in any debate there were two sides, the Federalists who supported ratification and the Anti-Federalists who did not. We now know that the Federalists prevailed, and the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1788, and went into effect in 1789. Read about their arguments below.
What were the two central issues discussed at the Constitutional Convention?
Of all the debates during the Summer of 1787, the most contentious involved two major issues: Representation & Slavery. In this video, we briefly discuss how these debates unfolded and the Framers' compromise for each.
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 explicitly repealed the compromise.
Which word is never used in the US Constitution?
Final answer:
The word slavery is the only term among the options that is never used in the U.S. Constitution. Instead, the Constitution refers to enslaved individuals using euphemisms. Key terms like people and justice are used frequently, while amendment pertains to constitutional changes.
What was the debate over slavery at the Constitutional Convention?
The North did not want to count enslaved people at all for purposes of representation, whereas the South wanted to count them as fully human. The convention settled on a Three-Fifths Compromise: three enslaved persons would count for every five free persons for the purpose of representation.
What were the two main compromises of the Constitutional Convention?
The two main compromises were the Great Compromise and the 3/5 Compromise. The Great Compromise created a bicameral legislature. It created the House of Representatives, in which the representation of the states depended on their population, and the Senate, in which each state had an equal number of representatives.
What were the two plans argued at the Constitutional Convention?
Hamilton, who said his proposal was not a plan, essentially believed that both the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan were inadequate, particularly the latter. On 19 June the Convention rejected the New Jersey Plan and the Hamilton Plan and continued to debate the Virginia Plan for the remainder of the Convention.
What 2 factions competed for power at the Constitutional Convention?
Ratification came only after a hard-fought battle between those favoring adoption of the new Constitution (the Federalists) and those opposed (the Anti-Federalists). The Anti-Federalists had many complaints. They argued that the national government, and especially the president, had too much power.
What were the two sides of the Constitution ratification?
The Federalists supported the Constitution's ratification as they believed in a strong central government. In contrast, the Anti-Federalists opposed ratification, fearing that a strong central government would threaten individual liberties. The Constitution was ratified in 1788.
What were the arguments against the U.S. Constitution?
The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the 1787 U.S. Constitution because they feared that the new national government would be too powerful and thus threaten individual liberties, given the absence of a bill of rights.
Who is known as the father of the constitution?
James Madison, America's fourth President (1809-1817), made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing The Federalist Papers, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. In later years, he was referred to as the “Father of the Constitution.”