What agreement did delegates at theconstitutional convention finally reach under the great compromise?

Answer 1

The thirteen states that came together at the Constitutional Convention differed in many ways, including population and the possibility of future population growth. Virginia was already populous and knew it would grow larger, since it also claimed land beyond the Appalachian Mountains. Virginia felt that with more people, it was entitled to a larger voice in Congress, and so the Virginia delegation's proposal for the Constitution included a federal legislature in which the number of representatives from each state was based on population. New Jersey also presented a plan in which the federal legislature in which each state, regardless of size, would have an equal number of representatives. New Jersey was a smaller state and, like Maryland, Delaware and Rhode Island, was hemmed in by other states. It knew it would not grow large in population compared to Virginia and New York and was concerned that the smaller states would be overrun in Congress by the more populous states.

This fundamental disagreement threatened the possibility that a Constitution could be agreed upon. The "Great Compromise" resolved this by creating two houses of Congress. In the House, the number of Representatives would be based on the population of a State and the Representatives would be elected directly by vote of the people. In the Senate, each State would have two Senators regardless of size.
Once this crucial issue was resolved, the delegates were more willing to make compromises on the many other issues, and eventually hammered out a Constitution that no one considered perfect, but most delegates considered acceptable.