Question

What was the great compromise?

Answer 1

The Great Compromise was a measure decided during the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787.  Also known as "The Connecticut  Compromise," it resolved a dispute between small population states and large population states.   It was important because it created a two-chamber legislature, with proportional representation in the House and equal representation for all states in the Senate.

The large population states had wanted representation in Congress to be based on a state's population size. The smaller states feared this would lead to unchecked dominance by the big states; they wanted all states to receive the same amount of representation.  

The Great Compromise (aka Connecticut Compromise) created a bicameral (two-chamber) legislature, with different rules for representation in each chamber. Representation in the House of Representatives would be based on population.  In the Senate, all states would have the same amount of representation, by two Senators.

Answer 2

The Great Compromise of 1787 was an agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that established a two-house legislature under the United States Constitution. It retained the bicameral legislature as proposed by Roger Sherman, along with proportional representation in the lower house. It required the upper house, United States Senate, to have two members from each state.The lower house, or House of Representatives, would have representation based on the population of a state.