Key disagreements during the discussion of the Constitution were the debate on whether slavery should be abolished and if a new branch of government was needed. 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. The country had three major disagreements that gave divisions to their beliefs: Liberty versus strong government, small states versus large states, and slavery. There were people who wanted to preserve the philosophy of individual liberty that animated the Revolution and those who believed that a more vigorous national government was necessary. Two major plans were presented at the Constitutional Convention, firstly the Virginia plan that called for a strong legislature apportioned by population and a bicameral legislature with upper chamber elected by lower chamber. This Gave advantage to large states at expense of small states. The second proposed plan was the New Jersey Plan that the small states proposed. It would have a plural executive, legislature based on equal representation by states, and it was closer in structure to the Articles of Confederation than the Constitution that was eventually ratified. To solve the differences the Congress took pieces of both plans and mixed them into one cresting the Connecticut Compromise. It had a bicameral Legislature, with the lower house based on population with each state having one representative and an upper house based with at least one representative from each state, slaves counting as 3/5 a person toward representation of slave states, and a unitary executive. The major feature of developing a strong national government enabled it to overcome collective dilemmas among the states and the people; however, it was exactly what the founding fathers didn't want, a constitutional system with limited popular control because fear of democracy would lead to poor government and mob rule.
