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The major issues surrounding the Constitution were about power in the
government, slavery, rights, and the Native Americans. The first issue was about how institutional power was to be shared.
The next issue was about how much federal power there should be. This was how the Virginia Plan was created. The Virginia
Plan had a two house legislature, a chief executive elected by the legislature, and a court system. The members of the lower
house of legislature would be chosen by the people. The members of the upper house would be elected by the lower house. There
was another issue about how much power the states should have. The Great Compromise settled this issue though. A man from
Connecticut named Roger Sherman came up with this compromise. He suggested a a two-house legislature. The lower house, called
the House of Representatives, was proportional. The upper house, called the Senate, had two members from each state. The issue
of slavery was a major one. The Northern and Southern states were arguing about how slaves should be counted. Eventually,
they came up with the Three-Fifths Compromise. This agreement stated that one slave was worth three-fifths of a free person.
Or, that every five slaves would equal three free persons. Another issue was about rights. The states wanted to know what
power they had, and individual people wanted to know what rights they were guaranteed. The last issue surrounding the Constitution
had to do with the Native Americans. The people of America wanted to know what to do with the indians.
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