he large-State men were now disposed to make some concessions.
The word "national" was dropped from all the resolutions; and minor
changes were made in the interest of harmony. But on the fundamental
question of what was termed "proportional representation,"--that is,
representation of the States in proportion to numbers in the national
legislature,--no agreement seemed possible. More than once the
convention was on the point of adjourning _sine die_. Even the usually
placid Franklin suggested that "prayers imploring the assistance of
Heaven ... be held in this Assembly every morning."

In spite of the opposition of the smaller States, the convention finally
voted that the rule of suffrage in the first branch of the legislature
ought not to be according to that established by the Articles of
Confederation. Debate then turned on the manner of constituting the
upper chamber. On July 2, a vote was taken on the proposal of the
Connecticut delegation that each State should have an equal vote in the
upper house. The result was a tie, five States against five, with the
vote of one State divided. The deadlock seemed complete.

Hoping that a compromise might even yet be effected, General Pinckney
proposed a committee of one from each State to consider the whole
matter. Opposition was made, but the convention indorsed the proposal
and chose the members of the committee by ballot. The selection was
obviously favorable to the small-State party, for the committee
abandoned the idea of proportional representation in the second chamber.
On July 5, it recommended that in the first branch of the legislature
there should be one representative for every forty thousand inhabitants
in each State, counting three fifths of the slaves, and that in the
second chamber the States should have an equal vote. The first
proposition underwent further changes at the hands of a special
committee, but the principle of representation was accepted. On July 16,
the first proposition as amended and the second proposition without
change were adopted by a vote of five States to four, with the vote of
one State divided. Very properly historians have termed this the great
compromise of the Constitution, for without it the further work of the
convention would have been impossible. In agreeing that three fifths of
the slaves should be counted in apportioning representation, the
convention made no innovation, but simply took over the federal ratio
which Congress h