Speak Up! - View Question #12900

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When the Founding Fathers were drafting the U.S. Constitution, they could not agree on a fair way to decide how many legislators would represent each state.  The big states wanted representation to be based on population, which would give them more representatives.  Small states wanted a set amount of representatives for each state, which would make all states equal.  In what some call the "Great Compromise" they decided on a "bicameral" legislature made up of two houses - one with a set number of representatives per state (the Senate) and one with proportional representation based on population (the House of Representatives).  This compromise lead to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1789. For over 200 years our country has operated under the same Legislative system.

To read more about the Legislative Branch of our government, visit the LawDocs section of LawForKids.org.