The origin of the two houses of Congress in the United States

On May 25, 1787, the United States Constitutional Convention was officially held. Even though Washington was the chairman of the Constitution and despite the participation of the highly respected Franklin, the entire Constitutional Convention still went on extremely difficultly. Representatives from the states agreed to form a new national government, but differed widely on many practical issues. The entire meeting was filled with an atmosphere of suspicion and strife.

In several major disputes, Franklin used his political wisdom to persuade every representative. He said: "Our representatives insist on their own opinions and refuse to give in to each other. This is very surprising. Sad. We need a kind of political wisdom, and we have worked hard to find this wisdom. We have studied political patterns in ancient history, and we have also investigated the different forms of government and institutions that were sown in the founding of many countries. We have also studied European countries, but no constitution is suitable for us in the United States. We rely on wisdom to design the entire country and government model. We cannot leave these to chance or war. "Leave it to conquest."

Franklin believed that opportunity, war, and conquest are the only driving forces for the creation of new countries in human history, and these driving forces must not appear in the United States in the future. Franklin solemnly reminded each delegate that a 13-state republic was a noble and bold endeavor. The premise of this attempt is that we must leave behind selfish interests and personal illusions, otherwise it will fail.

Day after day, week after week, month after month, the quarrel continues.

The 81-year-old Franklin was the Vice Chairman of the Constitutional Convention. In the eyes of foreigners, he is a great inventor and scientist. Until long after his death, hundreds of millions of people around the world, regardless of national boundaries, were still enjoying the production efficiency and convenience of life brought by his inventions. But for those who are familiar with the history of the founding of the United States, Benjamin Franklin is a founding father like Washington, Jefferson, and Madison.

Franklin is a native-born American scientist and philosopher. The future of the United States is his destiny. He regards the United States, which won its independence, as his beloved son. In order for the Constitutional Convention to proceed smoothly, he had to use all his social prestige, political ability, experience and social wisdom.

When the Constitutional Convention was going well, Franklin's hearty laughter would make the scene more lively; when the debate was heated, he would tell some interesting stories or jokes to lighten the atmosphere. Sometimes some representatives are too excited, and the old man will invite them to his small lounge to calm down and get into a good mood before taking the stage.

General Washington’s composure, Franklin’s sophistication, the wiseness and openness shown by the representatives, everyone’s recognition of the *** and principles and the spirit of democratic tolerance in terms of concept, made the meeting full of disputes , and can still be carried out effectively. In the end, agreement was reached on some of the most bitterly disputed points.

Madison, the recorder of the Constitutional Convention, recorded in detail every detail from the first day to the last day of the Constitutional Convention, every quarrel, every compromise and consensus formed. .

From his "Debate", we can see that the Constitutional Convention was full of quarrels and debates from the beginning. Apart from anything else, just the issue of how many members each state should send to Congress is enough to cause an uproar among these otherwise modest gentlemen.

Members of Congress are the legislative representatives of the country. If each state can obtain more seats for its state, it may be of great benefit to the state's interests. States with a large population advocate that the number of elected members of Congress be determined in proportion to population in order to gain their own advantages; states with a small population firmly oppose it because they will not be able to obtain enough members of Congress due to their small population, and in the national legislature become insignificant.

After countless wars of words, a compromise was finally reached on the issue of the number of representatives each state should send to Congress:

Congress implements a bicameral system, and members of the House of Representatives are elected according to the number of states. The members of the Senate are selected in proportion to their population to take care of states with large populations; two members of the Senate are selected from each state, regardless of the population of each state, to ensure the equal status of small states. This is the origin of the bicameral system of Congress in the United States today.