Pennsylvania Ratification, part 3

Hey everybody,

It's December 14, 1787!  So yesterday, I discussed the basic idea of Federalism.  Today, the Philadelphia Convention.  The Philadelphia Convention, or the Consitutional Convention, was a held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  This location is suitable because it is where the Declaration of Independence was signed, an incredible moment for American history and many people of influence are there, like Benjamin Franklin.  At this convention, many compromises were made to please both the pro- and the anti-constitutioners, such as the Great Compromise that created the bicameral legislature of the House of Representatives (which agreed with the larger, Southern states by giving them representatives in congress directly related to their population) and the Senate (which agreed with the less densly populated New England and Middle states  by giving them all just two representatives, no matter the population amount). Other compromises include the 3/5 Compromise (South wanted slaves to be counted as population, but North disagreed, so it was set that for every 5 slaves, they would be counted as 3 persons), the Slave Trade Compromise (slave trade would not be talked about until January 1808, as not to anger the South because they need them to become "united states," ratify the constitution, and they had a lot of money the Northern states did not), and the Electoral College (voters who take into consideration the popular vote to choose the president).  Each compromise will affect the states differently, but for Pennsylvania, notably, the Great Compromise would be the biggest difference.  As you see, Pennsylvania's State Constitution was a base idea for the new U.S. Constitution, but one of the main differences was in the governmental system.  For Pennsylvania, it was only a unicameral legislative branch!  The Great Compromise was calling for a bicameral legislature based on two different amounts and kinds of representatives, much different than in PA.  The slave and slave trade compromises were not that big of a deal though because there are not many slaves in Pennsylvania at all, in comparison to Virginia and other Southern states.  Also, the Electoral College was a good thing for Pennsylvania because it's citizens did not want to directly choose their presidents.

So folks, I am Thomas Mifflin, born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  I was a general in the Continental Army, President of the Continental Congress, a delagate at the Constitutional Convention, and a firm Federalist who believes in a strong, central government.
And that's how the cookie crumbles.