Report of the Grand Committee, July 5, 1787

National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention

The Constitutional Convention struggled for weeks over how representatives to a national legislature should be chosen. The report of the Grand Committee, shown here, represented an effort to find a compromise between the positions of the large and small states. On July 16, the convention adopted the "Great Compromise" based on this report. It apportioned representation in the House of Representatives by population. In the Senate, each state would be represented by two senators chosen by the state legislatures.