The Great Compromise resolved a conflict in views about how representation in the legislature should be arranged -- whether all states got the same representation, or if representation should be based on population size of the state.
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The Great Compromise, arrived at during the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787, focused on the representation of states in Congress. The Great Compromise successfully resolved a dispute between small population states and large population states. Initially, the legislature was envisioned as a unicameral (one-chamber) body. The large population states wanted representation in Congress to be based on a state's population size. The smaller states feared this would lead to unchecked dominance by the big states; they wanted all states to receive the same amount of representation. The Great Compromise created a bicameral (two-chamber) legislature. Representation in the House of Representatives would be based on population. In the Senate, all states would have the same amount of representation, by two Senators.
