Which 1787 constitutional compromise created a two-house Congress with equal Senate representation for each state?

The Connecticut Compromise created a two-house Congress with equal Senate representation for each state.

Also called the Great Compromise, it was reached during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Large states favored representation based mainly on population, while small states wanted each state to have an equal vote. The dispute threatened to derail the convention’s effort to replace the Articles of Confederation.

The compromise created a bicameral legislature. In the House of Representatives, representation would be based on population. In the Senate, every state would have two senators, giving small states equal representation with large states in that chamber. The arrangement remains a defining feature of the U.S. constitutional system.

Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut are closely associated with the proposal, although the final settlement emerged through negotiations among many delegates. The compromise is sometimes confused with the Three-Fifths Compromise, which concerned how enslaved people would be counted for representation and taxation. It is also distinct from later compromises over slavery and western territories.