The Connecticut Compromise gave every state equal Senate representation but population-based House representation at the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
The dispute involved large states, which favored representation based on population, and small states, which wanted each state to have equal voting power. The Virginia Plan supported proportional representation in both legislative chambers, while the New Jersey Plan favored equal state representation.
Delegates adopted the compromise on July 16, 1787, after a difficult debate. It created a bicameral Congress: the House of Representatives would reflect state populations, while the Senate would give each state equal representation. The arrangement remains a defining feature of the U.S. Constitution.
The agreement is also called the Great Compromise or the Sherman Compromise, after Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman, who helped develop it. It is distinct from the Three-Fifths Compromise, which addressed how enslaved people would be counted for representation and taxation.