Wisconsin v. City of New York - An Early Constitutional Compromise

When the United States obtained its independence, debate raged regarding the exact form its government would take. That some form of representative democracy would be established was certain, but within that context there was disagreement between large and small states. Eventually a compromise was reached whereby the new government would comprise two legislative bodies: a Senate in which each state would be represented by two individuals; and a House of Representatives in which each state would be represented by a variable number of individuals based on population. In this way less populous states would be insured of wielding equal federal influence within the Senate, while more populous states would receive representation commensurate with their size in the House of Representatives. In order to ensure that this system would operate fairly and be able to adjust as the nation grew, the Constitution also provided that the federal government would undertake a census every ten years for the purpose of reapportioning seats in the House of Representatives among the states.