Article I — Section 3

When delegates assembled in Philadelphia in 1787, one of the most contentious questions before them was how the states themselves would be represented in the new national legislature. Under the Articles of Confederation, each state — regardless of population or wealth — held a single vote in Congress. Larger states such as Virginia and Pennsylvania resented this arrangement, arguing it gave disproportionate power to smaller states. Smaller states such as New Jersey and Delaware feared that any system based on population would effectively erase their influence in national governance. The structure of the Senate, and specifically the equal apportionment of two senators per state, was the direct answer to this conflict.