James Madison, a rabszolgaság kérdése és a képviselet jellegéről folytatott vita az 1787. évi alkotmányozó konvención

The delegates at the Constitutional Convention were trying to solve the conflict of the large and the small states through the Great Compromise, which proposed the equal distribution of the seats in the Senate, and the proportional distribution of them in the House among the states. Madison opposed the compromise, which posed a threat to his concept concerning the proportional distribution of the seats in both chambers. Raising the issue of slavery, Madison wanted to take the delegates’ mind off the conflict between the large and small states, and to highlight an even more serious problem. His intention was to urge them not to make the compromise and save his plan. According to the author, Madison mainly used the problem of slavery as a tactical device, but it does not mean that he was not aware of the real dangers of the problem.