Sept. 17, 1787: The final draft of the Constitution was signed in Philadelphia, replacing the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution devised a system of checks and balances among three separate but co-equal branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. Much of the debate over the legislative branch centered on how big and small states should be represented: Should it be equally or by size? It was decided to do both. Thus, the Senate, where each state was given equal representation, and the House of Representatives, where each state was allocated lawmakers according to the size of its population.
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