<P> The division of the legislature into an upper and lower house wasn't questioned either, despite the obscure origins of the English House of Lords and its role as the representative of the hereditary nobility . Americans had seldom known any but bicameral legislatures, both in Britain and in most state governments . The main exceptions to this were the dysfunctional Confederation Congress and the unicameral Pennsylvania legislature, which was seen as quickly vacillating between partisan extremes after each election . Experience had convinced the delegates that an upper house was necessary to tame the passions of the lower classes against the interests of wealthy merchants and landowners . Since America had no native hereditary aristocracy, the character of this upper house was designed to protect the interests of this wealthy elite, the "minority of the opulent," against the interests of the lower classes, who constituted the majority of the population . </P> <P> On Thursday, June 7, it was proposed that senators should be chosen directly by the state legislatures, instead of by popular vote, as this method was more likely to preserve the power of the upper classes . Convention delegate Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts observed that "the great mercantile interest and of stockholders, is not provided for in any mode of election - they will however be better represented if the State legislatures choose the second branch ." The proposal was carried unanimously . </P> <P> The delegates also agreed with Madison that the executive function had to be independent of the legislature . In their aversion to kingly power, American legislatures had created state governments where the executive was beholden to the legislature, and by the late 1780s this was widely seen as being a source of paralysis . The Confederation government was the ultimate example of this . </P> <P> Furthermore, in the English tradition, judges were seen as being agents of the King and his court, who represented him throughout his realm . Madison believed that in the American states, this direct link between state executives and judges was a source of corruption through patronage, and thought the link had to be severed between the two, thus creating the "third branch" of the judiciary which had been without any direct precedent before this point . Madison, however, did not believe that the judiciary should be truly independent, but rather beholden to the legislature rather than the executive . At the Convention, some sided with Madison that the legislature should choose judges, while others believed the president should choose judges . A compromise was eventually reached that the president should choose judges and the Senate confirm them . </P>

How old were the delegates at the constitutional convention