<P> Besides the problems of direct election, the new Constitution was seen as such a radical break with the old system, by which delegates were elected to the Confederation Congress by state legislatures, that the Convention agreed to retain this method of electing senators to make the constitutional change less radical . The more difficult problem was the issue of apportionment . The Connecticut delegation offered a compromise, whereby the number of representatives for each state in the lower house would be apportioned based on the relative size of the state's population, while the number of representatives in the upper house would be the same for all of the states, irrespective of size . The large states, fearing a diminution of their influence in the legislature under this plan, opposed this proposal . Unable to reach agreement, the delegates decided to leave this issue for further consideration later during the meeting . </P> <P> The delegates couldn't agree on whether the executive should be a single person, or a board of three . Many wished to limit the power of the executive and thus supported the proposal to divide the executive power between three persons . The possible problems of this system, in addition to the knowledge that George Washington would probably be the first president, calmed the fears enough so that the proponents of a singular executive could accumulate a large coalition . This issue came up occasionally after the matter was settled, but was never again seriously doubted . </P> <P> Another issue concerned the election of the president . Few agreed with Madison that the executive should be elected by the legislature . There was widespread concern with direct election, because information diffused so slowly in the late 18th century, and because of concerns that people would only vote for candidates from their state or region . A vocal minority wanted the national executive to be chosen by the governors of the states . </P> <P> The issue was one of the last major issues to be resolved, and was done so in the electoral college . At the time, before the formation of modern political parties, there was widespread concern that candidates would routinely fail to secure a majority of electors in the electoral college . The method of resolving this problem therefore was a contested issue . Most thought that the house should then choose the president, since it most closely reflected the will of the people . This caused dissension among delegates from smaller states, who realized that this would put their states at a disadvantage . To resolve this dispute, the Convention agreed that the house would elect the president if no candidate had an electoral college majority, but that each state delegation would vote as a bloc, rather than individually . </P>

After the delegates to the philadelphia convention drafted the constitution they sent it to the