The flaws of the Articles of ConfederationArticles of Confederation combined with Shays’ RebellionShays’ Rebellion and the threat of disbanding the confederacy of the thirteen states resulted in the Philadelphia ConventionPhiladelphia Convention of 1787. The delegates to the Convention departed from their direction to recommend revisions to the Articles of Confederation when James MadisonMadison, James’s Virginia PlanVirginia Plan introduced a new form of national government. The major point of contention regarding the new government was determining how many voting members each state would have in each chamber of the new legislature. Large states preferred proportional representationproportional representation in each chamber while smaller states preferred equal representationequal representation of the states in at least one chamber. Through multiple instances of strategic votingstrategic voting, dimension manipulation, as well as participant curationparticipant curation on the Gerry CommitteeGerry Committee, Madison’s opponents got approval for each state to be equally represented in the Senate after North Carolina switched its vote on representation and Maryland’s delegation split. To close the deal and secure passage of the Constitution, delegates engaged in strategic voting on provisions related to the continuation of slavery and the vote threshold needed in Congress to pass economic policies desired by Northern states.