Then why is not other property admitted into the computation?" After fierce debate, the delegates voted to apportion representation and direct taxation based on all free inhabitants and three-fifths of the slave population. This formula would apply to the existing states as well as any states created in the future. The first census would occur six years after the new federal government began operations and every ten years afterwards. Great Compromise adopted On July 14, John Rutledge and James Wilson attempted to secure proportional representation in the Senate. Charles Pinckney proposed a form of semi-proportional representation in which the smaller states would gain more representation than under a completely proportional system. This proposal was defeated. In a close vote on July 16, the convention adopted the Connecticut Compromise (also known as the Great Compromise) as recommended by the Grand Committee. On July 23, the convention decided that each state should have two senators rather than three. It rejected a proposal by Luther Martin of Maryland that senators from the same state cast a single joint vote, which was the practice in the Confederation Congress. Martin believed this was necessary if the Senate was to represent the interests of the states. Instead, the convention gave senators individual voting power. This accomplished the nationalist goal of preventing state governments from having a direct say in Congress's choice to make national laws. The final document was thus a mixture of Madison's original "national" constitution and the desired "federal" Constitution that many of the delegates sought. Other issues Federal supremacy On July 17, the delegates worked to define the powers of Congress. The Virginia Plan asserted the supremacy of the national government, giving Congress authority "to legislate in all cases to which the separate States are incompetent" and stating that congressional legislation would take precedence over conflicting state laws. In a motion introduced by Gunning Bedford, the Convention approved this provision with only South Carolina and Georgia voting against. Four small states—Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland—accepted the expansion of congressional power. Later in life, Madison explained that this was a result of the Great Compromise. Once the small states were assured they would be represented in the new government, they "exceeded all others in zeal" for a strong national government. The Virginia Plan also gave Congress veto power over state laws. Madison believed this provision was crucial to prevent the states from engaging