In 1791 Alexander Hamilton proposed a method for determining the number of representatives each of the states would have in the House of Representatives. His plan was approved by Congress, but was vetoes by George Washington,
Hamilton's plan took the total population of all of the states and divided that number by the number of representatives to be apportioned. It was the original intent of the delegates to divide the population of each state by a common divisor. George Washington believed that the states should be entitled to one representative for every 30,000.
In Article 1 Section 2 Clause 3 it mandates that each state shall have at least one representative and no state shall no more than one representative for every 30,000. Hamilton's plan would have violated this provision in 8 of the states.
Hamilton's method was reintroduced in 1851 and was used until 1911. During this period of time the states began to be unequally represented. In order to for the states to be equally apportioned their population would need to be divided by a common divisor. Dividing the population by an arbitrary number determine by Congress would lead to disproportionate representation among the states.
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