Why do you think representation was such a difficult issue to resolve?

One of the main reasons why representation was such a difficult issue to resolve was because the South had a large number of slaves, whom they wanted to count towards representation in Congress. This is where the 3/5 Compromise made each slave count for 3/5 of a person.

States did not want to lose power to the federal government.

Each state wanted to be equal in their say but there was concern over how to determine representation.

Largely populated states preferred a system where population determined representation. This would give large states a lot of power leaving small states and slave states with less representation. The other concern was how to count slaves--as persons or property. If they count as persons, then the South would have many more representatives than Northern states. If slaves count as people, however, it creates a moral issue. The other option was a straight set number for each state. Again if many states fell to one issue then other states could be shut down. The compromise was to create a two chamber Congress with the Senate having a set 2 representatives from each state and the House being set on population. Slaves were counted as 3/5 a person as stated in the Three-fifths Compromise.