Mallory Pineda
AE 1
The Articles of Confederation and United States Constitution are two documents that shaped the U.S. government into what it is today. The Articles of Confederation (AOC) was the first Constitution of the United States. Americans soon realized that this document had to be substantially modified because the U.S. needed a stronger government. The AOC was thought of as an ineffective national government document, although there were some strong points. The AOC was ratified in 1781, and replaced by an improved document known as the United States Constitution in 1789. An unknown person once said, “Perhaps the greatest service rendered by the Articles of Confederation was the impetus its shortcomings gave to those who
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This plan also called for the lower house to be elected directly by the people and the upper house to be elected by the lower house. This plan as well called for a Chief Executive and a Federal Court system, and it gave Congress the power to tax and regulate interstate commerce. The Large State Plan gave the national government the power to legislate, and gave a proposed national Council of Revision a veto power over state legislatures. The delegates loved the sound of this fundamental reform plan.
The Virginia Plan struck opposition among delegates from the smaller states and thus a competing plan, presented by William Patterson, known as the New Jersey Plan, or Small State Plan, came into action. This plan kept federal powers rather limited and created no new Congress. Instead, the plan enlarged some of the supremacies then held by the Continental Congress. It also called for a plural executive branch and a federal court system like the Virginia Plan. This plan was not as highly sought out as the Virginia Plan, so in turn was rejected which caused the supporters of the Virginia Plan to make amends to the smaller states. This in turn resulted in members of the Senate being elected by the state legislatures.
After the Virginia and New Jersey Plan delegates worked out a series of compromises between these competing
In the “Virginia Plan vs. New Jersey Plan” both plans called for a strong national government with 3 branches which led to the Great Compromise. The Great Compromise provided for a bicameral congress. The bicameral structure wanted to accommodate both large and small states unlike the unicameral which only included the small vote.
The Virginia Plan suggested for a bicameral legislative branch. The Constitutional Convention originally was held in Philadelphia to alter the Articles of Confederation, the federal government, under the Articles, was too weak to enforce their laws and therefore had no power. James Madison, headed the Virginia Delegates, he shapes the debate by instantly drawing up and presenting a proposal. Edmund Randolph, then Governor of Virginia officially put the suggestion before the Convention on May 29, 1787. (loc.gov)
Virginia and New Jersey Plan proposed the balance of representation of small states with the big states
The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution are two very important guidelines of government that shaped the political minds of the Americans. Mainly because these guidelines limited, or expanded the powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branch. The Articles of Confederation were a series of laws that gave more power to the state government than the federal government. As a result, the federal government could not enforce laws or levy taxes. After Shay’s Rebellion, the Founding Fathers realized that a change was necessary. So the Constitution was created. The most important change of the Constitution was that the majority of power was then shifted into the hands of the federal or central government. This allowed the federal
Four days later (May 29) the main idea of the convention started. Edmund Randolph, the governor of Virginia, gave his idea of government called the Virginia plan. The Virginia plan gave the idea of a strong government. This provided a problem for William Patterson so he proposed the New Jersey Plan. Patterson’s plan gave the government limited power in order to give the smaller states an equal vote. In September of 1787 the final compromises had been made and the new constitution was given the green
The first was called the Virginia plan, and was developed by James Madison. It proposed two houses, both based on population, which that the larger states had more say than the smaller ones. The second proposal was the New Jersey plan, proposed by William Patterson. This proposal wanted one house where all states got equal
The first issue that they were given was the interests of small and large states. James Madison created the Virginia Plan, which allowed “congress virtually unrestricted powers to legislate, levy taxes, veto state laws, and authorize military force against the states” (Boyer). The plan also wanted a bicameral legislative branch and representation based off of population. Many delegates opposed this plan because they did not think that representation based
The Articles of Confederation was the first form of Government the United States of America. Since this form of Government failed, the Founding Fathers of the United States of America met together to create a new form of government. There was no other government that was similar to the one they had created. Their new government gave power to the people. This meant that people living in The United States of America could vote and have a say in how the government worked.
Delegates feared that the national government would have too much power over the states. William Paterson came up with the New Jersey Plan. The Plan proposed for changes in the Articles of Confederation that would let Congress regulate trade and tax imports, but would maintain state power. The New Jersey Plan proposed a single legislature, a government that relied on the authority of the state governments, more than one executive and one vote of legislation for each state. The plan allowed each state to keep its independence. The plan did not stop the states from violating foreign treaties, or from entering into treaties, or wars. James Madison was against the New Jersey Plan. Madison insisted that the New Jersey Plan did not improve any of the flaws of the Articles of Confederation. The Virginia Plan was finally approved as the plan to be used to construct the new government. The approval of the Virginia Plan meant that the delegates were now committed to creating a new
The Great Compromise was constructed due to a conflict regarding representation within the government between states with a large population and states with a small population. There were two plans presented to solve this problem. The Virginia Plan written by James Madison, and presented by Governor Edmund Randolph was in favor of the large population states. It favored a central government with a bicameral legislature. It would have three branches of government. On the other hand, the New Jersey Plan was written by William Patterson and it favored the less populated states. These states felt they should not be punished for having a smaller population. They wanted a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state, regardless of population. The plan was a way to revise the Articles of Confederation. The New Jersey Plan did, however, give the central government the authority to tax the states, and regulate trade powers. The Great Compromise was created by Roger
Virginia plan placed a lot of power in the legislative branch, and had a system very similar to the one we use today. The branch is split up into two houses, the House of Representatives, as well as the Senate. The number of officials in these institutions would be based solely on population, or their contribution to the federation. They would be voted on by the people, for the House of Reps, and the Senate would then be chosen by government officials. This was a very scary plan to the smaller states, who much rather favored the New Jersey plan. This option outlined a very equal playing field for all states. There is a one house legislature system, with equal representation across the board. All decisions were made based on the state’s
During the constitutional convention, two plans were proposed to solve the problem of state representation in the government. The first of the two plans was the Virginia Plan, proposed by James Madison and the second being the New Jersey Plan, proposed by William Patterson. Both plans consisted of three branches of government, executive, legislative, and judiciary. however, the New Jersey Plan allowed for multiple executives. Additionally, the Virginia Plan had a bicameral legislature, both houses based on state's’ population or its wealth. The New Jersey Plan, on the other hand, has a unicameral legislature, with its single house giving a single vote to each state
The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution are two different types of Government. There are many differences between the two, for example, the Articles of Confederation were made for the original 13 colonies. The constitution was made for the United States of America.
The Articles of Confederation were a written agreement, ratified by the thirteen original states of the United States of America, which laid the guidelines as to how the US government was supposed to