Compare And Contrast The New Jersey Plan Vs The Virginia Plan

The first plan is Virginia Plan, which was drafted on May 29, 1787, by James Madison and his fellow Edmund Randolph in the form of 15 resolutions. It was proposed to the Constitutional Convention by James Madison, who was a political theorist, American statesman, and the well-known fourth President of the United States. He was also the father of checks and balances, which helps to prevent the abuse of power between the branches. The Virginia Plan suggested that we should have a bicameral legislature in which contains two chambers. Besides, each state would have representatives based on the population – according to the Plan. This proposal is clearly an advantage for the large states because of their high population. More than that, they are going to have more representatives which means more power.

The authors did a good job stating facts about both plans while staying partial to neither of them. On page 32 in the second paragraph the authors write “For instance, it did go a long way in meeting the objectives of those who wanted a stronger union, such as that envisioned in the Virginia Plan, by granting the central government taxing powers and control over interstate and foreign commerce, and by providing as well that its laws would be the “supreme law of the of the respective states…” These together shows the readers a lot of information about the two plans.

A widely controversial issue while creating the Constitution was the number of representatives each state would receive. Larger states advocated for the Virginia plan where there would be a two-house legislature, one of which would comprise representatives directly elected by the population while the other was composed of those nominated by the legislators. This legislature would then be responsible for deciding the executive and judicial branches of the government. Smaller states backed the New Jersey Plan where a one-house legislature was supported, with each state receiving one vote. The representatives would be selected by the legislators and this new Congress would now have the power to collect fees and appoint Supreme Court members. The Virginia Plan would allow for larger states to have more power because representation was proportional to the population while the New Jersey Plan would allow smaller states to havae more power because they had the same amount of representation for a smaller population.

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

In response to the Articles of Confederation, James Madison created the Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan is set up with three branches: the legislative, executive and judiciary branch. In the legislative branch, there were two branches in which the amount of representatives was based on the population of a state. Based on this plan, highly populated states like Massachusetts would have the most representatives. The Legislative branch had the power to veto laws developed by the states, elect officials to the Executive and Judicial branch, and the ability to remove a person in the Executive branch if they acted poorly.

The Virginia Plan was favored by the big states. It envisioned a bicameral legislature with both houses having membership proportional to population. The New Jersey plan was favored by the small states. It called for each state's representation in each house to be equal to every other states. The delegates considered whether the legislature should be elected directly by the people or by the state legislatures. The usual arguments against allowing

At the convention, delegates not only voted for a new constitution but they introduced the Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan is significant in that the plan introduces a bicameral legislature, which consists of a lower house (elected by the people) and an upper house (elected by the states). Further, the Virginia Plan calls for the three branches of governments: the national legislative, the national judiciary, and the national executive (although vaguely hinted). Following the Virginia Plan, delegates introduced the New Jersey Plan and the Hamilton Plan. The Virginia Plan, along with the Hamilton Plan and the New Jersey Plan, is important in that the plan not only sets important groundwork to the current U.S. Constitution but shapes also the American presidency.

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

Under the Articles, Congress had no way to avert war or to provide for national security against foreign intrusion. The government could not resolve the fight between states, manage interstate exchange, collect taxes, or uphold laws. These shortcomings of the confederation distressed political leaders. Accordingly, they requested an assemblage in order to revise the Articles and restore the fledgling country. The Virginia Plan, composed by James Madison and proposed by Edmund Randolph presented a government separated into three branches of

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

It made several proposals regarding the structure and powers of the federal government. Under the Virginia Plan, both houses in the legislature would have their representatives decided according to a state's number of free citizens. It was assumed by Madison that both large and small states would agree to this proposal; however, the smallest states were opposed because they knew they would have less Congressional power under this governmental structure. Roche uses words like "militant" and "truly radical" when describing the structure of the federal government under the Virginia Plan. Both he and Lance Banning relate the support Madison's plan received to the delegates' memories of the behavior of state legislatures under the Articles of Confederation. It is not surprising, therefore, that some delegates first supported a plan that would protect against abuses of power by the states. In response to the Virginia Plan, states' righters began supporting the New Jersey Plan, which called for equal representation in every state. Roche describes it as a "reversion to the status quo under the Articles of Confederation with but minor

The Virginia Plan sparked debate over its legislative representative proposals. The plan proposed representation of the states by population. This proposition favored the larger states. The Jersey Plan also known as the smaller state plan rallied for equal representation for all states. A compromise was finally reached. One house of the legislature would consist of two representatives from each state. This satisfied the small states. The second house of the legislature would consist of representatives based on population, thus satisfying the larger states. The establishment of a fair measure to apply taxation and representation in the legislature was described in the Federalist Papers: The Apportionment of Members among the States. The government would conduct a census that would prevent the states from understating their population for taxation and overstating their population for representation. The “Great Compromise” resolving the issue of representation did not mean that the federalists and anti-federalists had come to agreement on the Constitution.