The And The New Jersey Plans

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)

The framework of the New Jersey plan was based around the Articles of Confederation. Much like the Articles, they had a one house legislature. Also similar to the Articles, each state would be given only one vote, and would take at least

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

In 1787, the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in hopes of revising the Articles of Confederation before the new, established country would become unsustainable. The Articles of Confederation had failed the country as the central government was not strong enough to uphold the country and protect the people’s rights. They were then abandoned and the Founding Fathers began to draft a new government system, what we now know as the US Constitution. At the time the dilemma was, should the Constitution be ratified? The Constitution should be ratified considering that it averts abuse of power, is effective in regulation, and is in the interest of the people.

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.

In 1787, a group of fifty-five American delegates, met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend the Constitutional Convention to work out problems with the way the country was run. This involved improving and revising the old Articles of Confederation. Instead of revising the Articles of Confederation to make the government work better, the delegates came up with a plan for a new form of government, the United States Constitution.

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

The plan of the delegates was to remedy the defects in the Articles of Confederation, but Virginia delegates had a new idea in mid and boldly proposed the Virginia Plan, which introduced a whole new national government instead of the confederation. The New Jersey Plan was also presented as an alternative, but it was based mainly on autonomous states being represented by a single chamber. When bicameral legislation was approved it effectively made the decision for the Virginia Plan, and allowed for the New

There are similarities and differences between the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan. Both plans wanted separated legislative, judicial, and executive branches to help prevent corruption. However, the Virginia Plan wanted a bicameral legislature with the lower house having representatives apportioned by population or based on the amount of contributions a state made to the government; the upper house would have representatives appointed by the state legislatures. Whereas, the New Jersey Plan wanted a single legislative branch with an equal number of representatives per state. The Virginia Plan was supported by the larger states because they would have more representation. Federalists also supported the plan because they wanted a strong Federal Government that had authority so that the states would not repeat the mistakes they made in the Articles of Confederation. The smaller states were afraid of the Virginia Plan because they were concerned that the majority would tyrannize the minority of the country. A strong Federal Government, as proposed by federalists and the Virginia Plan, was threating to

The Constitutional Convention was held at Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The purpose of the convention was to revise the articles of confederation. However, what happened instead was an entirely new system of government being created to replace the failed articles. The true results that came forth from the convention is known today as the United States Constitution. Many topics were discussed during the convention, many which have been changed or altered in the decades after the convention. Nevertheless, some stayed as they were since the conventions. The most debated topics at the convention were; how to elect the senate, how “proportional representation” was to be defined, whether to divide the executive power between three individuals or all to the president. How to elect the president, how long he can run and if he can run for reelection, what offences can be impeachable, the fugitive slave clause, if to abolish the slave trade, and whether if judges should be chosen by the legislative or executive branch. These topics were the main points that were the most debated during the convention, many which have been revised and edited to fit with different times and circumstances that have happened in American history. These topics have been at the forefront of many debates since then, and have led to other major and tragic events in our history. However, without the convention, we as American’s would not have the system of government we have today which has

After the Revolution, Americans were faced with the incredibly difficult task of formulating a plan that would lay out the laws of government for the new nation. First, there were the Articles of Confederation, but they later proved to be unsuccessful in effectively governing the nation. Thus, there was a need for a new plan. In 1787, delegates gathered at the Constitutional Convention in order to create a new plan for government. Throughout the convention, a number of compromises were made in order to appease the fears of different groups. These compromises were necessary in order to ratify the Constitution and to create a successful plan of government that would stand the test of time.

It proposed more power to the states, and the federal government to hold little power. This was quickly dismissed by those who wanted a strong federal government. The nationalists were able to convince those in favor of the New Jersey plan that any new legislation would be in direct relation to what the people wanted (Bruns, 1986).

This plan consisted of three branches of government that would consist of an executive, judiciary, and a two-chamber legislature. This plan limited the influence of smaller states due to members being elected according to the size of a state’s free population. William Peterson of New Jersey, having what he thought was a better resolution, proposed the New Jersey or small-states plan. His plan would retain a one-chamber Congress with equal footing, and establish the executive and judiciary branches. The New Jersey plan further broadened the power of Congress to collect taxes, and to regulate interstate and foreign

The Virginia Plan was proposed by governor Randolph Edmund of Virginia. Edmund presented the Virginia Plan to the delegates of the Constitutional Convention on May 29, 1787 in Philadelphia. The Virginia Plan then was drafted by James Madison, it was an outline of a new form of government. The delegates of Virginia presented a strong national government that had the power to make laws, enforce laws, and collect taxes. The plan would create a federal system of government which the people would be governed. The federal system of government would be authorized by both the state and national governments. Another distinctive attribute of the plan was to have two branches or chambers of legislature, in which a speaker of the state would be corresponding