What is the difference between the New Jersey and Virginia Plan?
This system would split legislators into two houses, as opposed to the single assembly put forth by the New Jersey Plan, and legislators would be held to specified term limits. According to the Virginia Plan, each state would be represented by a number of legislators determined by the population of free inhabitants.
What was the Virginia Plan of government?
The Virginia Plan suggested first and foremost that the United States govern by way of a bicameral legislature. This system would split legislators into two houses, as opposed to the single assembly put forth by the New Jersey Plan. Additionally, legislators would be held to specified term limits.
What is the New Jersey Plan?
The New Jersey Plan, also aptly titled the “Small State Plan,” was presented by William Paterson and was created in response to the Virginia Plan. The plan largely opted to retain much of the inherent structure from the Articles of Confederation, including its unicameral legislature and the one vote per state status.
Why did smaller states support the New Jersey Plan?
While the Virginia Plan was appealing to larger states, smaller states supported the New Jersey Plan, with their delegates feeling they would have more fair representation in the new government. Instead of adopting either of these proposals, a third option was presented by Roger Sherman, a delegate from Connecticut.
The Constitutional Convention: Creating the Constitution
As a response to the Articles of Confederation’s insufficient government system, several states decided it was important to draft a new constitution that would grant the union’s government more power while also ensuring both the individual states and people retained many of their respective rights and liberties.
What is the Virginia Plan
The Virginia Plan, also known as the “Large State Plan,” was first drafted by James Madison, a Virginian delegate. The plan argued for three branches of government (the executive, legislative, and judicial), with the legislative branch comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives.
What is the New Jersey Plan
The New Jersey Plan, also aptly titled the “Small State Plan,” was presented by William Paterson and was created in response to the Virginia Plan.
How do They Compare to One Another
The Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan were almost complete polar opposites. While the New Jersey Plan essentially sought to maintain much of the Articles of Confederation, the Virginia Plan wanted to replace it. Because of this glaring discrepancy, both plans shared almost no similarities.
What was Ultimately Decided
Despite both plans having legitimate arguments for either side, on June 19th, 1787, the New Jersey Plan was rejected, with the majority of votes going towards the Virginia Plan.
The End Result
Though much of the Virginia Plan was pushed through, that did not mean that some aspects of the New Jersey Plan did not make its presence known. They ultimately forced a level of equal representation between the states in terms of the Senate while also having many of its views regarding the judicial and executive branches be recognized.
What was the Virginia Plan?
A set of proposals for a new government, it included separation of the government into three branches.The Virginia plan advocated a new form of government. More authority over the states and new authority over the people.
What is the role of the executive and a number of national judges in the legislative process?
That the executive and a number of national judges serve as a council of revision, to approve or veto (disapprove) legislative acts. Their veto could be over-ridden by a vote of both houses of the legislature.
What does it mean when the laws of the legislature are binding on the states?
That the acts of the legislature be binding on the states—that is, that they be regarded as "the supreme law of the respective states," with the option of force to compel obedience.
What is the power of a single chamber legislature?
A single-chamber legislature has the power to raise revenue and regulate commerce.
How many houses are there in the state legislature?
The legislature consist of two houses. The first would be chosen by the people, the second by the members of the first house from among candidates nominated by the state legislatures.
What is the national judiciary?
That the national judiciary include one or more supreme courts and other, lower courts, with judges appointed for life by the legislature.
Who elected the multi-person executive?
That a multi-person executive be elected by the legislature, with powers similar to those proposed under the Virginia Plan but without the right to veto legislation.
How would each state be represented in the Virginia Plan?
According to the Virginia Plan, each state would be represented by a number of legislators determined by the population of free inhabitants. Such a proposal was a benefit to Virginia and other large states, but smaller states with lower populations were concerned that they wouldn’t have enough representation.
Which plan was supported by the New Jersey Plan?
While the Virginia Plan was appealing to larger states, smaller states supported the New Jersey Plan, with their delegates feeling they would have more fair representation in the new government. Instead of adopting either of these proposals, a third option was presented by Roger Sherman, a delegate from Connecticut.
What was Madison's proposal for the federal negative?
Madison’s proposal for the federal negative became a bone of contention among the delegates on June 8, 1787. Originally, the Convention had agreed to a somewhat limited federal negative, but in June, South Carolina governor Charles Pinckney proposed that the federal negative should apply to “all laws which [Congress] should judge to be improper.” Madison seconded the motion, warning delegates that a limited federal negative could become an issue later on when states began to argue about the constitutionality of individual vetoes.
What are the principles of the Virginia Plan?
Principles of the Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan suggested first and foremost that the United States govern by way of a bicameral legislature. This system would split legislators into two houses , as opposed to the single assembly put forth by the New Jersey Plan. Additionally, legislators would be held to specified term limits.
What was Sherman's plan?
Sherman’s plan included a bicameral legislature, as laid out in the Virginia Plan, but provided a compromise to satisfy concerns about population-based representation. In Sherman's plan, each state would have two representatives in the Senate and a population-determined number of representatives in the House. ...
What was the Connecticut compromise?
This proposal structuring the U.S. government has been called both the Connecticut Compromise and the Great Compromise.
Why did the Constitutional Convention convene?
In the summer of 1787, the Constitutional Convention convened to evaluate the problems with governing under the Articles of Confederation.