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Summarize Plans from the Constitutional Convention

The Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan was written by James Madison and presented by Edmund Randolph on

May 29, 1787. The Virginia Plan is comprised of fifteen proposals that outlined a new form of

government. The Virginia Plan proposed that there be a strong national government capable of

enforcing laws and collecting taxes. There would be Separation of Powers via three branches of

government to make up the strong national government; the Legislative branch, the Executive

branch, and the Judicial branch. These three branches make up the checks and balances system

that would prevent one branch from abusing their power. A federal system of government would

be established, and people would be governed by both the state and national governments. A

bicameral legislature would also be established, where a states population would be taken into

account for proportional representation. One house of the bicameral legislature would be

comprised of members elected by the people for three-year terms, while the other would be

comprised of leaders elected by the state legislatures for seven-year terms. Larger states would

benefit from the Virginia plan, as representation is proportional to a states population.

The New Jersey Plan

The New Jersey Plan was written by New Jersey Delegate William Patterson and

proposed on June 14, 1787 during the Constitutional Convention. The New Jersey Plan consisted

of eleven resolutions. The New Jersey Plan called for a unicameral (one house) legislature. The

unicameral legislature would consist of a single Congressional legislative body where each state

would have the same number of representatives. Patterson had hoped that the plan would please

both the larger and smaller states. Large states disliked the New Jersey Plan because they favored

proportional representation as opposed to states having the same number of representatives.

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Small states favored the New Jersey Plan for its unicameral legislature, where states would have

equal representation no matter their population size. The New Jersey Plan would give small

states and large states the same level of power in the legislature. Like the Virginia Plan, the New

Jersey Plan also called for a Separation of Powers via three branches; the Legislative branch, the

Executive branch, and the Judicial branch. Rather than giving control of the federal government

to the people, the New Jersey Plan gave control of the federal government to the states. Congress

would be given the authority to collect taxes from states based upon the number of free citizens

and from 3/5ths of slaves in states with slaves. The federal executive would be authorized to

utilize force to force states to follow the law if it does not already.

The Connecticut Plan

The Connecticut Plan was a compromise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey

Plan. The Connecticut Plan was proposed on July 23, 1787 by Oliver Elisworth and Roger

Sherman. The Connecticut Plan required concessions between small states and large states. The

Connecticut Plan combined the best ideas of the Virginia and New Jersey Plans. The Separation

of Powers that was presented in both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans was present in the

Connecticut Plan. The Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary branches were established

from this plan. The Connecticut Plan introduced a legislative body comprised of a House of

Representatives and a Senate. The House of Representatives would be comprised of a

proportionate number of representatives depending on the population size of the respective state.

In the Senate, however, each state would be allocated two representatives to serve in the senate

regardless of population size. Also, the House of Representatives would be the only house of

Congress that could create new taxes. The Connecticut Plan was ultimately included in the

United States Constitution.

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Bibliography

Alchin, Linda. "New Jersey Plan." US Government and Constitution for Kids. June 2015.
Accessed March 03, 2017. http://www.government-and-constitution.org/us-
constitution/new-jersey-plan.htm.

. "The Great Compromise." US Government and Constitution for Kids. June 2015. Accessed
March 03, 2017. http://www.government-and-constitution.org/us-constitution/great-
compromise.htm.

Laws.com. "Connecticut Compromise Explained." Laws. 2017. Accessed March 03, 2017.
http://constitution.laws.com/connecticut-compromise.

Library of Virginia. "The Virginia Plan, May 29, 1787." Education from LVA. Accessed March
03, 2017.
http://edu.lva.virginia.gov/online_classroom/shaping_the_constitution/doc/virginia_plan.

Ourdocuments.gov. "Virginia Plan (1787)." Welcome to OurDocuments.gov. Accessed March 03,

2017. https://ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=7.