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Fionne Ma
Professor Sara Butler
Political Science 1
January 22, 2015
Summarize Plans from Constitutional Convention
In The Constitutional Convention, US History Context states
that James Madison drafted the Virginia Plan on May 29, 1787,
proposing to completely replace the existing Congress by executing a
true national government. This true national government would be
comprised of a bicameral legislature, one branch containing two
houses, an independent executive, and an independent judiciary.
Although the convention was called upon to amend the Articles of
Confederation, Madison believed that, in order to sustain and maintain
a stronger, semi-democratic government, the government would deal
with business independently from states, having authority to enact,
execute, and adjudicate its own laws. He also proposed proportional
voting by giving more populous states more votes per capita. This
benefitted the larger states by giving them more power. However,
this proposal was deemed difficult to initiate because of apportioning
representation. Delegates had to decide whether the seats in the
House of Representatives and African-American slaves should also be
accounted for.

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In The Constitutional Convention, US History Context states
that William Paterson introduced the New Jersey Plan on June 15,
1787, proposing a unicameral legislature. Patersons proposal was
largely designed to protect the interest of the smaller states from
being trampled on by the larger states. He ultimately wanted to limit
one-vote-per-state representation, regardless of a states population
size. Unlike the Virginia Plan that benefits the larger states, this plan
would have ultimately benefited the smaller states, once again causing
a dispute amongst delegates. Paterson also proposed to reform, but
not replace, the Confederation by permitting Congress additional
power to collect tax and regulate interstate commerce. Before,
Congress had no zero power to lay or collect tax; therefore, by
implementing this plan, Congress would be able to impose tax laws
and receive funds. Although the farmers, Founding Fathers of the
United States, leaned more towards accepting the Virginia Plans
national government proposal regarding their legislative power, they
agreed that the states should continue to remain accountable for most
of the responsibility regarding the daily businesses of American life.
In The Great Compromise, US History Context states that the
Great Connecticut Compromise was a final political agreement
concerning the apportionment of representatives in Congress. This
agreement was troublesome because the large, rapidly growing, states
wanted more representation, while smaller states insisted in a one-

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vote-per-state representation. When the Convention delegates could
not come to terms with one another, they resorted to a special
committee, consisting of one delegate per state. With a new specialdelegate-committee, these delegates favored an earlier proposal,
suggested

by

Connecticut

delegates,

stating

that

states

are

represented on their population size in the House of Representatives,

and the Senate was represented equally. Coming to a final agreement,
the delegates accepted this compromise on July 16. Lastly, the Great
Compromise pushed delegates toward the expansion of federal courts
authority. Delegates initially rejected Madisons plan to provide the
national government the power to veto state laws, but shortly after,
they approved a provision that made the Supreme Court the umpire in
conflicts between state and national laws.

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Work Cited
Robertson, David Brian. "Great Compromise." Encyclopedia of the
Supreme Court of the United States. Ed. David S. Tanenhaus. Vol.
2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 359. U.S. History in
Context. Web. 22 Jan. 2015
"The Constitutional Convention." The Constitution and Supreme Court.
Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Media, 1999. American
Journey. U.S. History in Context. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.