Question

Why did the New Jersey Plan propose an equal number of senators per state?
A.
to ensure the less populous Northern states would have the same representation as Southern states
B.
to reduce the tension between politicians from Northern states and Southern states
C.
to prevent enslaved persons from being counted as part of the population in the North and South
D.
to compensate for the fact that the North had a more industrial economy than the agrarian South

Answer 1

A.

The New Jersey Plan was designed to protect the interests of the smaller (less populous) states by giving each state equal representation so larger states could not dominate the national legislature. This issue was resolved by the Great Compromise: a bicameral Congress with proportional representation in the House and equal representation (two senators) for each state in the Senate.