The phrase you are looking for likely refers to the Virginia Plan, which was proposed during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The Virginia Plan favored larger states by suggesting that representation in Congress should be based on population, meaning that states with larger populations would have more representatives and, consequently, greater influence in the legislative process. This was in contrast to the New Jersey Plan, which aimed to provide equal representation for all states regardless of their size or population.
The debate between these two plans ultimately led to the Great Compromise (or Connecticut Compromise), which established a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House of Representatives (based on population) and equal representation in the Senate (two senators from each state, regardless of size). This compromise aimed to balance the interests of both large and small states in the newly proposed federal government.
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