address the issue of representation in the newly-formed United States government. Both plans proposed different methods for determining representation in Congress.
The New Jersey Plan, put forward by William Paterson, advocated for a unicameral legislature in which each state had an equal vote, regardless of their population size. This plan favored the smaller states as it ensured that they would have an equal say in the legislative process. It was seen as a continuation of the Articles of Confederation, which had also given equal representation to each state.
On the other hand, the Virginia Plan, proposed by James Madison and championed by larger states such as Virginia and Pennsylvania, called for a bicameral legislature. In this plan, representation would be allocated based on population size or the amount of revenue contributed by each state. This approach favored the larger states and aimed to give them more influence in the decision-making process.
These plans were presented and debated during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which sought to revise the Articles of Confederation. Eventually, a compromise was reached called the Connecticut Compromise or the Great Compromise. It combined elements of both plans by creating a bicameral legislature. The House of Representatives would have representation proportional to each state's population, while the Senate would have equal representation with two senators for each state.
Overall, the New Jersey and Virginia plans reflected the tensions between larger and smaller states and their differing ideas about how representation should be allocated in the newly-formed United States government. The compromise reached in the form of the Great Compromise laid the foundation for the structure of Congress that still exists today.
The New Jersey and Virginia plans of the 1780s were each meant to
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