Brianna Hernandez

1/23/14
Political Science
Professor Hamman

The Virginia Plan, The New Jersey Plan, and The Great Compromise

The Virginia plan was created in 1787 with the efforts of James Madison and Edmund
Randolph. James Madison was the known author of the plan but Virginian governor Edmund
Jennings Randolph had proposed the plan at the Constitutional Convention. What the Virginia
Plan had done was permit a legislative branch that had a total of two chambers allowing
representation of the states and the people. The Virginia plan had also wanted to divide the
government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Within the legislative branch one
to two members would be elected by the citizens of America and those within the executive
branch would be chosen by those in legislative. However, this plan had given larger states a
larger role in the plan because the larger the state the more the representation. Because of this
factor, the smaller states were appalled by the plan and generally opposed it whilst the larger
states naturally supported the Virginia plan.1

The New Jersey plan was created June 15, 1787 by William Paterson and introduced at the
Constitutional Convention. While the Virginia plan had sought to give larger states more power,

1 2014. "Randolph, Edmund Jennings." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia 1p. 1. Funk
& Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, EBSCOhost (accessed January 23, 2015).
2009. "Virginia Plan." Virginia Plan Of Union 1. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed
January 23, 2015).

the New Jersey plan had sought to give a higher amount of power to those within the smaller
states.Under the New Jersey plan the Articles of Confederation was to be revised, Congress
would have the power to produce tariffs and collect from states on account of free residents
including 3/5ths of slave population within the area. In plenty ways the New Jersey plan had
opposed that of the Virginia plan and had generally been rejected by those in the constitutional
convention, especially Edmund Randolph and James Madison. What those at the Constitutional
Convention did not like about the plan was that it was still not fully balanced as it had appealed
more to the smaller states than that of the larger states. Although the New Jersey plan was
initially rejected, some of its influence had taken part within the Great Compromise.
Using ideas from the Virginia plan and the New Jersey plan, the great compromise promised
satisfaction within the Constitutional Convention of 1787.The Great Compromise was created
mainly by Roger Sherman, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention from Connecticut. The
Great Compromise had created a bicameral legislative body for the United States of America and
worked out an equal share of power to be divided upon the states. The Great Compromise had
dissected the ideas on population, from the Virginia plan, and the ideas on equal representation,
from the New Jersey plan, to construct the basis for the Great Compromise. The acceptance of
the Great Compromise had created a House of Representatives, a Senate, and paved the way for
the Three-Fifths Compromise. The Great Compromise had led to both large and small states
having power within the government; however the larger states had a bit more of an advantage
than those from the smaller states.2
2 2013. "William Paterson, American political leader and jurist." Columbia Electronic
Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition 1. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January
23,2015).
2001. "Chapter 9: Securing States' Interests at the 1787 Constitutional Convention: A
Reassessment." In Framers' Construction / Beardian Deconstruction, 231-279. n.p.: Peter
Lang Publishing, Inc., 2001. America: History and Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed
January 24, 2015).