What is the latest version of the Virginia Plan?
Virginia Plan. This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 28 October 2018. The Virginia Plan (also known as the Randolph Plan, after its sponsor, or the Large-State Plan) was a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch.
How did the Virginia Plan address the issue of representation?
In addition to dealing with legislative representation, the Virginia Plan addressed other issues as well, with many provisions that did not make it into the Constitution that emerged. It called for a national government of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
Who proposed the Virginia Plan in 1787?
At the Constitutional Convention on May 29, 1787, Virginia delegate Edmund Randolph proposed what became known as "The Virginia Plan."
How many houses of Congress did the Virginia Plan want?
two houses ofThe plan was created in response to the Virginia Plan's call for two houses of Congress, both elected with proportional representation.
How many houses were proposed in the New Jersey plan?
one-houseWilliam Paterson's New Jersey Plan proposed a unicameral (one-house) legislature with equal votes of states and an executive elected by a national legislature.
Was the Virginia Plan Big or small?
large state…a plan known as the Virginia, or large state, plan, which provided for a bicameral legislature with representation of each state based on its population or wealth. William Paterson proposed the New Jersey, or small state, plan, which provided for equal representation in Congress. Neither the large nor the small…
How many chambers are in the Virginia Plan?
The Virginia Plan called for a two-house legislature. Representation in both houses would be based on population. A state's representatives in one house would be elected by the state's voters.
What are the 2 houses called Under the Great Compromise?
Under the agreement proposed by Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman, Congress would be a “bicameral” or two-chambered body, with each state getting a number of representatives in the lower chamber (the House) proportional to its population and two representatives in the upper chamber (the Senate).
How did the Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan differ?
How did the Virginia plan differ from the New Jersey plan? The Virginia Plan called for three branches of government and two houses of Congress. Representation in each house would be determined by population. The New Jersey Plan called for three branches of government and a single house of Congress.
Was the Virginia Plan based on population?
The plan called for a legislature divided into two bodies (the Senate and the House of Representatives) with proportional representation. That is, each state's representation in Congress would be based on its population.
Who liked the Virginia Plan?
Supporters of the Virginia Plan included James Madison, George Washington, Edmund Randolph, and the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
What was the Virginia Plan quizlet?
The Virginia Plan was presented to the Constitutional Convention and proposed the creation of a bicameral legislature with representation in both houses proportional to population.
How many House of Representatives does Virginia have?
Virginia is allotted 11 seats in the U.S House Of Representatives; currently 7 seats are held by Democrats and 4 seats are held by Republicans.
How many seats are in the Virginia house?
Virginia House of DelegatesStructureSeats100Political groupsMajority Republican (52) Minority Democratic (48)Length of term2 years25 more rows
Why are there two houses of Congress?
To balance the interests of both the small and large states, the Framers of the Constitution divided the power of Congress between the two houses. Every state has an equal voice in the Senate, while representation in the House of Representatives is based on the size of each state's population.
What was Madison's proposal for the federal negative?
Madison’s proposal for the federal negative became a bone of contention among the delegates on June 8, 1787. Originally, the Convention had agreed to a somewhat limited federal negative, but in June, South Carolina governor Charles Pinckney proposed that the federal negative should apply to “all laws which [Congress] should judge to be improper.” Madison seconded the motion, warning delegates that a limited federal negative could become an issue later on when states began to argue about the constitutionality of individual vetoes.
What are the principles of the Virginia Plan?
Principles of the Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan suggested first and foremost that the United States govern by way of a bicameral legislature. This system would split legislators into two houses , as opposed to the single assembly put forth by the New Jersey Plan. Additionally, legislators would be held to specified term limits.
What was Sherman's plan?
Sherman’s plan included a bicameral legislature, as laid out in the Virginia Plan, but provided a compromise to satisfy concerns about population-based representation. In Sherman's plan, each state would have two representatives in the Senate and a population-determined number of representatives in the House. ...
What was the Great Compromise of 1787?
The Great Compromise of 1787 incorporated elements of the Virginia Plan into the new Constitution, replacing the Articles of Confederation.
How would each state be represented in the Virginia Plan?
According to the Virginia Plan, each state would be represented by a number of legislators determined by the population of free inhabitants. Such a proposal was a benefit to Virginia and other large states, but smaller states with lower populations were concerned that they wouldn’t have enough representation.
What was the Connecticut compromise?
This proposal structuring the U.S. government has been called both the Connecticut Compromise and the Great Compromise.
Why did the Constitutional Convention convene?
In the summer of 1787, the Constitutional Convention convened to evaluate the problems with governing under the Articles of Confederation.
The Constitutional Convention: Creating the Constitution
As a response to the Articles of Confederation’s insufficient government system, several states decided it was important to draft a new constitution that would grant the union’s government more power while also ensuring both the individual states and people retained many of their respective rights and liberties.
What is the Virginia Plan
The Virginia Plan, also known as the “Large State Plan,” was first drafted by James Madison, a Virginian delegate. The plan argued for three branches of government (the executive, legislative, and judicial), with the legislative branch comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives.
What is the New Jersey Plan
The New Jersey Plan, also aptly titled the “Small State Plan,” was presented by William Paterson and was created in response to the Virginia Plan.
How do They Compare to One Another
The Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan were almost complete polar opposites. While the New Jersey Plan essentially sought to maintain much of the Articles of Confederation, the Virginia Plan wanted to replace it. Because of this glaring discrepancy, both plans shared almost no similarities.
What was Ultimately Decided
Despite both plans having legitimate arguments for either side, on June 19th, 1787, the New Jersey Plan was rejected, with the majority of votes going towards the Virginia Plan.
The End Result
Though much of the Virginia Plan was pushed through, that did not mean that some aspects of the New Jersey Plan did not make its presence known. They ultimately forced a level of equal representation between the states in terms of the Senate while also having many of its views regarding the judicial and executive branches be recognized.
What is the Virginia Plan?
The Virginia Plan (also known as the Randolph Plan, after its sponsor, or the Large-State Plan) was a proposal to the United States Constitutional Convention for the creation of a supreme national government with three branches and a bicameral legislature.
Why was the Virginia Plan proposed?
The Virginia Plan favored the interests of states with large populations, and the New Jersey Plan was proposed in response to protect small state interests.
What are the three branches of government?
Modeled on the existing state governments, the plan called for three branches of government (executive, legislative and judicial). Since the legislature appointed both the executive and judicial branches, however, the plan lacked the system of checks and balances that would become central to the US Constitution.
Why was the Virginia Plan called the Large State Plan?
This would provide large states, like Virginia, more representation than they had under the Articles of Confederation, which gave each state equal representation regardless of population. For this reason, the plan was called the "large-state plan".
Where was the Virginia Plan filmed?
Presented largely from the viewpoint and words of James Madison, the movie was mainly filmed in Independence Hall .
Who sketched out the Virginia Plan?
While waiting for the convention to formally begin, Madison sketched out the Virginia Plan in consultation with members of the Virginia and Pennsylvania delegations, which shared his vision of a strong national government.
How should representation in the national legislature be apportioned?
Representation in the national legislature should be apportioned according either to "quotas of contribution" (a state's wealth as reflected in the taxes it paid) or the size of each state's non-slave population.
What was the purpose of the Constitutional Convention?
As its name suggests, the Philadelphia Convention was a call to completely transform the previous legislative model set forth by the Articles of Confederation. Upon its creation in 1777, the authors of the Articles of Confederation were still reeling from the perceived injustices they had suffered under the monarchy of both King George II and King George III.
What would happen if one state disapproved of an amendment that garnered the approval of the remaining 12 states
In addition, should one State disapprove of an amendment that garnered the approval of the remaining 12 states, the amendment would not be passed. This created a forum in which the minority would be allowed to rule over the majority.
What is the Virginia Plan?
The Virginia Plan proposed that Congress be comprised of 2 legislative entities: the Lower and Upper Houses. The Lower House would be elected commensurate to each State’s population and the Upper House would be elected by the Lower House.
Who proposed the Virginia Plan?
In reaction to this, Virginia representative Edmund Rudolph, a delegate from Virginia, proposed the Virginia Plan, also known as the Large State plan, at the Philadelphia Convention. The Virginia Plan was based on a bicameral legislative model inspired by a form of republicanism. The Virginia Plan proposed that Congress be comprised ...
What is Jameson's argument?
Jameson’s argument rests on what Farrand called “the somewhat doubtful authority of the Journal.”. Even if the Journal is correct, however, Jameson’s is not the only plausible explanation of the motions of 4 and 12 June. Paterson’s notes contain evidence supporting the accuracy of JM’s version of the ninth resolution.
What does the first clause of the ninth resolution not mention?
The result is confusing: the first clause does not mention supreme and inferior courts , but the last clause defines the jurisdiction of these hitherto unmentioned tribunals.
What is the important fact about the Virginia Plan?
The important fact is that both printed versions seriously distort the original manuscript. Jameson correctly stated that Brearley’s text of the Virginia Plan, as printed in Documentary History of the Constitution, “represents the original, plus most of the modifications made up to about June 11 or 12.”.
What was Jameson's only manuscript?
The only manuscript Jameson examined was Paterson’s fair copy, which the New Jersey delegate included in a notebook containing copies of other documents of the convention. Because this text incorporates later changes, Jameson correctly rejected it as a copy representing the original.
What is the meaning of resd?
2. Resd. therefore that the rights of suffrage in the National Legislature ought to be proportioned to the Quotas of contribution, or to the number of free inhabitants, as the one or the other rule may seem best in different cases. 3. Resd. that the National Legislature ought to consist of two branches. 4.
What is the meaning of the Articles of Confederation?
Resolved that the Articles of Confederation ought to be so corrected & enlarged as to accomplish the objects proposed by their institution; namely, “common defence, security of liberty and general welfare.”
When did Lansing and Brearley make their copy?
The Brearley and Lansing texts do embody a few phrases that were not added until after 29 May. The marginal insertions on the former, however, indicate that Brearley made his copy no later than 1 June. Lansing did not arrive until 2 June and presumably made his copy that day ( Strayer, Delegate from N.Y.
Background
Principles of The Virginia Plan
- The Virginia Plan suggested first and foremost that the United States govern by way of a bicameral legislature. This system would split legislators into two houses, as opposed to the single assembly put forth by the New Jersey Plan. Additionally, legislators would be held to specified term limits. According to the Virginia Plan, each state would be...
The Federal Negative
- Perhaps more importantly, the proposal suggested the concept of the federal negative, through which the federal legislative body would have the power to veto any state laws seen as “contravening in the opinion of the National Legislature the articles of Union.” In other words, state laws could not contradict federal ones. Specifically, Madison wrote: Madison’s proposal for the f…
The Great Compromise
- Ultimately, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were tasked with making a decision, and so they had to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of both the New Jersey and Virginia Plans. While the Virginia Plan was appealing to larger states, smaller states supported the New Jersey Plan, with their delegates feeling they would have more fair representation in the new gov…
Sources
- "The Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 Reported by James Madison on June 15." The Avalon Project, Yale Law School/Lillian Goldman Law Library. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debate...
- Moss, David, and Marc Campasano. "James Madison, the 'Federal Negative,' and the Making of the U.S. Constitution." Harvard Business School Case 716-053, February 2016. http://russellm…
- "The Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 Reported by James Madison on June 15." The Avalon Project, Yale Law School/Lillian Goldman Law Library. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debate...
- Moss, David, and Marc Campasano. "James Madison, the 'Federal Negative,' and the Making of the U.S. Constitution." Harvard Business School Case 716-053, February 2016. http://russellmotter.com/9.19...
- “The Virginia Plan.” The Anti-Federalist Papers. http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1786-1800/the-anti-federalist-papers/the-virginia-plan-(may-29).php
Overview
The Virginia Plan (also known as the Randolph Plan, after its sponsor, or the Large-State Plan) was a proposal to the United States Constitutional Convention for the creation of a supreme national government with three branches and a bicameral legislature. The plan was drafted by James Madison while he waited for a quorum to assemble at the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
Drafting and proposal
From May 25 to September 17, 1787, the Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation, the first plan of government of the United States. The Articles were widely criticized for creating a weak central government—the Confederation Congress—that was powerless to solve the nation's problems. Under the Articles, Congress was unable to raise taxes to pay for a military or pay off foreign debts. It also lacked the authority to control foreign …
Resolutions
Calling for the creation of a supreme national government, the Virginia Plan was a radical departure from the Articles of Confederation. Modeled on the existing state governments, the plan called for three branches of government (executive, legislative and judicial). Since the legislature appointed both the executive and judicial branches, however, the plan lacked the system of checks and balances that …
Reaction
Large states supported this plan, and smaller states generally opposed it, preferring alternatives that guaranteed each state equal representation regardless of population. On June 15, 1787, the smaller states presented the New Jersey Plan, which proposed a single-chamber legislature where each state, regardless of population, would have one vote, as under the Articles of Confederation. In July, after the meeting of the First Committee of Eleven, the Convention settled on the Connect…
Popular culture
The Virginia Plan and the debate surrounding it are prominently featured in the 1989 film A More Perfect Union, which depicts the events of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Presented largely from the viewpoint and words of James Madison, the movie was mainly filmed in Independence Hall.
External links
• Text of the Virginia Plan