The Differences Between the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan at the Constitutional Convention

Question:

How did the New Jersey Plan differ from the Virginia Plan at the Constitutional Convention?

Answer:

The Virginia Plan called for three branches of government and two houses of Congress. The New Jersey Plan favored equal representation for each state in a unicameral legislature, differing from the Virginia Plan's proposal of a bicameral legislature with proportional representation.

Explanation:

At the Constitutional Convention, the New Jersey Plan differed from the Virginia Plan primarily in its proposal for legislative representation. The New Jersey Plan, presented by William Paterson, envisioned a unicameral (single-house) legislature where each state would have equal representation, regardless of the state’s population size. This contrasted with the Virginia Plan, which proposed a bicameral (two-house) legislature with both houses' representation based on state population, favoring the larger states.

This debate over representation led to the Great Compromise, which resulted in a bicameral Congress consisting of the Senate, with equal representation for each state as in the New Jersey Plan, and the House of Representatives, with representation proportional to population as in the Virginia Plan.

The New Jersey Plan differed from the Virginia Plan in that it favored equal representation for each state in a Congress. The Virginia Plan, on the other hand, proposed proportional representation in both houses of Congress. The New Jersey Plan aimed to give smaller states an equal voice in the national legislature, while the Virginia Plan sought to allocate representation based on population.