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What is the new jersey planWhat is the new jersey plan -
The Virginia Plan called for two houses based on representation and that would have nullified the power of the smaller states. The plan once again offered the idea of a unicameral one house legislature in which all states would have an equal number of votes.
At the Convention, several plans were introduced. The Virginia Plan was a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch. In its proposal, both houses of the legislature would be determined proportionately.
The lower house would be elected by the people, and the upper house would be elected by the lower house. The executive branch would exist solely to ensure that the will of the legislature was carried out and, therefore, would be selected by the legislature. After the Virginia Plan was introduced, New Jersey delegate William Paterson asked for an adjournment to contemplate the plan.
Under the Articles of Confederation, each state had equal representation in Congress, exercising one vote each. Under the New Jersey Plan, the unicameral legislature with one vote per state was inherited from the Articles of Confederation.
This position reflected the belief that the states were independent entities and as they entered the United States of America freely and individually, so they remained. To resolve this stalemate, the Connecticut Compromise, forged by Roger Sherman from Connecticut, was proposed on June The main aim was to protect the interests of small states that may otherwise have had their voices drowned out by much larger states.
There was a fear that growing states like Virginia and southern states with large slave populations would continue to increase their representation and overwhelm other states. However, the smaller states wanted a fairer system and supported the New Jersey Plan. The New Jersey plan supported the idea that the government would have one legislative house instead of the two in the Virginia Plan, and each state would have one representative.
It was a much more simplistic approach where every state would have an equal say regardless of population. In other words, Virginia would be no more important in government than New Jersey. New Jersey was one of many smaller states whose representatives backed this plan. That may not sound like a lot today when there are 50 states, but it was just under half of the delegation attending the convention. You have to imagine that if Rhode Island had sent someone too, they would have added their name to the list.
William Paterson was the one that took control of presenting the final plan to the rest of the convention. There were two weeks of debate after the Virginia Plan announcement, after which William Paterson gave the case for the smaller states. The census shows that Virginia had a population of ,, the highest in the country, with Pennsylvania next at , and North Carolina third with , This data is even more interesting for Virginia because , of those counted were slaves.
Slave-owning states with large populations of enslaved people could see their population rise significantly over non-slave-owning states.
By comparison, Delaware, which backed the New Jersey plan, had a population of 59, with slaves. This data shows how easily a large state could have overshadowed the smaller ones under the proposals in the Virginia Plan. New Jersey, which led the opposing plan, would not have been the worst off. They had a population of , in It is worth noting that the New Jersey Plan was about more than just upholding the government structure and protecting the rights of smaller states.
Of course, the notion of the equal vote was the driving force, but there were nine resolutions. There were more clauses relating to the Articles. The first was that although the government structure should remain, the Articles should be revised. The subject of law and order was common, including creating a Federal Judiciary to oversee important matters like impeachments of Federal Government officers.
There was also the notion that all citizens of each state would have the same rights in state courts. If requisitions were not paid, a method of collecting from the delinquent states should be provided. The Congress should be authorized to elect an executive [plural], to appoint all officers not otherwise provided for and to direct all military operations.
The executive be removed on request of a majority of the state executive. There should be a Federal judiciary, appointed by the Executive to hear and determine impeachments of Federal officers, and appeals in other cases.
All Acts of Congress made pursuant to the Articles of Confederation should be the supreme law of the land, with state judges bound to uphold them. In the compromise, the bicameral legislative structure was retained from the Virginia Plan.
However, it established that the House would be chosen by popular vote whereas the Senate would stay as a one vote per state policy. Unbeknownst to the smaller states and the proponents of the New Jersey Plan, while it was agreed that Senate members would only receive one vote per state because the Virginia Plan was largely agreed upon earlier, this included senators having longer terms than state legislators.
Consequently, senators would have much more freedom and independence than was initially considered by those against the Virginia Plan. Though much of the Virginia Plan was pushed through, that did not mean that some aspects of the New Jersey Plan did not make their 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.
A number of these sentiments were instrumental in forcing James Madison and others to draft the Bill of Rights, ensuring many of their ultimate fears regarding federal overreach would be greatly restricted.
At the same time, state and individual liberties would largely remain protected. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. How to cite the Constitution. Innocent Until Proven Guilty. Enumerated and Unenumerated Rights.
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