The Virginia Plan Essay

"The Virginia Plan" (May 1787), authored by James Madison and Edmund Randolph, contained several proposals that represented objections for some individuals who ultimately refused to sign the Constitution. These objections centered around concerns over the proposed structure of government and the balance of power between the states and the central government. One proposal in the Virginia Plan that raised objections was the establishment of a bicameral legislature with representation based on population. This provision would have given larger states, with higher populations, more influence and power in the legislative branch. Smaller states, fearing their interests would be overshadowed by larger states, objected to this representation model,

It is given the power to authorize collection of revenue just like in Virginia plan but in this case it’s done in different ways, where imposition of duties is put in to goods that are foreign ,imported in any part of united states.it also given the power to pass act of regulation of trade and commerce with external nations as well as with each other and amendment of mistake in both law and fact rendering judgment. All federal acts are instigated through the power of the executive and in addition appoint federal officers and direct the entire operations of the millitary. Its also given the power to appoint judges of the supreme tribunal that forms the judiciary just like in Virginia plan but in this plan the judges are appointed by the first branch of the legislature. The judiciary has the supremacy to attend and regulate instances that are first on all prosecutions of federal office. Inspite of this powers given there are some powers that are specifically denied in both plans.

The Virginia plan presented in 1787 by Edmund Randolph was one option on how the United States should be governed. Their key points were for Congress to have 2 houses and for representation to be based on population. Another option was the New Jersey plan which was presented by William Paterson in the same year. This was to oppose the Virginia plan because not everyone agreed with what was written.

These men being known as the founding fathers The Virginia plan was to create a government consisted of what Edmond Randolph proposed that the national government be compiled of a supreme, legislative, executive and judiciary. It was also consisted of 2 houses. The lower house would represent states with the largest population. The members of the upper house would be elected by the lower house making the smaller states have little or no representation in the upper house at all.

The Virginia Plan Gave supreme power to the central government. It had Had a bicameral (2 house) legislature—both houses had representatives based on state population. This favored large states not small states. This was unfair to the small states. There was another plan called the New Jersey Plan.

The Virginia Plan was an idea to organize two chambers for a legislative branch. Each states would be portrayed by numbers. States with a vast population would win over a small state due to representation. Larger states will most likely find this more optimal than small states because of the community.

The plan proposed by Virginia otherwise known as the “large-state plan.” Which proposed “a bicameral legislature, in which the lower house would be elected proportionately and the upper house would be selected from a list of nominees sent from the state legislatures on the basis of equal representation for the states. ”(add footnote) As the smaller states feared that this plan would lose a voice in the federal government if they continued with the Virginia plan, they opposed this plan and came up with one for themselves which would be known as the “small-state plan.” The small-state plan would propose “a unicameral Congress, with equal representation for each state, with all the powers of the Confederation Congress.

After deciding to write a new constitution, the delegates could not decide what new form the government should take. One of the options was the Virginia Plan created by Edmund Randolph and James Madison. The plan included a strong government with three branches (the legislative branch, The judicial branch, and the executive branch). In the Virginia Plan, the legislator would consist of two houses and seats would be awarded on the basis of the population. Due to the fact that the seats are awarded based on population, larger states would have more representatives than smaller states.

The original constitution of the United States was drafted for multiple reasons. Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government was extremely weak. The individual states had more power than the federal government, and each of the states acted more like independent countries. Additionally, the Articles of Confederation did not distribute power well. The revised Constitution allowed for 3 branches of government, which divided federal power so that one branch could not become more powerful than another.

Following the Revolutionary War, America had just gained independance from Great Britain and needed to form a new government. The Articles of Confederation were established as an attempt to create a government that was unlike Britain’s. Unfortunately, the Articles of Confederation had several weaknesses. When in the process of repairing those weaknesses, the Federalists and the Anti-federalists formed. The Articles of Confederation were very weak as well as useless to America and because of this, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists could not agree on a new type of government.

The Articles of the Confederation was the first form of government created by the Continental Congress, which developed an alliance between the thirteen states. Congress was a single-chamber legislature which allowed for each state to possess the same amount of authority no matter the size of the community. The Constitution

In the creating of the US Constitution, the creators hit many roadblocks. It was difficult for the state delegates to decide on much, especially because they were biased and in favor of their own states. The New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan were two examples of the disagreement of representation within the states in the legislative branch. The New Jersey Plan was in favor of equal representation throughout the states. The Virginia Plan was in favor of population representation, meaning the larger states would have more representation than the smaller states.

These authorities that the national government should have, were all up to the states to decide under the Articles. With the taking away some of the states rights in the Constitution, Anti-federalists feared that this would leave the states too weak, resulting in more problems. Under the new Constitution, many powers that were now in the government 's hands are: the power to levy and collect taxes, the power to regulate interstate commerce, the government set up a national court system consisting of district, circuit, and a supreme court, the government could enforce laws, there was now a house based on population, and a senate based on equal representation (two votes per state), to amend the Constitution, a ⅔ vote of Congress was needed, and a ¾ vote of the states were needed, and a majority rule was needed to pass bills. These new powers and abilities of the national government helped to create a strong, new

“The different governments will each control each other at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.” (Doc A, Madison,James, Federalist Paper 51, 1788). Each part of the government had there own jobs to do, for example the central government has the power to regulate trade, conduct foreign relations, provide an army and navy, while the state government set up local governments, holds elections,

Contrary to popular belief, the United States has two constitutions: the Articles of Confederation and the present day constitution. So, what happened to the Articles of Confederation? The Articles of Confederation failed for many reasons: the reluctancy of the individual states to surrender their powers to a national government, the impotence of Congress to tax the colonies in order to pay off war debts or pay veterans of the American Revolution, the inability to back up the currency coined by Congress, the institution of multiple currency as states began to coin their own money, and the lack of power to regulate trade and commerce among the states or foreign nations. In addition, the Articles of Confederation limited the executive and judicial