Virginia Plan

Infobox document
document_name = Virginia Plan

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image_width = 220px
image_caption = Front side of the Virginia Plan
date_created = May 29 1787
location_of_document = National Archives
writer = James Madison
purpose = Propose a structure of government to the Philadelphia ConventionThe "Virginia Plan" (also known as the Randolph Plan, after its sponsor, or Large-State Plan) was a proposal by Virginia delegates, drafted by James Madison while he waited for a quorum to assemble at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787.cite journal
last = Roche
first = John P.
title = The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action
journal = American Political Science Review
volume = 55
date = December 1961] [cite web
url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/dube/inde4.htm
title=A Multitude of Amendments, Alterations and Additions
author=Ann Marie Dube
publisher=National Park Service
date=May 1996] The Virginia Plan was notable for its role in setting the overall agenda for debate in the convention and, in particular, for setting forth the idea of population-weighted representation in the proposed National Legislature.

Background

The Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia to revise and enlarge the Articles of Confederation, which had produced a weak and, in the opinion of some, inadequate national government. The Virginia delegation took the initiative to frame the debate by immediately drawing up and presenting a proposal, for which delegate James Madison is given chief credit. It was, however, Edmund Randolph, another Virginia delegate, who officially put it before the convention on May 29, 1787, in the form of 15 resolutions. [ [http://www.footnote.com/page/187| Transcription of the Virginia Plan] ]

The scope of the resolutions, going well beyond tinkering with the Articles of Confederation, succeeded in broadening the debate to encompass fundamental revisions to the structure and powers of the national government. The resolutions proposed, for example, a new form of national government having three branches—legislative, executive and judicial.

One contentious issue facing the convention was the manner in which large and small states would be represented in the legislature, whether by equal representation for each state, regardless of its size and population, or by proportional representation, in which larger states would have a larger voice. Under the Articles of Confederation, each state was represented in Congress by one vote.

Principles

The Virginia Plan proposed instead a legislative branch consisting of two chambers (bicameral legislature), each of the states would be represented in proportion to their “Quotas of contribution, or to the number of free inhabitants.” [ [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/const/vatexta.htm "Variant Texts of the Virginia Plan, Presented by Edmund Randolph to the Federal Convention, May 29, 1787. Text A."] , The Avalon Project at Yale Law School] States with a large population, like Virginia (which was the most populous state at the time), would thus have more representatives than smaller states. Large states supported this plan, and smaller states, which feared losing substantial power in the national government, generally opposed it, preferring an alternative put forward by the New Jersey delegation on June 15. The New Jersey Plan proposed a single-chamber legislature in which each state, regardless of size, would have one vote, as under the Articles of Confederation. In the end, the convention settled on the so-called Connecticut Compromise, creating a House of Representatives apportioned by population and a Senate in which each state is equally represented.

In addition to dealing with legislative representation, the Virginia Plan addressed other issues as well, with many provisions not making it into the Constitution that emerged. It called for a national government of three branches—legislative, executive, and judicial. Members of one of the two legislative chambers would be elected by the people; members of that chamber would then elect the second chamber from nominations submitted by state legislatures. The executive would be chosen by the legislative branch. Terms of office were unspecified, although the executive and members of the popularly elected legislative chamber were to be limited to one term. The legislative branch would have the power to negate state laws in cases in which they were deemed incompatible with the articles of union. The concept of checks and balances was embodied in a provision that legislative acts could be vetoed by a council composed of the executive and selected members of the judicial branch; their veto could be overridden by an unspecified legislative majority.

References