Representative Government Essay
...that proposed for an entirely new government, known as the Virginia Plan. This arrangement called for a government that would have three branches. The first branch of government was the legislature, which made the laws. The second branch was the executive, which enforced the laws. The third branch was the judiciary, which interpreted the laws. The Virginia Plan also suggested a legislature with two houses. In both houses, the number of representatives from each state would be based upon the state~{!/~}s population or wealth. The legislature would have the authority to impose taxes, regulate trade and commerce, and create laws. The Virginia Plan led to many weeks of debate. Larger states with higher populations supported the plan because it would give them greater representation in Congress. Smaller states, however, opposed the plan, worried that the larger states would end up ruling the others. This opposition of the Virginia Plan led to the proposal of the New Jersey Plan. To provide an alternative to the Virginia Plan, New Jersey delegate William Patterson presented the New Jersey Plan to the Constitutional Convention. This substitute stated for a legislature with only one house. In it, each state would have just one vote, no matter its population. With equal representation, the New Jersey Plan was similar to the Articles of Confederation. Like the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan also gave the legislature power to regulate trade and to raise money by taxing foreign goods. Smaller states, who wanted the same amount of representation as the larger states, favored the plan. On the other hand, the large states protested and went up against the proposal, fearing that they may be overrun by the small states for power. To settle this dispute, the Great Compromise was recommended. As delegates argued over representation in the legislature and struggled for a solution, the delegates selected a committee to work out a compromise. The committee, which included Ben Franklin and Roger Sherman, offered the Great Compromise, also referred to as the Connecticut Compromise. The Great Compromise called for a legislature that would have two houses. In one house, the Senate, each state would have an equal number of votes and therefore equal representation. This satisfied the states with lower populations. In the other house, the House of Representatives, representation would be determined according to state populations, satisfying the larger states. After a more than a week of arguing following the introduction of the plan, the convention passed the Great Compromise, and it became the framework for drafting the...